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Foreign Company using insider information to underbid locals
…Operations Manager wanted by Interpol for sex crimes
Kaieteur News – There has been an escalating public debate over the proliferation of foreign companies into Guyana, especially in the absence of any Local Content provisions or protective legislation.
Operations Manager, wanted man, Hewett Alleyne
Questionable practices are perceived to be largely overlooked as is evidenced with the accusations being leveled against at least one Trinidadian based company operating in Guyana called Europa Guyana Inc.
A quick google search and a perusal of public reports locally and regionally revealed its Operations Manager was at least up to 2010, listed on the International Police’s (Interpol) ‘most wanted’ list, for sex crimes allegedly perpetrated against underage girls in a number of Caribbean Islands.
According to reports reaching this publication, the official is now being accused of allegedly using ‘insider information,’ in order to scoop up multi-million contracts for the Trinidadian Company by underbidding locals.
Investigations by this publication have found that the Operations Manager was up to at least 18 months ago, working in a similar capacity at one of Guyana’s leading janitorial service providers.
According to allegations being made by at least one such local service provider, Europa Guyana Inc. has since employed as its operations manager, Hewett Alleyne—a man wanted by the Interpol.
He is currently listed as the contact person for the company at a @europa-services.co.tt email address, along with a local contact number for its Duncan Street, Georgetown Office.
Alleyne up until recently, in his capacity as Operations Manager for a local janitorial services company, was responsible for overseeing the company’s services being offered to a number of companies including the United Nations and some of the local oil companies that have set up operations locally.
According to the allegations being levelled against the company and its Operations Manager, it has in recent past been using internal, confidential information, obtained through collusion with employees within the local companies, in order to secure bid information.
This publication understands that the company with which he last worked is presently investigating internally, some of its employees that the principals suspect, “might be passing inside information to Mr. Alleyne.”
This publication understands, once obtained by Alleyne, the T&T Company is then in a position to underbid local competitors.
According to an official at one such local company who spoke with his publication on the condition of anonymity, this has been the practice of late, with “a number of contracts that had previously been done by local companies now being handed en masse to this foreign company through this practice.”
One such large contract was recently lost by a prominent local company was for services provided to the United Nation’s for its United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) building in Duke Street, Kingston.
While Guyana’s draft Local Content Policy contains provisions, which encourage joint venture partnerships between citizens and foreign companies, there is the view that it must ensure that there is adequate protection to prevent Guyanese from being “rented” or used as “window dressing.”
To this end, stakeholders are now calling on relevant authorities to look into issues such as the abuse of the procurement and other systems by foreign companies operating in Guyana.
Europa on its social media platform presents itself as “one of the largest, privately owned facilities management companies serving the Commercial and Corporate sector. We have with over 300 committed people who make a difference to your service standards every day.”
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