Press Release

(October 5, 2020) – Honourable Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan A. Edghill; who was accompanied by Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Honourable Deodat Indar, and the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Kenneth Jordan, yesterday appointed a High-Level Team to investigate the allegations on the misappropriations in the Management and reselling of Government’s asphalt and it’s connection to the Ministry of Public Works internal staff.

It was announced that Mr. Chateram Ramdihal has been named the team leader, while the other team members are; Ms. Heidi Gillette, Mr. Brion Singh, and Mr. Dexter Smith.

The Team is expected to conduct a thorough investigation back dating from 2013 to present. The investigation is expected to be completed within one months’ time.

Amongst other things discussed, the Team is tasked to:

1. Investigate the veracity of the allegations.

2. Examine the systems at the Plant.

3. Find out its reliability and weaknesses which would allow for malpractices to be capitalized on.

4. We must determine culpability and appropriate penalty to be meted out to those involved.

5. Provide recommendations on a way forward.

Hon. Bishop 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. Minister Edghill strongly posited that at the end of this entire investigation we must ensure that we have a unanimous report and there is no more hemorrhage of the public’s purse.

According to Minister Edghill this special investigation into the operations of the Asphalt Plant emanated from reading an article in the Kaieteur Newspaper which sent a strong message that persons at the Asphalt Plant and the Ministry are reselling asphalt sold to the Government of Guyana for their own benefit. More so, Minister Edghill said, “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.”

Further Minister Indar noted that the team must be transparent with each other so as to bring everything together and have a holistic approach in bringing the evidence to the forefront.

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

The Team comes with a wealth of experience and knowledge in engineering and auditing.

Please see the Team’s experience and qualifications below:

1. Mr. 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 from the University of Guyana

• 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