Latest update April 23rd, 2024 12:59 AM
Nov 16, 2021 News
Kaieteur News – Police are yet to institute formal charges against the Regional Officials fingered in a multi-million dollar ‘fraud’ in relation to the supply of dietary items for the Kato School Feeding programme in Region Eight.
The issue was raised yesterday during an examination of the Region’s expenditure by the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
The period under review was from 2016 and 2017.
In 2016, it was discovered that the prices for items purchased were higher than that of similar items purchased by the Region from other suppliers.
The discrepancy led to a special investigative audit which was undertaken in 2017 and that probe revealed that the items were overpriced to the tune of $33.663M.
The investigation also revealed that the purchases were made from a particular supplier.
As a result of the suspected fraud, the matter was reported to the police and an investigation was launched.
During the PAC meeting yesterday, Regional Executive Officer (REO) for Region Eight, Peter Ramotar said, that based on his examination of the report he can only conclude that the breaches amounted to collusion.
Ramotar is of the view that the collusion may have led to no one being charged.
He assured PAC however, that there is now strict adherence to the guidelines and systems to avoid a recurrence.
Members of the PAC were more concerned that the officials who fingered in the misdeed remained on the job even after the findings, when the public sector rules allow for the person to be sent on administrative leave and further, interdicted if charged.
Former Permanent Secretary of the then Ministry of Communities Emile McGarrell told the PAC that no one could be found at the time to replace the officer at the time, so they remained there for a time.
In 2016, former REO of Region 8, Rafel Downes, lost his job as spending in the Region became ‘highly questionable’ with regards to the school feeding programme.
It was reported, that the prices paid for items associated with the school feeding programme were way above market prices.
It was reported as example, that a senior female official of the region used her office to swing a deal to purchase items from a Parika, East Bank Essequibo (EBE) business place, with which she had close associations.
Downes, lost his job after he was unable to answer PAC member who raised questions about the spending in the region, for the year 2015.
When asked why five of the defaulting contractors who owed the Region millions of dollars were once again awarded contracts in 2016, the former REO also could not answer.
Downes’ appointment was later revoked by regional authorities after confidence was lost in his performance.
Auditor General Deodat Sharma explained that while some regions are paying for the school feeding programme from their budget, in other cases, it is the Ministry of Education that is picking up the tabs.
However, he said the problem came when hundreds of millions of dollars were being plugged into the programme which targeted all the Regions with locally-produced biscuits and juices could not be accounted for. Sharma had identified Region Eight for among those guilty of rogue spending.
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