Two years later…Ramotar still mum on NCN fraud report
"I wasn’t prepared for that question at this point in time…But I would probably look in and see if I could give you an answer after."
Head of State,
Donald Ramotar
That was President Donald Ramotar’s response back in March, to a reporter who inquired about the status of the National Communications Network (NCN) report highlighting irregularities at the entity. On Saturday last, Ramotar again failed to provide an update on the status of the report or any action taken.
When quizzed on the report on his desk for almost three years now, the President said "I have nothing new to report on that; I really was preoccupied with many other things at this point in time. I am sorry, next time hopefully I will be in a better position."
The report was submitted to the Office of the President for action.
Though differently worded, the President’s response mirrored one he offered on this very issue about a year ago at a similar engagement. In fact, in March 2013, Ramotar told media operatives that he was "surprised" that the matter had not yet been concluded. He had related that the matter is being handled and it would be concluded in the near future.
However, it is now questionable what "near future" means to the President, or whether he is willing to stamp out the perception of corruption.
The investigation into the irregularities was confined to the Terms of Reference that sought to ascertain the relationship between Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and NCN.
In a leaked report – prepared during the first half of 2012 – it was revealed that on the part of NCN, one area of irregularity was traced back to GT&T and involved millions of dollars in advertisements.
NCN’s Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Sattaur, resigned in June 2012. The entity’s Programme Manager, Martin Goolsarran, who admitted that he had deposited the payment cheque from the telephone company into his personal account, was suspended without pay.
However, findings of the investigations submitted to Ramotar would determine the future of the two men. Many are waiting to see whether the findings would engage any legal action.
Without revealing details of the investigations, Ramotar said he would like to see accountability at NCN, which will help with confidence and credibility.