General Manager of the Demerara Habour Bridge, Rawlston Adams, who also heads the Asphalt Plant allegedly used $897,000 of the companies’ financial resources to gift himself a bracelet for 2019 International Men’s Day, an audit into the operations of the plant has revealed.
According to the report, which was compiled by a four member team led by Chartered Accountant, Chateram Ramdihal, Adams approved the purchase himself, although established protocols stipulates that the purchase of gifts must be approved by the board.
“The Asphalt Plant along with the Demerara Harbour Bridge purchased in November 2019, a bracelet for the General Manager at the approval of the General Manager to the value of Eight Hundred and Ninety-Seven Thousand Guyana Dollars (G$897,000) as a gift for International Men’s Day,” the investigative team disclosed. Due to the lack of independent approval, the Ramdihal-led team said that the actions of the General Manager amounts to misuse of the plant’s funds for personal gain.
The gift was purchased by the General Manager, although the Board of Directors, at a meeting held in August 2016, had made it a policy that gifts, donations and staff incentives must be approved by the Board.
Gifts were also purchased for all other men within the corporation, however, at a cost of $10,000 each to mark the occasion of International Men’s Day.
In response to the concern raised, the General Manager had this to say: “Gifts were given to all men within the organisation. This is the standard practice in the organization.”
But the reporting team told the Ministry of Public Infrastructure that the Management of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation and Asphalt Plant should ensure that the policies of the plant are adhered to at all times.
“Management should ensure that gifts to employees are done in accordance with generally accepted principles and at arm’s length,” the team said.
