Fraud at City Hall… GLGOU rushes to defend cashier

Jun 11, 2009 News

President of the Guyana Local Government Officers Union (GLGOU), Andrew Garnett, at a press conference yesterday attempted to deflate details published in this newspaper’s breaking story of the recently discovered fraud at City Hall.

Garnett, at the forum held at the GLGOU Woolford Avenue Union Hall, said that the article ‘Commissioner uncovers $$$ multi-million fraud at City Hall’ which was published in the Friday June 5, 2009, edition, incorrectly named one of its members as being involved in the fraud.

The article stated that “Based on the municipality’s records, the cashier for the $3.3M transaction was Charlene Gittens.”

Garnett yesterday disclosed that “the information at the disposal of the GLGOU clearly states that the statement (published in this newspaper) is not supported by a shred of evidence and that there is no such record in the municipality.”

He revealed, too, that the named cashier who has been vocal in highlighting the problems in the Treasury Department had been excluded from accessing the municipal rates and taxes software programme some months ago.

But a reliable source close to the investigation of the fraud said that the evidence still pointed to the named cashier.

He added that the police also have an interest in this person.

It was related that the cashier although she had been prevented from accessing the software she was performing duties in the department in the month of February when the questionable transactions were undertaken.

The final aspect of the fraudulent transaction occurred this month.

The source said that investigations are also focusing on whether someone else had impersonated the cashier by using her code and password to perform the fraudulent act.

The union president had also speculated that “maybe it is no mere co-incidence that Ms Gittens, who has been openly the most vocal critic of the rates and taxes software programme, was mysteriously excluded from accessing the programme.”

He said that the union has been advised by an independent information technology professional, who has examined the system, that the cashiers did not have the level of access and therefore could not make the alleged changes in the software to facilitate the scam.

According to Garnett, numerous complaints were made by the general staff of the city Treasurer’s Department about what is well known and widely accepted as a faulty and compromised software programme.

He said that there have been reports of the constant breaches and manipulation of the rates and taxes database by persons unknown.

The incidents, Garnett said, had prompted the union to make a number of representations to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Chairman of the Finance Committee, Town Clerk and City Treasurer requesting that the current programme be scrapped and a new one put in place.

“To say that the council has been slothful in treating with the problem would be a gross understatement. We have a suspicion that there is much more than meets the eye in this matter.”

Garnett said that the union is urging that the Commissioner of Inquiry, Keith Burrowes, “leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this matter. We want a full comprehensive and expeditious investigation which must serve to: Immediately halt any possible financial leakages to a money strapped council; urgently put in place a rates and taxes software programme with its integrity intact; help in the process of the restoration of staff and its consequent impact on service delivery.”

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Fraud at City Hall… GLGOU rushes to defend cashier

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