T&T firm collected over $9M from Asphalt Plant before it was registered

THE management of the state-owned Asphalt Plant had paid millions of dollars in advance to a Trinidadian company, even before it was legally registered to conduct business. This was one of the many damning findings of a probe into allegations of corruption at the plant, which is a subsidiary of the Demerara Harbour Bridge Corporation, headed by Rawlston Adams.
Moments before handing over the official report, chairperson of the investigative team, Chateram Ramdihal provided a summary of his findings, where he indicated that in addition to asphalt, the plant ventured into selling Cold Mix, and was purchasing from a questionable Trinidadian company.

More specifically, Ramdihal said that the plant had paid an advance of more than $9M to the Trinidadian firm in 2015, even though the business was only registered the following year – 2016. This has led to presumptions that the management of the asphalt plant might have financed the start-up of the Trinidadian company in the first place.
“We noted that the decision to start to purchase and sell Cold Mix was not done in the right manner in terms of a feasibility study was not done,” Ramdihal said.

According to Ramdihal, there were also missing credit policies, and in some cases, none at all. Investigations found too that no credit approval limit was set for customers.
It was also found that the trucks were being loaded at the Asphalt Plant in Garden of Eden, East Bank Demerara but would only be weighed at the Demerara Harbour Bridge in Peter’s Hall, East Bank Demerara, a total of 10 miles apart. The investigative team pinpointed this procedure as being deeply flawed, creating avenues for asphalt to be removed from the trucks along the way.

In another instance, it was found that the cost associated with weighing the asphalt at the DHB was higher when compared to weighing it nearby at an available scale.
Among the inefficiencies and malpractices highlighted in the report, was the disposal of scrap metal, which was not done through the required bidding process.
Upon receiving the report, Senior Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, described the findings as ‘damning’, assuring that disciplinary actions would be taken against errant officers, so as to put an end to the “hemorrhaging of the public purse.”

“The commitment that we have is to ensure that the harsh criticisms that came from the AG’s (Auditor General) harsh report of 2019, is not repeated on our watch. Systems must be followed… every time a project is being implemented, we must get value for money,” Edghill said.
The minister also commended the efforts of the whistleblower, whose initial allegations led to an investigation of the entity. The investigations examined systems and documents dating back to 2013.
“Invite staff of all the agencies – if you have information of wrongdoing and things that has to be cleaned up, come to us,” Edghill encouraged.

Meanwhile, Junior Minister of Public Works, Deodat Indar, commended the investigative team for a job well done, noting that corrective measures will be instituted.
The investigative team also comprised engineer, Heidi Gillette; Internal Auditor, Dexter Smith; Engineer, Brion Singh; Assistant, Saudiya Hack.