Hidden NCN report finally comes to light…  Ex President Ramotar tried to duck NCN $$$M fraud file – PM Nagamootoo

More than three years after an explosive report of a major fraud at the state-owned television station came to light, embroiling its two most senior Managers, the matter is refusing to die.

Former Production Manager, Martin Goosarran

The special audit report that was commissioned by former President Donald Ramotar had been sitting on his desk since 2012. Despite repeated requests from the media, and promises from the former President, he steadfastly refused to release the report and take actions. It became clear two weeks ago why the report could not have been made public. Former Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur, who resigned following the submission of an audit report to the National Communications Network (NCN) Board of Directors by Parmesar, Chartered Accountants, was part of a protest by the former ruling party in front of the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM), in Kingston. It was widely felt that his association with the former ruling party was the reason that the report was not released and why no actions were taken against him. The report, following the swearing in of the new Government, has made it into the hands of a few media houses. Yesterday, Prime Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, who has responsibilities for public information, said that he has not yet seen the report but expects it to be sent to him so that recommendations can be followed up.

The invoice which was reportedly done in the name of Martin Goolsarran.

“I have given assurance that I am expecting the staffers, particularly senior personnel, to act professionally. I have assured that we will not go out there in a witch-hunting campaign although we know personnel have been involved in unethical conduct and forced to become toothless poodles.” Nagamootoo said that many staffers were forced to carry out political assignments and to politicize the state media. “We have settled in now and of course there will be changes. But we are not in the business of witch-hunting. Those staffers that are serious and indicate that they want to be part of the team to correct the wrongs, we welcome them.” Cover-Up In mid-2012, a leaked report on investigations at the state-owned NCN revealed startling details of how two under-fire managers attempted to pressure female staffers to backdate a $3.6 million invoice to January to cover up their tracks. But the staffers, from the Marketing Department, refused and later told investigators that they thought it unethical at the time. The leaked report, while not making it clear, suggested that the attempts were made even while the investigations were ongoing or about to start. The report also suggested that both officials were probably desperate at the time. In June 2012, Programme Manager Martin Goolsarran was suspended for eight weeks while Mohamed

Former CEO, Mohamed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur

Sattaur, the Chief Executive Officer, tendered his resignation after the report was tendered to NCN’s Board of Directors. The events had rocked NCN to the core. Leader of the Alliance For Change, Khemraj Ramjattan, had called for a criminal investigation against the two men and has accused Government of attempting to cover up the report which he said should be handed over to the police as well. It will be recalled that the NCN investigation was sparked after revelations in Parliament that the entity, which controls the country’s only authorized radio stations and has a network of television stations across the land, in 2011 raked in more than $500M in revenue, yet wanted Government subsidies to the tune of millions. Following complaints, the Board had ordered a probe into reports that all was not right with payments from GT&T following last year’s hugely popular Jingle and Song Competition. GT&T had hired NCN to tape the show but the state entity decided in turn to sub-contract the work to Hits and Jams Television. The investigations found that Goolsarran was paid more than $3M in cheques from GT&T. He then deposited these in his own personal bank account. According to the report, which was ordered by the Board, the CEO and Goolsarran requested the staffer to illegally prepare an invoice to the tune of $3,620,000 and have it dated to almost six months to January 2012. The invoice was to cover production costs done for GT&T’s Jingle and Song Competition for the period November 2011 to January 2012. The female staffer refused saying that there was no job order. Sattaur and Goolsarran then, according to the audit report, approached another staffer to prepare the job order but that staffer too refused. The investigator, accountant Harry Parmessar, also tendered a damning document. Questionable Invoice NCN’s Programme Manager, Martin Goolsarran, had submitted an invoice dated January 10 for $3,620,000 to the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) for work done in the third phase of the Jingle and Song Competition.  What was shocking was that Goolsarran issued the invoice in his own name, and did not use NCN’s letterhead. Instead, he listed his home address in Eccles, East Bank Demerara. He later claimed it was a mistake He claimed that this was later corrected and NCN had issued the invoice in his own name. The report found that NCN did not prepare a written contract with Hits and Jams and that it was all an oral arrangement. Based on the arrangement, NCN would have earned $3,620,000 while Hits and Jams, was to receive $3,930,000 for production services. “Mr Martin Goolsarran admitted that he received on two occasions amounts totaling $3,930,000 in December 2011 from GT&T for production services. These amounts were deposited to his personal bank account. He claimed that the $3,930,000 was paid to HJTV on two occasions for their services.” “It would appear…that Mr. Martin Goolsarran submitted a personal invoice to GT&T for $3,620,000 in January 2012 but in June 2012 was attempting to have an NCN invoice be prepared and backdated to Janaury 2012, to cover up the personal invoice which was not settled by GT&T. “Further, Mr. Mohamed Sattaur was assisting Mr Martin Goolsarran in having the invoice prepared by the Finance Department,” the report said in the findings. The report made it clear that both the CEO and Goolsarran failed to carry out their duties diligently and professionally. “They have knowingly breached the company’s internal control procedures. Their actions in dealing with the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition clearly demonstrated conflict of interest.” In addition to breaches of NCN’s General Administration Manual, the report also said that the payments to Hits and Jams for $3,930,000 could not be reliably verified and that several internal controls, including records of movements of staffers, were not kept up-to-date. The report recommended that Sattaur’s performance be reviewed since as the CEO, he failed to execute his duties in a professional manner and condoned breaches in NCN’s internal controls. “He has also demonstrated poor leadership qualities which are necessary to manage an organization like NCN.” Regarding Goolsarran, the accountant made it clear that he has demonstrated “his unsuitability for the role of Production Manager.” The report also recommended the Board of Directors to take actions, including legal ones, to recover loss of revenue for all amounts paid to any individual.