General Manager of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) Rawlston Adams last year approved the purchase of a bracelet worth nearly $900,000 for himself with money from the DHB, an investigation into the operations of the Asphalt Plant (AP) revealed.
“The Asphalt Plant along with the Demerara Harbour Bridge purchased, in November 2019, a bracelet for the General Manager, at the approval of the General Manager, to the value of Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven Thousand Guyana Dollars (G$897,000) as a gift for International Men’s Day,” the report, commissioned by the PPP/C government in October of this year and which was released yesterday, stated.
The team, led by Chartered Accountant Chateram Ramdihal, pointed out in the report that the Board of Directors, at a meeting held in August 2016, had enunciated a policy that gifts, donations and staff incentives be approved by the Board.
Adams, when contacted yesterday by Stabroek News declined to comment saying that the Board will issue a statement and management of the DHB and AP will comment after reviewing the report by Ramdihal and team.
“We provided our comments during the investigation and it is in the report but that, it seems, was played down. We will be addressing the issue and the Board will make some comments. I have not seen the report but we will be reviewing it,” he said.
“As I said, we will be making some comments and once we get copies of the report, those comments will be drafted at the managerial level and we will provide any other information that they may need,” he added when pressed on the findings.
And while Adams told this newspaper that the DHB and AP provided a response in the report and it was played down, the report pointed out that justification from management was that “Gifts were given to all men within the organisation. This is the standard practice in the organisation,” and that bills and receipts of the purchases were provided.
However, the disparity in cost of the General Manager’s bracelet compared to the other men was a whopping $887,000 as the report pointed out that “gifts were also given to all other men within the Corporation, to an approximate value of G$10,000 each, to mark the occasion of International Men’s Day.”
Asked if he would return the bracelet to the state if it was found that it was improperly procured, he repeated that he would “provide any information on the matter if asked.”
The report said that due to the lack of an independent approval system, “the following observation can be deemed to be misuse of the (Asphalt) Plant funds for personal gain.”
It recommended that management should ensure that the policies of the Plant are adhered to at all times. “Management should ensure that gifts to employees are done in accordance with generally accepted principles and at arm’s length,” the report said.
Following allegations that there were “misappropriations in the management and reselling of Government’s asphalt and its connection to the Ministry of Public Works internal staff”, Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill appointed a team to investigate alleged financial misconduct at the plant, which is managed by the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation.
“As the subject Minister, I think this warrants closure and one of the ways we can do this, is by being objective in examining what was said without prejudice, with a clean eye, and ensuring that we have the necessary facts,” Edghill was quoted as saying.
The investigating team consisted of Ramdihal – team leader; Heidi Gillette, Brion Singh and Dexter Smith.
