GMC headquarters construction … GRDB head, Govt. engineer, contractor to face criminal charges

Oct 23, 2016 News, http://www.kaieteurnewsonline....ce-criminal-charges/

Charges have been recommended against several persons, including the current chief of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) and a Government engineer over a multi-million-dollar construction of the office building of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC).

Engineer, Hanniel Madramootoo

More than a week ago, the Special Organised Crime Unit (SOCU) completed its report into the investigations of the construction of the building which was contracted out in 2011.

A forensic audit report submitted back in April by auditor, Saykar Boodhoo, had flagged the construction, citing several worrying things at GMC, an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture.

The forensic audit report was sent to Cabinet where it was decided that the findings of the report were serious enough to warrant a deeper investigation into not only the construction of the building but also into the handling of hundreds of millions of dollars of fertilizers.

The matter was handed over to SOCU.

According to senior Government officials, SOCU recommended that charges be laid against former GMC’s General Manager, Nizam Hassan; Hanniel Madramootoo, an engineer of the Ministry of Agriculture who oversaw the project; and a number of staffers of the contractor, Constantine Engineering and Construction Services of Trinidad and Tobago.

The recommendations have reportedly been sent to the Ministry of Public Security and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) – the latter for advice.

According to Government sources, investigations found the principals of the contracting company are close relatives of the engineer.

Investigations reportedly also found that Madramootoo allegedly used a family member to conduct transactions at the Tender Board relating to the project.

Shortly after entering office last year, the administration named Hassan as the new General Manager of GRDB, the entity which overlooks the rice industry.

The forensic audit which triggered the recommendations for the charges would tell a worrying tale of how things were at GMC between January 1, 2012 and May 31, 2015, the time under review.

With regards to the construction of the building, in 2011 a contract was awarded to Constantine Engineering and Construction Services of Trinidad and Tobago to build a new head office for GMC and the Guyana Shop, which it runs.

A contract in the amount of $23.96M was awarded by the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board (NPTAB).

The auditor could not review the bidding documents as NPTAB could not find any information that it was involved in the tender process even though the contract indicated otherwise.

An engineer, Mr. Hanniel Madramootoo, of the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), was assigned to oversee the construction of the building.

Unilateral?
In February 2012, without going to tender, the contract amount was strangely raised by $7.6M. GMC apparently, breaking procurement regulations, also took it upon itself to extend the contract duration to March 16, 2012.

“Based on discussion with Mr. Owen Nestor, GMC’s accountant, shortly after the contract amendment, the contractor announced to GMC that he will be unable to complete the construction of the GMC office building. It is unclear exactly how much funds were given to Constantine Engineering.”

GMC was forced to call in another contractor to complete the electrical wiring and relevant works to the office building.
Within a few months after the building was handed over to GMC, there were leaks in the roof. A contractor was hired by GMC to repair the roof.

It was discovered that old lumber and old zinc sheets with euroband was used to construct the roof of the building. According to the forensic audit report, throughout the building substandard work is evident and present.

“The wood used to construct the internal walls was poorly manufactured and the concrete walls are chipping and with paint peeling and falling off the walls. It appears that the GMC board and senior management are just as culpable as the contractor for the poor quality of work delivered to GMC.”

There was no documentation to show that the board acted to prevent the fraud that was perpetuated against GMC by the contractor, the forensic audit report said.

It was also disclosed that the contractor appeared to be a ghost – an internet search for the name of the contractor’s firm Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Ltd proved futile.

The auditor recommended that Constantine Engineering and its owner should be barred from providing any services to the Government of Guyana.

Send him home
It was recommended that Madramootoo, the engineer who oversaw the project, be terminated if he is still employed by the MOA and prevented from providing any services to the Government of Guyana.

The auditor also recommended that the GMC directors be barred from future engagements with the Government of Guyana.

With regards to the actual construction, while the Bill of Quantities of the contract stipulated that Greenheart lumber is to be used in the construction of the building’s floors, walls, roof and framing, the contractor used mixed hardwood.

“In addition, it was observed that the quality of the lumber used for the construction of the walls appears to be second quality lumber. Significant shrinkages of the lumber occurred and large creases are evident throughout the building’s internal walls.”

Instead of PVC for the ceiling, the contractor used the cheaper plywood.

The payments for the construction vouchers were certified by the supervising engineer Madramootoo.

The auditor recommended that the police be called in to investigate the fraud of using incorrect materials and fraudulent billing for the construction of the building.

“Since payments were made based on certification made by Mr Madramootoo, he should be charged criminally and brought before the courts for his participation in conducting fraud against the Government of Guyana. Efforts should be made to bring charges against Mr. Nizam Ramkissoon, the owner and managing director of Constantine Engineering and Construction Services Ltd of #55 Calcutta Road #2 Freeport, Carapichaima, Trinidad,” the forensic audit also recommended.

The report also revealed that vouchers relating to the spending on the project were missing with GMC’s internal controls and security lax.

The GMC forensic auditor report would be among a number of similar audits ordered last year by the David Granger administration to determine the health of state agencies.