Team appointed to investigate major racket at Asphalt plant

The Ministry of Public Works has appointed a team of four persons to investigate misappropriations in the management and reselling of Government’s asphalt and the connection it has to the internal staff of the Ministry of Public Works.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Ministry said the team is led by Mr Chateram Ramdihal while the other team members are; Ms Heidi Gillette, Mr Brion Singh, and Mr Dexter Smith.

The team comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge in engineering and auditing, the Ministry posited.

The allegations of corruption at the Asphalt Plant were first reported in the press; issues surround the resale of asphalt being purchased by the Government for road works to select contractors.

According to Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, the media reports prompted the investigation. “As the subject Minister, I think this warrants closure and one of the ways we can do this, is by being objective in examining what was said without prejudice, with a clean eye, and ensuring that we have the necessary facts,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.

The investigation will examine from 2013 to present and has a one-month timeline.

The team is tasked to investigate the veracity of the allegations, examine the systems at the Plant and find out its reliability and weaknesses which would allow for malpractices to be capitalized on. They also have to determine culpability and appropriate penalty to be meted out to those involved and provide recommendations on a way forward.

Edghill charged the team to examine all aspects of the Corporation so as to get down to the last strand of detail as it relates to the allegations highlighted.

At the end of the investigation, “we must ensure that we have a unanimous report and there is no more haemorrhage of the public’s purse,” the minister was quoted.

For persons who are interested in reaching out to the team, you are kindly asked to contact them via email on audashptgy@gmail.com.

Please see the Team’s experience and qualifications below as released by the Ministry.

1. Chateram Ramdihal – Team Leader

His wealth of experience was accumulated having worked as:

• An Auditor at the Office of the Auditor General
• Chief Accountant with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, National Sports Commission
• Finance and Ticketing Manager at Guyana World Cup Inc. Cricket World Cup 2007.
• Chief Executive Officer at Cacique Inc.
• Audit Manager at Maurice Solomon & Co. and Ram & McRae

Mr. Ramdihal is a member of:

• The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA)
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Guyana (ICAG)
• The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)

He is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Audit Partner of his own accounting and auditing firm, CHATERAM RAMDIHAL, Chartered Accountants, Professional Services Firm.

Ms. Heidi Gillette – Team Member

• Fellow Guyana Association of Professional Engineer
• Certified Project Management Professional
• Over 20 years’ experience in Construction Management
• Current Head of Inspectorate Division at the Ministry of Public Works

Brion Singh – Team Member

• Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from Australian Institute of Business
• BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Guyana
• Project Management Professional (PMP) from Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Technical Diploma in Building and Civil Engineer from the Government Technical Institute (GTI)
• Over 10 years of senior management experience in public sector of which 8 years was at the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation.

Dexter Smith – Team Member

• Bsc in Accounting
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• International Certification is Supply Chain Management
• 2011 to present: Audit Manager, Ministry of Public Works
• March 2009 -2011, June 2002- 2006, Audit Senior/ Supervisor at Bank DIH Limited
• October 2008- March – March 2009, Internal Auditor/ Office Manager, Tiger Wood Guyana Limited
• June 2006- July 2008 – Inspector of Taxes in the Audit and verification Division, Guyana Revenue Authority

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