Call for local government minister to intervene

OUR COVER STORY by SUNSHINE TODAY REPORTER

(CoP GARY GRIFFITH, Committee member JENNIFER BAPTISTE-PRIMUS, Committee member Dr VARMA DEYALSINGH)

Concerned employees at the Penal-Debe Regional Corporation (PDRC) are pleading for a forensic audit to be conducted at the local government body, saying that they are fed up with the alleged institutional corruption there.

The workers say that an employment racket is operating in the corporation in which hundreds of thousands of dollars – perhaps even millions – are being siphoned away in a “ghost gang” scam allegedly being run by a Councillor. “(Police Commissioner) Gary Griffith needs to send down the fraud squad to the Corporation quickly because this is a big racket involving plenty of money,” the source said. According to the source, the Councillor has caused 26 employees of the Community-Based Environmental Pro-tection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) to be employed on the PDRC payroll.

Persons perform no work for the Corporation

These persons, however, perform no work for the Corporation and yet draw salaries from that body. “They get paid twice – through the Corporation and then again through CEPEP. But the Corporation and the bur-gesses are getting absolutely nothing in return for paying these people. When they collect their two salaries they pay the Councillor a cut of the money,” the source said. The source said the Councillor even arranged for her own son to be hired in the ghost racket and he is paid $390 per day by the PDRC – to do nothing. “This is like the perfect scam. Because you might see these workers on the roadside cutting, grass and you might think that they are doing Corporation work. But the truth is they actually doing CEPEP work and being paid twice for the same work – by the Corporation and by CEPEP,” the source said. The source added that many officials and employees at the Corporation are aware of what is taking place but are afraid to do anything about it because the Councillor in question has a lot of political connections and clout in the Siparia Constituency. PDRC has been in the spotlight recently for the way Corporation business is being conducted. Corporation Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Motilal Ramsingh found himself in hot water in February 2019, when he appeared before a Joint Select Committee of the Parliament. Ramsingh told the committee that the Corporation has been awarding legal briefs to two law firms - TriLaw Chambers and Harrikissoon and Company – without tendering.

Rampant corruption in several Regional Corporations

Committee member Jennifer Baptiste-Primus said, “If a CEO has a lawyer in a private matter, how then can that CEO recommend and contract the services of that same law firm for the Corporation? To my mind, it’s wrong,” suggesting that there was something very improper in the way the law firms were hired. Independent Senator Dr Varma Deyalsingh, who also sits on the committee, called, at a previous meeting, for a system to be put in place to monitor local government CEOs. Recently, this country has witnessed rampant corruption in several local government corporations. In January 2019, a Joint Select Committee (JSC) of the Parliament heard reports of massive fraud and corruption at four Regional Corporations – the San Fernando City Corporation and the Arima, Chaguanas and Point Fortin Borough Corporations. In July and August 2018, fraud squad police officers announced the arrest of 10 persons in connection with a $22.5 million corruption racket at the San Juan-Laventille Regional Corporation, as well as “similar investigations” at the Diego Martin Regional Corporation (DMRC) and Couva-TabaquiteTalparo Regional Corporation (CTTRC). Last week, an 11th suspect appeared in court in connection with the San Juan-Laventille Regional Corporation racket, which involved payroll fraud similar to what is alleged to be taking place at PDRC. In August 2017, a Charlieville businessman and high profile United National Congress (UNC) political activist was charged with fraud after allegedly attempting to cash $1.4 million in fraudulent cheques drawn on the account of the Arima Borough Corporation (ABC).

Infrastructural work at a standstill

In 2016, four senior officials of the CTTRC, including the CEO and County Superintendent, were slapped with corruption charges following a fraud squad investigation into a children’s play park project in which the contractor was paid for no work being done. While local government bodies are losing substantial sums of money to corruption, many are also complaining of a shortage of funds for administrative functions and to provide services to burgesses. On April 5, 2019, the Personnel Committee meeting at CTTRC was halted after members of the Council were informed by the administration that there was no money to purchase toilet paper for members of staff. In a release the CTTRC Council said infrastructural work was at a standstill with the region suffering from dilapidation, the Corporation had to cut back on fuel and maintenance, Councillors were facing eviction from their offices due to non-payment of rent, and the Corporation had discontinued providing lunch at its meetings. Ironically, the PDRC Councillor named in the payroll racket has been spotted at the forefront of protests in the UNC heartland and publishing social media posts in which she constantly accuses the People’s National Movement (PNM) government of depriving her burgesses of services by depriving the PDRC of funds.