President Donald Ramotar has declined to go into detail about what is contained in the report on the financial irregularities at the State owned National Communications Network (NCN).
When asked, during a press conference on Friday, about the report and whether the police’s Criminal Investigation Department will be called in, the President told reporters: “I think that it is being handled because I had conversations with some of my staff and that is being handled. I am surprised that it is not really concluded as yet but that should be in the near future.”
He said that based on some of the decisions that have been made, steps will be taken. “But don’t let me go into… that wouldn’t be fair… as I said the last time. I thought that this should have been completed already.”
Addressing the issue of accountability, Ramotar said he felt very strongly about it, “because I think it helps with confidence and it helps with credibility and everything else. Generally that is the direction that we will be pushing into.
The board had launched an investigation last June into suspected financial irregularities at the network. Chief Executive Officer Mohammed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur subsequently resigned,
while Programme Manager Martin Goolsarran was later sent on administrative leave in relation to a $3.9 million cheque made payable to him by telecommunication company GT&T as an incentive for the production team that worked during the company’s jingle and song competition, held between September 2011 and February last year.
Sattaur’s quitting and Goolsarran’s suspension coincided with the resignation of Yog Mahadeo, the then chief executive officer of GT&T.
It was GT&T’s payments to NCN for services that triggered the investigation.
Parmesar Chartered Accountants was hired to carry out a special investigation into the alleged financial irregularities and several breaches were uncovered.
A report was later sent to Ramotar, who is the Minister of Information.
