Senior GPL Berbice Manager sent home for fraud
Mere days after Minister of Public Infrastructure David Patterson, stated that a more detailed probe is to be undertaken into the operations of the troubled Guyana Power and Light entity, a senior operative in the Berbice operation has been sent home. He was said to be at the centre of a number of fraudulent activities
Minister Patterson said that from what he envisaged a number of things are not right at the Guyana Power and Light (GPL) outlet. A more detailed investigation is to be undertaken. This was on the same day that it was revealed that two senior officials of the GPL were fingered in the conversion of over $28M to their own use.
Patterson had stated that the GPL will undergo a detailed review. He had said that he is aware of many issues which are affecting the entity. The operation of the Loss Reduction Department and the Berbice operations will be looked at keenly, Minister Patterson stated after numerous reports surfaced.
Last March, Loss Reduction Manager, Phyalyanjee Nandkumar, was sacked after investigations revealed fraud. Recommendations were also made for him to be charged and prosecuted. He was however reinstated within days following a visit to Freedom House. GPL’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharat Dindyal, had also confirmed that the contract of the official was terminated after complaints.
A report found a number of ‘fraudulent’ practices that could also have implications on the power company’s Georgetown Department. However with the intervention of Freedom House that report was swept under the carpet and the man reinstated. In one case, the investigators probed a complaint where the senior official asked for bribes amounting to $1.1M to install a 15KVA transformer at the business place of a customer.
GPL records showed that the cost of the transaction was a mere $292,513.
That customer operates a business but was issued a residential account, which allowed him to benefit from lower tariffs. In the first instance, it was alleged that $200,000 was paid at the home of the customer (name given) and the balance of $900,000 at GPL’s Loss Reduction Office where the sacked official operated. GPL’s records, oddly enough, showed that the cost of the transaction was a mere $292,513.
In statements made, the customer and his family also implicated operatives from the Sheriff Street Loss Reduction Main office. The Georgetown operatives had travelled to Berbice to investigate, but the matter seemed to have been covered up, according to the GPL’s internal documents seen by this newspaper. GPL operatives went so far to hook up the customers with a straight feed which bypassed the meter and which resulted in the customer using free power for more than seven months.
In another shocking case, investigators heard how one customer was discovered with a tampered meter. The sacked official reportedly instructed the customer to apply for a prepaid meter. This was all done in one day. It was alleged that the official received bribes from the customer, ensuring that he was not back-billed as would have been required in a tampering meter matter. Investigators found the concealed tampered report and other documents.
In another case, it was reported that another customer was found with a tampered meter. Instead of making the necessary report, the official submitted documents stating that it was defective. It was replaced. However, the Georgetown office was alerted to the fraud and after an investigation, the customer was back-billed for more than $1M. However, that amount was never paid and the customer continued to pay the normal monthly charges, and receive power.
The account was flagged to be disconnected for consecutive months but ‘stand-down’ orders were issued. A number of other issues of blatant corruption were highlighted but no action was ever taken. The investigating team also received reports that the sacked official had been leading a team, taking monies from customers found tampering with their meters. He would normally threaten to report the tampering to the police.
Kaieteur News understands that a three-man investigating team was sent to the Loss Reduction office, Berbice, to probe a number of irregularities.