Lindeners have been reduced to minions

Mar 03, 2010 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Once more I have to bring to the attention of the public the continuous erosion and defilement of people of this town and region.
Good governance at the local level is perpetually threatened and we are raising youth with the belief that they cannot produce and manage anything significant. I have been ostracised for stating these issues publicly which are clearly barefaced and oblivious of general perceptions, but that is the price for speaking out and I have no problem with that.
Now Linmine Secretariat superintends the assets of the former state owned Linmine, which have not been handed over to BOSAI. In essence we have more than $5 billion in land, Watooka House and Club complex, Surapana Club, workshops in the mines, Linden Electricity Inc, office complex, Linden-Mackenzie Bridge management, Alumina Plant among several other assets. Linmine Secretariat has a board to which the CEO reports but the day to day operation is overseen by NICIL. State assets are vested in this entity.
Since 1993 Linmine and the Secretariat functioned independently and always had competent technical personnel carrying out its various activities as with any normal business. When the company was truncated to the Secretariat after the taking over by OMAI, the company was truncated to the Secretariat with the CEO, a smaller constabulary and complementary staff to manage the area still under its control. This crew did its work quite competently.
After few years later the scrap iron trade became prevalent and placed the constabulary under severe pressure as train lines became attractive as well as other areas where ferrous metal was available. The Constabulary stood up to the challenge and sought help from the Guyana Police Force and made arrests and cases despite its depleted state. The other sections performed as usual, quite well.
In the accounting section two men with impeccable integrity and records performed admirably. It was therefore very strange when I was told that the generation of cheques for payments will be done at NICIL, Georgetown for Linmine Secretatiat, Linden. So this aspect of the accounting function will be transferred to Georgetown. We now have to generate the vouchers in Linden and send them to Georgetown for cheques to be written. What could have led to this new development? Was there a fraud or were there major malpractices? I asked the CEO and he avoided my direct question and I understand. He may be nearing retirement and since fear stalks incessantly, he probably wants to be careful. I reminded him that the Town Council in times past had a most cordial relationship with his office and I have fears that the prompt payments for the cash-strapped Council will be curtailed.
He assuaged the situation by asking that we wait and see and not prejudge. Well we are in the month of March and even though an advance was received in early December 2009, no bridge payments have been made for 2010 thus far.
My question again is what was so wrong that the Secretariat’s accounting work located 65 miles away in Linden could not run independently? Can’t subsidiaries operate separate accounts and then consolidate at the end of the financial year? This obsession with control stifles initiatives and will lead to the demise of the entity. On the way towards that state, someone will jump in and put a local crony to administer. The little czars then take on mighty wings throw their weights around. I see this happening all the time. Once again I am saying that “people got to get serious and object to this dotishness as these things are eroding the fabric of what constitutes a sense of purpose and readiness for local management in our communities”.  This thing is a psychological and physical defilement that reduces you to second class subjects. It is sad that people just quietly settle in to the new order waiting for the next travesty.
The Linmine constabulary in 2009 brought in over $1million in three contracts from business entities in Linden. For some cerebral, high reasoning these contracts were severed as a decision was made to reduce the strength of the constabulary. I always held the view that based on what I have seen is that no one in the decision-making cabal in Georgetown cares much for the assets, and operations here in Linden. How can you explain then the cessation of these contracts which help reduce expenses by $1million each month? The bad part of all of this is these contracts have now gone to a Georgetown based security company which now has to hire local guards. The guards are not very highly remunerated and so the “hog” of the money will now leave the community. I am told that more companies were courting the secretariat for help and this was restricted.
Do you know that the CEO who once sold millions of dollars $US in bauxite for the nation has been reduced to a manager of $200,000? This is the amount of money he has as petty cash to manage his entire operations. The ‘boys’ at NICIL have reduced him to that. This effrontery knows no limit. In my younger student days I would have had a colourful description of unparliamentary language to describe this gross ‘eye-pass’. As a man there should be a limit to the amount of disrespect a man should accept. Imagine from this petty cash imprest, the CEO has to juggle with deciding to buy four brand new tyres for the constabulary vehicles which have been running on smooth for months. A constable showed this to me and I asked the Chief Security Officer, Mr. Nedd who sheepishly said it was indeed like that but what can he do.
I understand him too because if anybody steals from the system and they do not respond because of the state of the vehicles, the big boys will send everyone home. I am saying this is reason to go to war against the injustices.
I am not finished yet. Mr. Patrick Dublin and his team are the best this country has in electrical line management in Guyana. They are a part of the Linmine Secretariat in the Linden Electricity Inc (LEI). I am ready to challenge anyone on this. There is housing expansion in the Amelia’s Ward in Linden. Dublin and the boys helped big time and provided power for almost all the people. In comes the Rural Electrification programme and I challenged the young engineer to ensure that our local boys get involved.
The young engineer was receptive and the two met and I was there for the initial discussions. Imagine my consternation when I found out that the contract was given to GPL which subcontracted a part of the contract to the LEI for $9 million. Again the hog of the contract for an additional $60 million odd went external to the community when we have the skill to do the work.
Dublin and his team had to plant over 300 poles which is the major part of the work. The lines, contactors and transformers are the major hardware which the LEI could have sourced and placed in record time. So it was the big boys who changed the order and and not the young engineer.
Do I have to say more about how they are treating us?
Orrin Gordon

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