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Former Minister, assistant on bail for attempting to steal eight Govt. vehicles
Charged, Jennifer Westford (left) and Margaret Cummings
Former Public Service Minister, Dr. Jennifer Westford and her former Chief Personnel Officer, Margaret Cummings, were greeted with flashing lights from cameras, as they made their way into the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court yesterday to answer charges against them.
The room was solemn, even foreboding. There was a bench at the northern section of the courtroom on which two Prosecutors sat.
The Magistrate entered the courtroom and asked the former Minister to stand in the prison docks. She was attired in a grey pants suit with leopard print shoes. Her assistant and co-defendant, was attired in a black skirt suit.
Dr. Jennifer Westford was slapped with four charges of attempted larceny. She pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to her by Magistrate Ann McLennan.
The charges alleged that between July 17, 2014 and June 23, 2015, Westford attempted to transfer eight state vehicles to four persons, namely her husband, Gary Beaton, Osbert McPherson, Wayne Walker and Delroy Lewis.
The former Minister of the Public Service was placed on $200,000 bail for each charge and ordered to return to court on August 10. Westford was not alone in court.
Her former Chief Personnel Officer, Margaret Cummings, also faced charges relating to attempt to transfer state vehicles. She was charged with four counts of forgery.
Cummings pleaded not guilty to the charges which alleged that she forged documents for the purchase of the eight motor vehicles.
She was released on a total of $1.2M. She will also be returning to court on August 10.
Westford and Cummings were represented by Attorneys Eusi Anderson, Keisha Chase, Bibi Shaddick and Dexter Todd.
Westford is the first high-profile member of the former government to face corruption-related charges. The police had initially sought the DPP’s advice more than a month ago, but they were instructed to provide additional information to that which they already had.
In early June, Minister of State Joseph Harmon, had told the media that it was brought to his attention that some documents were sent to the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), purportedly signed by Permanent Secretary of the Public Service Ministry, Hydar Ally.
This was done under Ally’s letterhead, but signed by someone else. “He had no knowledge of this transaction,” Minister Harmon had stressed.
It was Ally who directed Harmon to the discrepancy in the paperwork forwarded to GRA for the transfer of eight vehicles.
In light to the overwhelming evidence, the vehicles were returned to the government.
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