Apart from millions still to be accounted for and a number of ghost entities receiving grants, two businesses that received funding through the Sustainable Livelihood Entrepreneurial Development (SLED) programme were found to be located in the PNCR’s Congress Place compound, the recently concluded financial audit into the programme found.
The SLED, developed under the APNU+AFC coalition government to support small businesses and co-operatives, was subjected to a forensic audit by independent accounting firm ECLISAR Financial and Professional Services.
With these findings, Minister of Labour Joseph Hamilton said he will be meeting with his legal team this week to discuss the way forward.
“The audit has revealed more than I knew. Numerous vouchers and cheques cannot be located. You had many entities made up but not registered and money passing through different agencies…,” the minister said.
He pointed out that the programme, which was created under the Ministry of Social Protection, had projects receiving direct funding from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. In this regard he questioned whether there were other instances of taxpayers’ money being misdirected.
Hamilton said that while he was not surprised by the findings, the financial mismanagement and number of irregularities were glaring.
The minister said one of the findings that stood out to him was that two projects were registered at PNCR Congress Place Sophia.
In the audit report seen by this newspaper, the Bare Root Bachelor’s Adventure Block Making Facility, which received the sum of $4,136,748 and Bachelor’s Adventure Poultry Rearing Facility which was granted $3,932,410 both had 1st Street, Congress Place Sophia, Greater Georgetown as their addresses.
According to the audit report, when the team and others visited the location they were asked to leave by PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton and two other individuals.
The team, accompanied by two staff members from the Region Four, Regional Executive Officer’s office, had showed up at Congress Place around 11:30 hrs. on 29th November, 2022.
While they received permission for the visit from officers for the projects and were able to inspect the facilities, the auditors were prevented from interviewing the officers. In the report, they said Norton stopped them.
“… Norton and a few other individuals approached the team and stopped them. They then inquired about the reason for the team’s presence and the purpose. Personnel from the team of auditors then identified themselves and Mr Norton stated that they were never informed of this prior and no written request was ever sent… Mr Norton further stated that if there is no letter from the minister then they will not partake in any form of conversation or interaction with the team. The… auditors were then asked to vacate the premises at a moment’s notice to which the team adhered,” the report stated.
When asked, at his last press conference, how come the operations are located at Congress Place Norton said, “You will have to contact Amna Ali for that one because she was there during that time.”
The report also listed several coalition Members of Parliament (MP) and their relatives as being beneficiaries of grants.
No irregularities
Responding to this, Norton said he did not see any irregularities once there was no fraud. He stated that the funds were available to all Guyanese and as such, the named MPs and others could have benefited, as there were no rules barring them.
“I personally don’t see a problem with these persons accessing the funds. And if there is a problem, I see it as discriminatory. To my knowledge these funds were available to all Guyanese and as such, these individuals were all qualified for their respective grants,” Norton said.
Meanwhile, MP Vincent Henry from Region Nine, who was named, told this newspaper that he had not committed any fraud nor had he sought to benefit from the programme.
He explained that he assisted groups in his region to construct their proposals, but at no time was any money given directly to him for any project. Henry stated too that after the proposals were submitted, it was unclear how the projects were vetted and which ones received funding.
He accused the PPP/C led government of attempting to tarnish his name because he has been speaking out against it’s treatment of indigenous people publicly and in the National Assembly.
According to the audit, Henry was the awardee of a contract to construct a multi-purpose building at Katoka Village in Region Nine, which he subsequently subcontracted to another individual. However, the project was never completed.
Henry’s son, Vincent Henry Jr, was the recipient of a grant for the Shulinab Village Irrigated Pasture. “The irrigated pasture seems to be abandoned for quite some time. No one was present at the facility and no sign of life was seen,” the audit team said after a visit to the location.
Another son, who spoke with the auditors, indicated that he was never a recipient of a grant but he was the supplier of three cows to the Katoka Village project.
MP Christopher Jones was also named in the report as a recipient of the grant. However, the audit report stated, after the items were seized by the police, they were destroyed in the Brickdam Police Station fire, and there was nothing to assess.
Jones had received a grant of $4.9 million for the procurement of equipment for a barbershop at Festival City.
When contacted on Saturday, Jones said he was not in a position to comment on the findings since the matter was still before the courts.
Jones, who was Director of Sports under the David Granger-led government had sued the Guyana Police Force for breaching his constitutional rights to protection from arbitrary search and deprivation of property in wake of a controversial search of his home and the removal of 18 barber chairs and two air conditioners altogether valued at $4.8 million.
On the night of August 20, 2022, during a power outage, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum accompanied by other police cordoned off Jones’ premises and demanded entry without a warrant or any lawful reason. Jones said he asked the lawmen for their warrant and none was produced, so he denied them entry to his premises. He was eventually arrested and detained by the police.
Notable findings
Meanwhile, the audit also found that projects in several parts of the country were inoperable.
The report stated that in Region One, Kwebanna Farming Co-operative Society Limited’s Greenhouse Farming Project, which was allocated $3.4 million, was never operational.
In Region Two, where five projects were allocated funding to a tune of $26.5 million, Lima Sands Women Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited was the only project that remained functional. The audit found that the Grant Victoria, Pomeroon jam factory was abandoned by the beneficiaries and housing squatters. A representative of the beneficiaries informed the audit team that the society was never functional and the objective of operating a fruit processing facility was not reached due to lack of cooperation among the beneficiaries.
In Region Three where $11.5 million was granted for livestock and poultry rearing some were functioning, others abandoned. In one case, funding provided for a juicing factory was used to purchase a water purification system.
Region Four beneficiaries received an accumulated amount of $20.9 million. However, the Timehri North Co-operative Society Limited Salt Fish Processing Facility only functioned briefly. The chairman stated that the facility was vandalized during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown. The audit team found six 50 lbs bags of salt sitting in the facility.
In Region Five, the Kirby Community Development Society was inoperable the team said. However, there were machines, refrigerators, and other items in the facility. The members of the society indicated that the building was not being used because it was not secured with grills and they were afraid items would be stolen. The team also found out from the members of the society that the building was a on a government reserve.
Over the Berbice River, in Region Six, the team found that the Fyrish Multi-Purpose Co-operative Society Limited’s Poultry Rearing Facility was abandoned and inoperable.
The recipient informed the team that the project failed owing to constant flooding of the facility. “The beneficiary then explained to the team that the area is very low and has poor drainage systems which causes flooding to the residents in the vicinity. He further went on to show the team the amount of water which accumulates in the facility when flooded… water marks were visible to the eyes,” the report stated.
The team discovered that several other projects were non-functioning and facilities were abandoned.
In Region Ten, the team found several projects still in operation and benefiting the grantees. Nonetheless, there was evidence of some projects being deserted. It was also pointed out that the team encountered great difficulty in locating chairpersons for some of the committees that received grants. This made it difficult for them to find out the status of projects and forced them to rely on their own observation.
The auditors concluded that the programme was not properly executed and implemented. The report said that there was no SLED Policy Document or legislation available during the period 2018-2020, a factor which caused the SLED Initiative not to be monitored, implemented nor documented properly.
Most of the grants ended in failure due to lack of proper consultation and follow-up from the then Government of Guyana, the report added.
The report recommend that in future programmes benefiting friendly or co-operative societies, the executing agency should require certificates of registration, compliance letters, audited financials and names of members who will become beneficiaries.
It noted that while a handful of small business owners received SLED funding, the majority were co-ops. It stated that many were found to be non-existent or non-compliant with the Co-operative Societies Act.
The report also recommended that the ministry put better financial and accounting systems in place for documentation of all transactions.
The 2019 Auditor General’s report found that the then Ministry of Social Protection’s was unable to properly account for the spending of its $250 million budget.
Amounts totalling $249.997 million were expended under the SLED Programme as at 31 December 2019, of which $229.6 million was issued to regions, with the largest portion, $169.555 million, being issued to Region Nine.
The Auditor General had noted that an examination of a sample of beneficiaries’ files revealed that application forms were not completed despite that being a requirement. In addition, no criteria or checklist was seen as utilised for the appraisal and approval of grants.
“It was difficult to ascertain the reason(s) for granting approval to the beneficiaries. At the time of this report, a special investigation was being conducted into the SLED Programme,” the Auditor General concluded.
