August 23,2016 Source
Amidst growing pressure, the state-owned Guyana Water Inc. yesterday decided to send home a senior manager pending a probe of his background.
Sent Home: Lear Goring
The decision was reportedly taken yesterday by management of the entity following a damning report Sunday by Kaieteur News which revealed that Lear Goring, Manager of the Debt Recovery Unit, was convicted twice by the United States in the 1990’s after he was caught smuggling drugs to the country. He was deported twice and has served time in the US.The revelations immediately raised questions whether GWI knew about Goring’s background and how he ended up being hired to such a sensitive position in that unit.He was reportedly said to be a close friend of Dr. Richard Van-West Charles, GWI’s Managing Director.
Yesterday, Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan, confirmed that the report in Kaieteur News caught his attention and that GWI was asked to submit a report on circumstances of the hiring of the manager.“I can tell you that I understand that the employee in question has been sent home based on a decision by GWI. I had asked for a report and the matter, I understand, will be dealt with by GWI’s Board of Directors when it meets shortly.”
Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkan
Attempts by this newspaper to seek comments from Dr. Van-West Charles were not successful, as he was engaged in meetings all day with management.
GWI’s head, Dr. Richard Van-West Charles
A list of questions was forwarded to the entity’s Public Relations Department, but there were no answers as of late last evening.The all-sensitive Debt Recovery Unit handles tens of millions each year collected from delinquent customers.
From investigations, it appeared that GWI either did not know or simply paid little attention to Goring’s background.Following a tip-off last week, Kaieteur News conducted background checks and found that Goring was convicted by US authorities in the 1990s before being deported twice – the last time in the early 2000s.According to US court files, Goring was convicted twice of drug trafficking in 1990s. In the first instance, after a conviction, he was deported in 1993 to Guyana. Not to be daunted, he used a forged passport to travel back in 1995 – again with drugs.Again he was caught. In 1996, he changed his not guilty plea after an agreement with prosecutors and the New York court sentenced him to 63 months in the Federal Correctional Institution, Fort Dix, New Jersey.It is unclear if he was deported before his sentence of actual jail time, which amounted to 48 months, ended.
What is known is that between January and June 2002, he was deported yet again from the US.Goring’s name surfaced last week after he was named with Van-West Charles, his boss at GWI, as being a director of Atlantic Fuels Inc. That company was granted a fuel import and storage licence last November.The revelations of the licences immediately raised concerns, with questions asked if Van-West Charles’ connections to the Coalition Government was what tipped the company that applied.Local documents filed in the Deeds and Commercial Registry disclosed that in June last year, weeks after the coalition took office, Van-West Charles, a former minister within the People’s National Congress (PNC), and his close friend, Goring, became directors for Atlantic Fuels. The other partners are Andron and Ronaldo Alphonso, close relatives of business magnate, Alfro Alphonso.In late September, applications were filed with the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) for the licences. The licences were issued five weeks later.
In October, Van-West Charles became the Chief Executive of GWI, a state-owned entity that is charged with providing potable water to homes across the country. Shortly after, he hired Goring, his business partner, to head the Debt Recovery Unit.
The GWI head had come under fire last year for the hiring of Goring and another ‘friend’, Lance Mars. Both positions were reportedly not advertised.Van-West Charles had reportedly said that both men were known to him personally.
He reportedly said that he needed someone “competent” to deal with the debt at the state company.With regards to those lucrative fuel licences, GEA last week in response to questions by Kaieteur News, disclosed that indeed the application came in late September and was granted on November 5th, 2015.GEA said that all was above board when it came to the application and that Atlantic Fuels listed the storage facility of another authorized company in its application…not something unusual.Fuel has been rivaling gold when it comes to generating ready cash. It is big business.
