Auditor General cites Ramsammy over advance from hospital
-repaid $120,000 one year later and only when reminded
By Samantha Alleyne
Stabroek News
April 27, 2003
The Auditor General says Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, was wrong to borrow $120,000 from the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) for personal expenses.
The Auditor General's office also found that Ramsammy had "failed to keep his promise which was to repay the advance on receipt of his allowances. In fact, he had to be reminded that he had an outstanding liability to the GPHC before he repaid it."
While not denying that the hospital had loaned him $120,000 on August 7, 2001, Ramsammy told Stabroek News that he was forced to turn to the hospital after he had taken money from his salary to pay three of its employees.
He said the workers had been employed for almost three months but were not paid their salaries and he was forced to help them out. He said that usually when a person was employed in the public service they were not paid their salaries immediately.
"It is not true that I borrowed money to pay my son's school fees..." the minister said. And he said it was not unusual for him to take money from his pocket to pay employees as he did it "all the time."
The Office of the Auditor General had launched an investigation into the incident as a result of a letter received from the Chairperson of the Board of the GPHC.
The board had requested that the Auditor General's Office investigate an allegation made by the former Director of Financial Services (DFS).
The report from the Auditor General's office stated that the DFS said Dr Ramsammy had requested a salary advance of $120,000 from GPHC when he was not an employee of the hospital and therefore he was not entitled to an interest free loan.
It was further stated that he promised to repay the loan upon receipt of his allowance but did not repay it until a year later on July 16, 2002 when he was reminded of his outstanding liability by the DFS.
The Auditor General's report recommended that "all advances issued by the GPHC must be in connection with work of that institution and must be properly authorised before issue. In addition, advances must only be issued to employees of the GPHC."
Meanwhile, the PNCR at a press briefing last week called on President Bharrat Jagdeo to act on Dr Ramsammy's "hospital scandal."
The party recommended that the minister should be removed in the public interest and the matter should be placed in the hands of the Director of Public Prosecution. "The failure to act would contribute to the atmosphere of lawlessness that pervades the country."
The party noted that the Auditor General in his report had seriously implicated Dr Ramsammy "for grievous wrongdoing, but the government is refusing to act."
"Part of the Auditor General's function is to monitor proper management of national resources. It is expected that in cases where the Auditor General finds that there was impropriety there will be firm action in accordance with the law. In cases where public officials seriously breach established financial procedures it is also expected that they will be dealt with."
In a handwritten note to `Mike', supposedly the Chief Executive Office of GPHC, Michael Khan, Dr Ramsammy said he was waiting on the Presidential Secretariat to work out his allowances: "But I have to pay the bank today for my son's school... Could you arrange for me to get $120,000 in part payment of my allowance until I get mine and will be refunded back to you."
In a telephone interview with the Stabroek News, Dr Ramsammy said he was forced to write to the hospital after he took his own money to pay the workers.
According to him he had written the note because he needed the money to be refunded because he needed it to take care of some personal expenses.
Ramsammy said that in the note he had stated that he was not pressing for the money but he needed it to pay his son's school fees, among other things.
He said he had informed the hospital officials that he could make the money available back to them after he got his salary.
He said that he had expected that when the workers he had paid had received their salaries they would have repaid him.
However, according to him as soon as the workers received their salaries they left the job without repaying him.
"They left owing money to me and also to the hospital..." and he was forced to repay the money to the hospital from his own pocket later.
He pointed out that no one had contacted him when the allegation was made adding that if they had he would have been able to explain the situation.
He disclosed that he was always in the habit of taking money from his pocket to do numerous things in relation to the ministry.
He gave an instance where a pathologist was employed by the hospital for a short period of time and was not paid his money.
"After he kept coming to the ministry for his money I became embarrassed and paid him and until now I have not got that money back."
Another instance mentioned by Ramsammy was when he reportedly gave money to some persons that were being sponsored by the government to visit a Caribbean country because of a sick person. He said to hasten the persons' travel he had given them money he had at his home and was still waiting for that to be refunded.
"I am willing to go the extra mile; some people would not believe me but it is true. Imagine after two years of being minister I am still to get one pay cheque that I could use for my own. Sometimes I get back the money I spent and other times I don't." He mentioned the incident in relation to his driver who was on the hospital's payroll and receiving a $30,000 allowance from parliament.
The minister said that he was aware that the situation had to be rectified but said that his driver worked seven days a week and sometimes three to four days he was not at home. He said that $30,000 would not be enough for his driver who worked long hours.
