Corriverton Treasurer, Town Clerk asked to explain how council was misled on finances
Both the Treasurer and Town Clerk of Corriverton have been invited by the Local Government Commission (LGC) to show cause why they should not be disciplined for providing the Town Council with inaccurate information on the finances of the municipality.
According to Andrew Garnett, Deputy Chair of the LGC, an investigation conducted by the commission found that the complaints raised by the Town Council against Treasurer Ronita Griffith in May of this year had merit.
Griffith has been accused of failing to account for a $3.2 million expenditure during the fiscal year of 2017/2018 and engaging in actions which led to the loss of some $3.6 million in rates and taxes from Black Bush Rice Milling Company for the period 2007 to 2016.
In an interview with Stabroek News, Garnett explained that a systems audit found that there was no misappropriation of funds but that there was indeed a level of inaccuracy in the financial reports submitted covering the period 2010 to 2016. However the commission found that responsibility did not lie solely with the Treasurer as she was not employed at the council for the entirety of the period under review.
“The inaccurate information alleged to have been submitted was verified and the period of responsibility covered the sitting Treasurer and the Town Clerk,” he explained.
The commission has forwarded the report of its investigation conducted between May 28th and June 8th to the council and written to the two officers “to show cause, explain reason for the financial information being submitted being inaccurate and to give reasons why disciplinary action should not be taken against them.”
Additionally, the LGC intends to send a representative group of commissioners to clear the air with the Corriverton council.
“There is some misconception as to areas of authority and we see this as an opportunity to let the council understand where their jurisdiction ends and the commission’s begins,” Garnett indicated, while adding that according to the Local Government Commission Act, while a council can recommend disciplinary action, only the commission is authorised to discipline local government officers.
“The council can do preliminary investigation and recommend disciplinary action but only the commission can discipline,” he said, while stressing that the commission is hoping to maintain an amicable relationship with the Corriverton Council and all other Local Government Authorities with which it must work.
The Council at its last statutory meeting in May took a decision to send the Treasurer on administrative leave to facilitate an investigation into the accusations against her but the LGC refused to ratify the decision.
According to Garnett, the commission saw no reason to send Griffith off the job. He dismissed attempts to equate the situation with that of Georgetown, where Town Clerk Royston King was sent on Administrative leave to facilitate an investigation into his management of the city’s affairs.
“It was a different matter,” he maintained.
In a public statement at the time of the council’s decision, Mayor Winston Roberts stated that the Town Council had decided to send Griffith on administrative leave pending an investigation into alleged “gross incompetence, misleading the council and failure to accurately account for an expenditure.”
“As a direct result of the municipal treasurer’s actions, the council spent money that it never had in 2017/2018 and now finds itself in a deficit of $3.2 million for the year 2019.
“This will adversely affect the execution of projects and the delivery of services by the council,” the statement explained. Roberts went on to state that the irregularities were discovered in February after an examination of the council’s record.
He stressed then when approached for an explanation, the Treasurer gave several explanations, including that the sum of $3.2 million was utilised to purchase a skid steer in the year 2016.
“However, the records of the council that were prepared by the treasurer show no such expenditure in the year 2016,”the statement added.