Seven postal workers likely to be charged
By Nigel Williams
Stabroek News
November 26, 2002
A Guyana Post Office Corporation (GPOC) official says that police are likely to lay charges against seven postal officials who have been implicated in the Old Age Pension Scam.
The scam which involved the printing and cashing of fake vouchers by postal employees and senior officers within the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is estimated to have cost the government $34M from May to September.
Assistant Postmaster General, Leon Dickson told this newspaper yesterday that the seven officers have been under strict police surveillance for sometime now and were being required to report at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters on a daily basis. Dickson said the Post Office has since completed its investigations and the findings and other relevant information have been handed over to the police and the Auditor General’s Department. Dickson could not say when charges would be laid, but hinted that the seven interdicted officers are likely to face criminal charges.
Stabroek News understands also that three social workers from the Human Services Ministry also required to report to CID headquarters on a daily basis are likely to be charged as well.
The GPOC had earlier interdicted 23 postal officials from 15 post offices countrywide, but subsequently ten of them were reinstated, seven handed over to the police and the others either absented themselves from duty or left the country. The Guyana Police Force, according to Assistant Superintendent David Ramnarine, is awaiting the report from the Auditor General’s Department after which specific charges would be laid.
Prime Minister Samuel Hinds sharply criticised all those who were implicated at a recent retreat held by the corporation.
The GPOC had launched an internal investigation to determine the level of fraudulent practice involved in the payment of Old Age Pension vouchers a little over a month ago. The GPOC has been for several years the agency for the encashment and payment of old age pensions. However, previous to this year it was responsible for among other things the distribution of pension booklets and the payment of vouchers. In January this year Minister within the Ministry of Human Services, Bibi Shadick had introduced a new system whereby social workers were responsible for the distribution of the booklets. She had said that the old system was flawed and the list heavily padded.
GPOC investigations had revealed that a large quantity of fake pension vouchers were paid at various post offices across the country. The GPOC findings had also revealed that the coupons were printed through an illegal source by persons unknown and through an elaborate distribution system the coupons reached employees at 15 post offices.
The GPOC management had said the unavailability of specimen coupons and the non-release of the security features for the voucher to postmasters was one of the reasons why the scam prospered. This had sparked a verbal battle between Shadick and GPOC chairman Bishop Juan Edghill over whether the specimens were requested by the corporation.
