Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region 1 Leslie Wilburg was expelled from the parliamentary chamber during yesterday’s sitting of the Public Accounts Commit-tee (PAC) on the basis that he had provided false information on $30 million worth of overpayments and he could face disciplinary action.
Wilburg was accused of “misleading” the committee after having affirmed more than once that none of the eight contractors that were indebted to the region currently had works ongoing in the jurisdiction. He later retracted the claim and stated that there were in fact two contractors still in the region’s employ, including Aruka Investments. It was at this point that Chairman of the PAC, Irfaan Ali, asked that the REO make his exit.
“…I asked that question many times in different forms—whether any of those contractors still working with the region. You said no, no, no…REO, I’m asking you to leave these chambers please. I gave you enough opportunities, I warned you when you came in and I gave you the opportunity. I asked you the same question over and over and over. I knew I would have caught you!” Ali said.
Ali had asked Wilburg just minutes before to provide the committee with a list of all the contractors who had been overpaid so it could be verified that they were no longer working in the region. This was after Wilburg would have responded positively after being asked if he was “absolutely sure” those contractors were no longer employed. The Chairman had stated that if what Wilburg said was found to be false, he would be sanctioned.
The REO was also asked specifically whether contractor Rovindra Samaroo was still working within the region, to which he replied no. Ali then read a correspondence, dated March 16, 2016, in which the REO wrote to Samaroo and reminded him of overpayments outstanding since 2009 and stating that he “failed to make any effort to have these matters resolved.”
The letter further stated that failing to make contact would result in legal action being taken. Wilburg, when questioned, related that the contractor had not replied and the matter had not been pursued.
He, however, made it known that advice was sought from the Ministry of Communities on the matter and Permanent Secretary (PS) Emil McGarrell later confirmed that a correspondence, dated September 15, seeking advice had been sent to him, although it appeared that he only become aware of the letter yesterday.
Wilburg, in a comment to Stabroek News after his expulsion, stated that what transpired had been an “unfortunate oversight” and “not a deliberate attempt to mislead.” He said he was informed afterward, while noting that the information was there in the file jacket. The man appeared morose as he sat in the lobby of the Public Buildings, next to his region’s Civil Engineer Yogeshwar Narine, who appeared equally stunned. He had also been asked by the Chairman to exit the chamber.
PAC member Volda Lawrence would subsequently raise the matter of officials seeming to be unable to “manage information.” She pointed out that it was an issue seen across the regions, where officials came before the PAC either without supporting records or bearing documents that were not properly arranged to correspond with the relevant paragraphs.
Following a break, the Chairman asked the Clerk of the National Assembly to send correspondence to the Financial Secretary (FS) so “necessary disciplinary action” could be taken, and to the PS so that he and the FS could meet to draft recommendations for sanctions and any other methods seen fit. These are to be reported back to the PAC.
Wilburg’s blunder set the tone for yesterday’s proceedings as both the subsequent sessions for Region 2 and Region 7 were suspended due to what appeared to be poor preparation on the parts of the REOs.
The result, therefore, was that yesterday’s meeting, scheduled to cover five regions—regions, 1, 2, 4, 7 and 10—ended prematurely, with only the examination of Region 4 being completed. The examination of the Auditor General’s findings on Region 4 in its 2015 report had started last week. No attempt was made to proceed with Region 10 yesterday.
As a result of yesterday’s developments, next Monday, which would have otherwise been reserved for a regular sitting, will be dedicated towards training involving the Regional Chairman, Regional Vice Chairman, the REOs and the Chairman of the Finance Committees of the regions.
The suggestion for such a forum came from the Chairman after the PS voiced his opinion that part of the weakness in the financial management of the region’s democratic systems is in part because some of the financial committees are not functional.
“What we saw today was how much work remains to be done to bring the whole system of financial management back into the standards that are required for governance and transparency and very importantly, accountability. The PAC observes this weakness and concurs with the ministry’s effort to address this problem in a specific way,” McGarrell told Stabroek News after yesterday’s proceedings. “It is even more important as well that our regional councillors or regional councils appreciate that the committees of councils—the finance committee, the works committee and the others—their work is serious, their work is a work of oversight and where that oversight is not in place, it leads to deficiencies in the accounting system and it leads to what transpired today.”
One of the Ali’s recommendations yesterday was that the Auditor General’s office examine the functions of the financial committees as part of their audits.
