| Head of the National Frequency Management Unit (NFMU), Valmiki Singh, is claiming that he deserves the millions of dollars he received as payment in lieu of leave.Valmiki SinghThe forensic audit report had cited numerous areas where Singh was found to be in breach of financial laws.Based on its examination of the employees’ personal records at NFMU, forensic auditors found for example, that there was “gross abuse” regarding the annual leave system.In the audit report, the forensic team from Ram and McRae said that records show that Singh sought and obtained payment for leave not taken over an 11-year period.The auditors said that the NFMU Head did so less than two weeks before the May 11, 2015 elections. At that time,NFL Jerseys China Online, they said that he wrote a letter to Dr. Roger Luncheon, former Head of the Presidential Secretariat, requesting payment for what he claimed to be 326 leave days accumulated over the years between January 2004 and December 2014.They said that attached to the letter was a computation of Singh’s outstanding leave days which was prepared by the NFMU’s Finance Controller.The auditors however, noted that the unavailability of documented application and approval of the leave carryover prevented any effort to verify the accuracy of the number of accumulated leave days.The forensic auditing team said that under the Public Service Rules, leave may be deferred and added to the following year’s vacation. The deferral was “required in writing”.Dr. Luncheon approved Singh’s request via letter dated April 30, 2015 and a total of $6.7 million was remitted to Mr. Singh after income tax totaling $2.9 million was deducted from the gross amount of $9.6 million.The auditors said that it is considered dangerous to the organization as well as unhealthy for individuals, particularly those in a position of trust and responsibility, not to take their annual leave. They therefore recommended that this practice be discontinued forthwithMinister of Public Telecommunications, Cathy Hughes, has released the responses she received from Singh on the numerous allegations outlined in the report.Singh said that Spectrum Management is a highly skilled job and requires on the job training for everyone,Wholesale Authentic Jerseys, including qualified Engineers. He said that there is a problem with attracting and keeping qualified Electrical Engineers.Singh added that the NFMU has suffered from the ‘brain drain’ that the rest of Guyana has been suffering from.He said, “In this situation,Deion Jones Falcons Jersey, the dedicated and qualified staff that remained had to ‘double-up’ to keep the agency moving along.”He continued, “From 2005-2014, annual leave was taken every year except in 2012 (I was on travel duties for about 30 days), though not the full amount. I was out of Office for approximately 25 days (annual leave+travel duties) per year for the period 2005-2014.Travel duties coupled with churn of technical staff (the MD had to provide engineering support in many cases where the staff did not have the required skills/experience) ,and exigencies of the job contributed to accumulation of annual leave. While accumulating annual leave is not desirable,Andre Branch Dolphins Jersey, the job had to be done.”Singh told the Minister that the calculation for outstanding annual leave was done by the Finance Controller, who also has responsibilities for Administration/Personnel matters,Marlon Humphrey Jersey, reviewed by the Accountant and approved by the then Head of the Presidential Secretariat. This calculation was based on records (including leave forms) that the auditors have seen.Additionally, auditors stated that if the leave had been taken at the time it was due, the NFMU would have saved approximately $3,367,206 since the leave pay was made at the current level of earnings.Singh said that it is a “norm” in Government, for payment in lieu of annual leave to be done at current salary.He said too that if he had taken leave someone would be required to act in this capacity, which means additional expenses to the agency.Further, Singh said that “the auditors have omitted to mention “that from May 2001,Fernando Rodney Jersey, Singh functioned as CEO (ag) of the NFMU for approximately 17 months without being paid extra. “No acting allowance or additional duties were paid for 17 months.”It was stated that at the time of taking, Singh’s gross salary was approximately 24% of the said CEO’s salary. |
