Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jan 17, 2009 News
Works Minister Robeson Benn has set about justifying his sending home of two top Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD) officials.
Last Thursday, it was reported that Minister Benn had sacked General Manager Karen Bowen and Maritime Director Ivor English with immediate effect.
According to reports reaching this newspaper, the minister is claiming that he had authorised that a sum of $15M be expended on the rehabilitation of the T&HD Sports Club, located at Thomas Lands, but the top officials instead allowed $47M to be utilised.
The building was declared unsafe by the Guyana Fire Service some time ago, and rehabilitation works are currently ongoing.
Reports are that the minister’s action was also rooted in the fact that there is some controversy with monies that were reportedly not deposited into an account. Minister Benn disclosed yesterday that he has written letters and has called in the state auditors to undertake audits, although he did not acknowledge that there was a fraud of any kind.
“I am not alleging or talking about any fraud…That is a matter for the state auditors to determine,” Benn asserted. However, with Mr English and Ms Bowen being senior public servants, some people in the administration have concluded that Minister Benn overstepped his authority. They say that the decision to sack the public servants should have come from the Public Service Commission.
On Thursday, after the matter broke, Prime Minister Sam Hinds tried in vain to reach Minister Benn, who by this time had refused to answer his phone.
Yesterday, some senior Government officials met with Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon over the sending home of the two senior officials. Yesterday, Minister Benn said that he was not in a position to deliberate on the matter, and that issues of severance pay and other benefits were not attracting his attention.
He added that any further discussions about the dismissed workers will be done at the appropriate time and once these discussions are believed to be relevant.
Meanwhile, this newspaper has been reliably informed that the minister has since assigned Claudette Rogers to act in the capacity of Maritime Director and Kevin Trim as General Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department.
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