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NCN scandal…Criminal charges to be laid soon
Goolsarran suspended for another 8 weeks-Board member
Criminal charges against two under-fire officials of the National Communications Network (NCN) are likely, a Board member has confirmed.
Suspended: Martin Goolsarran
This latest development comes amidst news that Production Manager, Martin Goolsarran, has been suspended for another eight weeks.
Goolsarran was supposed to return to work last week but was handed another two months suspension as public pressure, especially by Parliamentary opposition parties, increased.
A Partnership For National Unity (APNU) and the Alliance For Change (AFC) have called for criminal charges to be laid.
Board Chairman, Dr. Prem Misir, yesterday declined to speak on whether criminal charges were likely and asked this newspaper to direct questions to NCN’s Chief Executive Officer (ag).
Michael Gordon. Over the weekend, Misir said that he was out of the country and would have to be briefed on the NCN situation. Gordon yesterday said that he was in no position to speak and that he would have to consult with his superiors.
However, a Board member yesterday indicated that the matter will handed over to the police very soon and that charges are more than likely.
Following a damning report by specially-appointed auditor, accountant Harryram Parmesar, there has been a major shakeup at the state-owned NCN which controls the government’s radios and televisions stations, including 98.1 Hot FM and NCN Channel 11.
The company’s CEO, Mohamed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur, handed in his resignation in June following the submission of the report to the Board.
Part of the major changes at the agency included the reactivation of a special review committee, called the ‘Rates Committee’, and which includes senior department heads.
It has been the allegation that the committee was deliberately stifled for a number of years and that two senior officials unilaterally bargained with large advertising companies for lucrative low rates. In return for the low rates, senior officials of NCN reportedly took kickbacks.
Resigned: Mohamed ‘Fuzzy’ Sattaur
The situation at the state agency has drawn widespread anger and is a major embarrassment for the new PPP/C administration.
A number of dissatisfied staffers leaked records that indicated a seemingly ‘wild west’ situation of advertisements being aired free, and of links between at least one senior staffer and a heavy equipment company.
NCN, during the Budget debates earlier this year, admitted that it raked in more than $500M in revenues, raising eyebrows on why it would still need government allocations.
An angry opposition, upset with NCN’s ‘biased’ coverage to them, blocked a budgetary subsidy for NCN for over $65M. The opposition had called for more accountability and balanced coverage by the state agency.
The special probe at NCN was triggered when GT&T’s CEO, Yog Mahadeo, refused to pay Goolsarran when for a second time he presented an invoice for over $3M in his personal name, instead of NCN. GT&T had launched its own audit. A number of senior officials of the telephone company were sent home, including the Chief Financial Officer.
The investigation was ordered by the Office of the President to probe allegations of financial irregularities that occurred between September 2011 and February 2012, regarding payments for the GT&T Jingle and Song Competition.
The Parmesar 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.”
The report also recommended that the Board of Directors should take necessary actions, including legal ones, to recover loss of revenue for all amounts paid to any individual.
The two, according to the report, tried to pressure staff to backdate key records, in what was seen as an attempted cover-up.
There were also direct leaks of information from the board level to at least two companies, both advertising firms, which benefited from contracts and rates.
NCN Board Chairman, Dr. Prem Misir
Government had declined to release the report on the findings of the investigations. But it was leaked to a parliamentarian.
The investigations revealed that no verification was done on another critical record, the Broadcast Log, to ensure “all billable broadcasts are being invoiced to the customer. This could result in loss of revenue to the NCN.”
There have been accusations that the NCN situation is reflective of what is taking place at a number of state-owned semi-autonomous agencies.
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