Georgetown: After the conclusion of a financial audit into the spending at State owned newspaper Guyana Chronicle its Board of Directors dismissed its General Manager (GM) Sherod Duncan after an audit report found over 20 irregular and unauthorized transactions.
Reports indicate that four persons including Chair of the Board Geeta Chandan-Edmond voted for his dismissal while three others voted to keep him at the company on Tuesday.
Duncan was present in the company during the six hours meeting along with his attorney James Bond.
The investigation commenced when an online media outlet published that Ducan during his three months’ probation as GM spent unauthorized funds amounting to GUY$7M.
Being irate that someone at the company leaked financial documents to the media outlet, he summarily dismissed Finance Controller Moshamie Ramotar when the published article reported the detailed spending.
His decision to fire the Finance Controller was immediately rescinded the same day following a meeting between the Company’s chairperson and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has oversight of the Guyana Chronicle.
An investigation was subsequently ordered and Duncan was sent on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
The audit found that tender rules were breached where, under Duncan’s watch, services were procured without contracts and approvals were given for payments without the regular procedure of company stamp or signature.
Further, cash advances were given to Duncan to travel overseas but he did not clear the amounts. It was also found that the company’s personnel policy and procedures manual were ignored during the recruitment, termination and dismissal of employees.
Chateram Ramdihal Chartered Accountants Professional Services Firm, which is also known as Ramdihal and Haynes Inc, was contracted by the Auditor General to conduct a special audit on the overall management and governance of the Guyana Chronicle for the period of June 1, 2018 to September 10, 2018.
Reports also indicate that Duncan was a member of the Board of Director’s before resigning to take up the post as GM, a position he was not academically qualified to hold.
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