Top housing official disappears as scrap metal probe deepens

Dec 20, 2015 News

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A top housing official has apparently quit his job and is nowhere to be found despite being wanted by the

police for questioning in connection with a state-sanctioned probe of the scrap metal trade.
According to Government officials, the police have gone to the Leonora home of Taslim Baksh, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Central Housing and Planning Authority (CH&PA) but could not locate him.
CH&PA is the operational arm of the Ministry of Housing.
Baksh was a top housing man under the previous administration, reporting to Housing Minister, Irfaan Ali.
He was in charge of overseeing the construction of hundreds of Government-built homes on the East Bank of Demerara, from Eccles to Providence, including some of the low-cost ones.
There have been questions about procurement of materials for those homes.
Baksh was also charged with overseeing the operations of the Scrap Metal Unit, which was tasked with regulating the scrap metal trade.
Upon entering office in May, the David Granger administration announced that it found almost $200M sitting in an account at a private commercial bank, in the name of the Scrap Metal Unit.
After noticing a number of suspicious activities, the account was frozen and the matter handed over by Minister Keith Scott to the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU).
Baksh was blacklisted from leaving Guyana pending the outcome of the investigations.
According to one Government official, Baksh between July and August had requested leave but was

refused by the Ministry of Housing. His four-year contract expires in 2017.
He was written to by CH&PA asking him to explain why he was paying Ministry of Housing staffers from the bank account of the Scrap Metal Unit.
However, from September, Baksh started sending in a number of medical certificates, having reported sick.
SARU, in its investigations, found a number of other transactions it wanted the CFO to explain.
Police reportedly said that they visited the Seafield, Leonora home on West Coast Demerara, and another property he owns in Lamaha Gardens, in the city, but could not locate him.
The running of the unit was closely controlled by the former Minister Ali and his CFO.
It was handling significant sums—- from $35,000 to $60,000 for 20-foot and 40-foot containers being exported by scrap metal dealers.
Before the suspension of the trade earlier this year, almost 25 dealers across the country were involved in the trade with some of them shipping scores of containers monthly.
The suspension in June left 42 containers of scrap metal on the city wharves.
Not many staffers at CH&PA were said to be aware of the workings of the unit which fell directly under the control of former Minister Ali and Shaik Baksh.
Investigators were convinced that there was corruption in the handling of the scrap metal trade. The trade has been lucrative for hundreds of entrepreneurs who employed a significant number of persons. In 2012, some 32,000 tons of metal was exported from the country.
It has not been without controversy.

It was reported earlier this year that the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officials co-operated with Greek police to smash a drug ring attempting to smuggle cocaine from South America into Europe.
Authorities arrested three suspects accused of having used a scrap metal import business as a front to disguise their operations. The suspects allegedly first shipped containers with scrap metal from Guyana to a rented warehouse in Aspropyrgos, west of Athens.
Baksh, in his early 30s, himself, was under scrutiny for reportedly owning a number of properties, including the one at Lamaha Gardens, Bel Air.
He and his brother, Khalid Baksh, acquired that one in 2013 paying $52M–borrowing $50M from commercial bank and putting in $2M. That property is reportedly being rented to diplomats.
Baksh was reportedly also being paid hundreds of thousands for overseeing the annual housing expo which was halted this year amidst questions from the new government about multi-million-dollar advertising and other contracts granted to a few companies.
Baksh’s payments would be in addition to what he was getting as a CFO.
Kaieteur News understands that in December 2012, the Donald Ramotar Cabinet gave instructions for the Scrap Metal Unit to be placed under Ali’s charge.
The instructions were signed by former Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon.
While under the direct control of Ali, the unit’s daily operations were left to CH&PA Director of Finance, Taslim Baksh.
Baksh, in addition to his salary at CH&PA, was supposed to receive a ‘stipend’. The unit was allowed to purchase pickups and pay other expenses and use staffers from CH&PA.
What was strange about the Cabinet’s decision was that it also authorized the transfer of the bank account of the Scrap Metal Unit from Bank of Guyana to a private commercial bank.
It was highly unusual for this to be done, an official close to the investigations said.
The scrap metal trade had been under the jurisdiction of former Prime Minister, Sam Hinds, but alleged irregularities into the trade saw it being halted after utilities companies and other stakeholders complained that copper was being stolen from telephone cables.
The Scrap Metal Unit had come into existence to address the concerns of Government.

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