A probe into the alleged mismanagement and reselling of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation’s Asphalt Plant has unearthed “damning” findings.
The report with these findings was handed over to Minister of Public Works Bishop Juan Edghill today.
During the handing over, Chairman of the investigation, Chateram Ramdihal explained to reporters that the asphalt sale was poorly made. He said no credit policies or procedures were in place.
Moreover, the Chairman said that trucks collecting asphalt at the Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara (EBD) location, would usually travel 10 miles to the Demerara Harbour Bridge to weigh the asphalt.
Ramdihal is contending that there is another location that can facilitate the weighing at a lower price.
Furthermore, the probe found that the company purchased Cold Mix from a Trinidadian company. Ramdihal said that no feasibility study was done in this regard.
“We noted that the product was purchased from an unknown supplier at the time. By saying that, the company the Asphalt plant purchased the Cold Mix from was out of Trinidad in 2016,” Ramdihal outlined.
In fact, Ramdihal was keen to note that the Asphalt Plant had paid an advance of over $9 million to the company in 2015 despite the business not being registered until 2016.
“So, therefore, an advancement of the funds was done to a company that was illegally in existence at the time,” the Chairman contends.
During a brief comment to the media, Minister Edghill said that the findings were quite “damning.” He nonetheless assured that measures would be taken to ensure that hemorrhaging of the public purse is ceased.
The media first exposed the scam, which involved contractors afforded the opportunity to purchase asphalt at massive discounts. The racket, according to the expose, involved several employees attached to the Ministry of Public Works.
The underhand dealings have likely resulted in Guyana losing tens of millions of dollars in revenue. It also resulted in privately-run asphalt plants being at a significant disadvantage.
