(Trinidad Express) The missing luxurious $26,558.68 vibrating executive chair that was purchased for Trinidad and Tobago Electricity Commission (T&TEC) chairman Sushilla Ramkissoon-Mark has been found.
Continuing investigations by the Express revealed staff turned up for work at the Mt Hope office of T&TEC yesterday and found the Global Concorde 2406-18 multi-tilter executive desk chair in the audit department on the third floor of the building.
“We were all shocked when we came to work and saw the chair in the audit department. When we left work on (April 10) the chair was not on our floor. All of a sudden it has mysteriously appeared in the audit department,” a worker speaking under strict anonymity said.
It was on April 2 T&TEC general manager Kelvin Ramsook told the Express during a telephone interview that he did not know exactly where the chair was.
Asked about the $26,000-plus chair, Ramsook said: “That is a good question. I will have to verify that. It is either in the maintenance department or with some other officer.
“Certainly, the chair is not in the office of the general manager or in the boardroom. I want to make it abundantly clear that the chair was never used in the boardroom. I have to verify where the chair is now.”
Ramsook maintained he was in the dark over the purchase of the chair and placed the blame on staff of the maintenance department.
The Express was sent an internal T&TEC e-mail that was copied to Ramsook informing him of the purchase of the executive chair.
The November 4, 2013 e-mail read: “As discussed, see attached quotation for chair from supplier Bewil & Company. In the quotation received we are presented of the option of having the additional vibrating (pulsor) feature. I was told that the chairperson was satisfied with chair (sic) that came on demo last Friday.”
The e-mail was sent from the acting maintenance and service assistant Darren Robinson to senior employee Wendy Beepath.
Ramsook, former senior engineer in the communications/network department Ian Chin Pang and employee Courtenay Mark were copied in the e-mail.
Investigations further indicated T&TEC was given two options regarding the style of chair the Commission wanted to purchase depending on features requested.
There were two quotations—one valued at 23,232.30 and the other at $26,558.68.
The $26,558.68 executive chair which has eight massage motors—including six vibration motors in the chair’s back—was selected for use in the boardroom of T&TEC.
The e-mail corroborates Chin Pang’s claim that he was acting on instructions when he requested the executive chair via purchase order S40-00005926.
In an interview with the Express on April 2, Chin Pang said: “I obviously cannot purchase something without a purchase order. The chair was for the chairman. First of all, I cannot take it upon myself to buy anything for the Commission.
“What I remember is that the chairperson wanted to try a number of chairs. Samples of chairs from different companies were brought to T&TEC. The chairperson tried them all and then that particular chair was selected.”
Acknowledging that his signature was affixed to the purchase order, Chin Pang said: “Once a purchase order goes out to the supplier it means that the relevant documentation was already signed. One person cannot make a decision to purchase a $26,000-plus chair. I certainly don’t know where the chair is. I could have never acted on my own and decided to buy that chair. I think I am being blamed because I am no longer at T&TEC.”
The executive chair was purchased on November 11, 2013 from Bewil & Company Ltd to replace a chair used by Ramkissoon-Mark, the wife of House Speaker Wade Mark.
Three days later on November 14, 2013, Bewil & Company Ltd confirmed purchase of the executive chair via a quotation request that was sent to Robinson.
Ramsook claimed T&TEC had no choice but to pay for the executive chair after legal correspondence was sent from Bewil &Company Ltd demanding payment.
However, the March 19, 2014 legal letter that was sent to T&TEC cited the delay of payment because the colour of the chair was wrong.
But according to Ramsook, the executive chair was never sent to the boardroom after it was delivered to T&TEC on January 22, 2014.
Internet checks show the executive chair is supplied by Comfort House in the United States and priced at US$2,463.50.
When the Express contacted Ramsook yesterday seeking confirmation as to whether the executive chair had been found, he said: “I do not wish to comment at this point in time.”
T&TEC chairman Ramkissoon-Mark was contacted on April 3 asking if she had sampled the 26,558.68 chair and requested that specific model.
She did not confirm or deny that she tried out the chair but said: “My position is that I am not involved in procurement. I use the boardroom once a month to hold meetings. I sit on a chair once a month.”
Adding that the purchasing of office furniture and supplies were not part of her functions, Ramkissoon-Mark said: “My position as chairman of the board is to chart the strategic course of the organisation and I am also responsible for the formulation of policy.
“I am certainly not involved in procurement and the daily operations of the organisation. As such, I will not be responsible for purchasing toilet paper, paper clips or chairs for that matter. I am really nonplus on this issue. It is simply not my role.”
Public Utilities Minister Nizam Baksh told the Express yesterday he had requested a report from Ramsook surrounding the purchase of the chair.
Asked if he found the cost of the chair was exorbitant and if he was concerned the purchase, Baksh said:”Nothing surprises me any more. I have requested a report surrounding the purchase of the chair which I expect to receive in two days. Only when I receive the report I will be able to comment further.”
But while Baksh awaits the report, Head of the Public Service, Reynold Cooper, told the Express he cannot recall an office chair ever being purchased for $26,558.68.
Cooper who joined the Public Service in 1985 said: “We purchase good chairs but one single chair has never cost that amount.”
Asked what was the estimated cost of the chair used by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Cooper said: “I do not have the exact cost in front of me but I can assure you it is nowhere close to $26,000.”
Checks at various other State agencies revealed that the sum of $2,500 to $5,000 is the estimated cost spent on chairs for staff at the executive level.
