What will be uncovered if an audit is done on the Mr. Sattaur?
Dear Mr. Editor,
I have been following the Guyana Revenue Authority saga that has been unfolding for the past few weeks and as an employee of that entity, I would like to share my view, and believe it or not, this is the view shared by many of my colleagues.
This whole fiasco began with the information printed about the family members of the Commissioner General being employed at this agency.
I do not know if Mr. Sattaur is unaware of the conflict of interest clause, but in GRA, a husband a wife cannot be working in the same section, or an officer is prohibited from handling matters regarding a family member. Now if Mr. Sattaur is the overall boss of the GRA and he has his kids working there under him, what is that called? Some time back, from whispers within GRA, I learned that Mr. Sattaur has a relative that works at the Parika location, but I’m not sure if she still works there, and that individual was involved in some illegal activity which involved the use of a computer.
Can you believe that her punishment, as you may want to put it, was for her to remain working at that location, but she wasn’t allowed to use the computer? Now who will tell the niece of the CG to not use a computer? If it was another staff, the readers of my letter know what would have been the outcome.
Moving back to the CG’s children, more specifically his sons working at the GRA, can Mr. Sattaur explain to the public why his son in the Audit Division was promoted in front of persons that were more qualified than him when he started working at the GRA, plus they had the relevant experience? He only completed his ACCA last year and to make it look legit, they did an across the board promotion as soon as he completed his studies.
As an employee, I can tell you that GRA has many over qualified persons who have the experience to move up the ladder but they are overlooked many times so that certain people are promoted. I would like the public to know also that when this son of the CG was completing his studies in Trinidad, he was away from work for that period and was still an employee of GRA.
The ordinary staff gets a tough time when they may now and then need some time off to attend classes at the University of Guyana, or even to take care of an unexpected emergency. I do not know how the readers look at this, but myself and many employees complain- mind you, among their peers- since if their sentiments were to reach the wrong ears, God be with them.
The Commissioner General needs to explain why his son carries news on staff members and at least in one instance had his father instruct that a few staff from the Audit and Verification Division get letters, because according to the complaint from his son, they were not doing their work.
The last I checked, he was not internal affairs and him being a manager he could have talked to those staff or advised the person they fell under, since the Audit and Verification Division is divided into different sections. This same son ran to his father for a senior official who was at the time acting in the capacity of Head of that same Division and had that official demoted. He thought that his daddy was the boss, so he could get up from his seat and leave for two-three hours and this is information from inside that section.
When he was talked to about his absence by the Head for such periods of time because his co-workers were annoyed that he had those privileges, he went to his father and indicated to him that the Head isn’t working. His father, being unprofessional and impartial as he is, did what he felt was right.
I move on to the duty free scam, and I agree that any taxpayer that is found guilty of defrauding the revenue should feel the brunt of the law. But can the CG explain the BMW and the Benz that his kids drive. Persons that have been working there for most of their lives, even managers, cannot afford to buy those cars. Mind you those are the cars that we know about and I’m certain that they are not all. Sattaur goes after those that defraud GRA, but who looks at him and his activities because I’m certain if an audit is carried out on him we may not believe what is uncovered.
From my own experiences working there I can honestly say this to the public, when you are friends with the seniors in GRA you get off quite easily. The businesses and individuals that make the money pay little or no tax and that is true cause I have dealt with their cases many times but the person that works and earn just to make ends meet are taxed harshly.
They are told to sign payment arrangements and cautioned sternly if it’s not honored they will be taken to court. I agree that once you have taxes payable you need to pay them but this should not only apply to the average persons. Now when these big boys are not pressured to pay their correct taxes like the ordinary citizen the country loses revenue.
For example, a person that doesn’t have any connections in the agency may need a compliance, but if they have taxes outstanding, they are told they need to clear it at once or enter into a payment arrangement, but a friend of the top clique goes to who they know and then you hear that a promise was made to pay the taxes so issue the compliance. Once the compliance is issued it’s hard for the staff dealing with that case to get that taxpayer to pay and then at times the Head would come down on that staff saying that they are not performing.
Mr. Sattaur if in order for you to remain Commissioner of the GRA votes had to be cast, I say this with 100% surety; you would not be reelected. The majority of the people that work under you know that you are not a fair person, but due to fear of being victimized, they keep their mouths shut at least in the office. The last time I checked, the GRA was governed by a board of directors but they seem to be sleeping or they are turning a blind eye because they should have never approved the employment of Sattaur’s children. By doing that it speaks volumes of how corrupt this agency is .They and the Government need to get it through their heads that it’s not just Sattaur and his kids that contribute to the collecting of taxes but the thousands of other employees that work there. When workers are frustrated they do not perform to the best of their ability and I can tell you if a poll is carried out, but persons remain anonymous, the plight of workers of the GRA would be more than you can imagine.
Since I’ve been employed there I’ve seen a lot of good workers leave and that’s mainly due to the unfair treatment that’s meted out to them. The board needs to put a system in place to know what’s happening in the agency through the views of its employees because all they do when they have meetings is listen to the seniors. Show that you are competent and are doing the jobs you were put there to do.
Taxpayers that work hard and are paying their taxes know what I’m talking about and also the few elites that pay little or no taxes despite the millions you make knows yourself too.
Now I expect when a response is prepared it would be bombarded with quotes from the laws / acts but I would recommend that the persons responding would close the acts and respond so that the readers can understand. Majority of the population that read your responses have never seen the cover of an act muchless read it or even understand what it’s saying. When you respond to articles people just turn the page because they cannot understand you and they just see the agency as trying to hide behind the acts.
(Written by a frustrated employee that shares the views of many.)
