Dear Editor,
I noted an article appearing in the Tuesday edition of the Guyana Chronicle, 2019.07.23, captioned `M&CC money found in Chief Constable vehicle’. It is unfortunate that this article was published without a check being made to ascertain the validity of this story reported to the newspaper. It would seem that there is some sinister motive behind the action of the person or persons perpetrating this act to discredit the Chief Constable and defame his character.
To provide clarity to this distortion which was published, it is necessary that I make it known that the Chief Constable is in no way responsible for the collection or depositing of monies into the Bank on the behalf of Council nor the custodian of bank deposit bags or its keys. The department provides a service to the City Treasury and Markets Department on a daily basis relating to the escorting of designated cashiers of the departments mentioned and their cash using a vehicle of the City Constabulary assigned to the Regent Street Outpost.
As a consequence of the vehicle assigned to escort duties being out of order on the 20th June, 2019, because of defective tires, a request was made by the Town Clerk (ag) for the vehicle assigned to the Chief Constable to assist in the transporting of Council’s cash. In keeping with this request, the vehicle assigned to the Chief Constable was used on several occasions for the transporting of the cashiers of the departments mentioned above and their armed escorts.
This movement continued until the said vehicle, assigned to the Chief Constable was also grounded for defective tires on the 20th June, 2019. The Constabulary vehicles remained out of service for approximately three weeks due to the Council’s inability to purchase tires. On Tuesday 9th July, 2019 tires were procured for both vehicles.The new tires for the Chief Constable vehicle were installed by the Municipal workshop on the 10th July, 2019 rendering the vehicle operable.
At about 17:00 hours that day a request was made by the Town Clerk (ag) for assistance to take her home. I approved for the vehicle assigned to the Chief Constable to transport her home using her driver. Further on the 16th July, 2019 at about 11:00 hours a request was also made from the Town Clerk (ag) for the vehicle, assigned to me, to be used to transport the Mayor to an engagement, to which I acquiesced.
While in office at about 16:00 hours on the said day, I received a report from my driver that during the process of cleaning the interior of the vehicle assigned to the Chief Constable he discovered a bag under a seat. The bag was shown to me whereupon I observed it to be a bag used to deposit money to the bank. I immediately summoned the administrative Inspector and the Officer in charge of Investigation where we observed the bag to be sealed and bearing the Markings of the M&CC.
I immediately contacted the City Treasurer (ag), and the Clerk of Markets to have them verify the department the bag belonged to and in keeping with this the Assistant Clerk of Market reported to the Chief Constable office where he identified the bag as belonging to the Markets Department. I then give the instruction for the bag to be lodged at the Station to allow for further verification and a check of the contents, at 08:00 hours the following day, as it was claimed by the assistant Clerk of Markets that it was after 17:00 hours and the key could not be retrieved from the City Treasury at that hour.
As a result of the failure to return at the appointed time on Wednesday 17th July, 2019, by the Assistant Market Clerk and the absence of any further communication from the City Treasurer and Clerk of Markets, I gave the instruction for an investigation to commence having notified the Town Clerk (ag) and subsequently the Mayor of the discovery.
I am therefore flabbergasted by the revelations of the Chief Citizen that he was never informed of this matter despite his follow up with me by way of telephone on this matter at about 17:00 hours, on Wednesday the 17th July, 2019, and an interaction he had with the investigating Officer at about 10:00 hours the same day. Further at two meetings of the Heads of department convened by the Town Clerk (ag) at her office on Tuesday 16th July, 2019 and Wednesday 17th July, 2019, the Town Clerk would have expressed her displeasure at the Chief Constable reporting the matter to the Mayor and would have sought to have the money bag uplifted from the Constabulary and deposited into the bank.
I would have also learnt from this meeting that in keeping with the discovery that the City Treasurer (ag) would have convened a meeting with personnel of the Markets and Treasury department thus resulting in the Assistant Clerk of Market not reporting to the Constabulary to continue the process of verification of the bag’s contents as instructed by the Clerk of Markets. While it is perturbing that this matter would have been spun to cast blame on the Constabulary, instead of focusing on the revenue collecting areas, it is not unexpected taking into consideration that financial procedures were breached allowing for a bag of money intended for the bank to be found in a vehicle two weeks after it should have been deposited without any alarm being raised by those responsible for such transactions. It is evident from this latest episode of Council that the right has become the wrong, where aspersions are being cast on an individual for reporting an alleged crime.
Yours faithfully,
Andrew. H. Foo
Chief Constable