[www.inewsguyana.com] – Chief Executive Officer of the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Lionel Wordsworth has confirmed that he will be proceeding on accumulated vacation leave of 308 days commencing on Tuesday, July 07.
He says this was done voluntarily to facilitate an on-going audit of the NDIA and is much welcomed after he failed to garner any substantial leave for several years.
Wordsworth says he is not worried about the impending findings of the audit and while on leave, he will be available to provide any clarification and information required.
In response to reports about delayed projects at the NDIA, he admitted his dissatisfaction with the non-performance of some suppliers and contractors. He further indicated that, it was him as the CEO who conducted performance factory testing overseas on the Surendra Pumps and stood his professional ground and reject components of the pumps that were not compliant to specifications and due to this, the supplier had to re-manufacture those components that resulted in delays.
Due to non-performance and non-supply of spares, the NDIA terminated the contract in 2014. Regarding the delay in the completion of the Hope Canal, he said this largely has to do with the contractor for the eight-gate high level discharge sluice. At every project progress evaluation meeting, the findings and report on this project has always been given to the Ministry of Agriculture, he pointed out.
It should be noted that the Auditor General recently conducted a complete audit on the allegations made by NDIA former field auditor and has cleared those against the NDIA Head, contrary to reports in sections of the media, according to a former NDIA Board Director.
Meanwhile, the CEO is expected to return to active duty following the completion of his entitled vacation leave. Also, the entity is one of the many agencies being audited by the new government.
Moderator one other point.The leave is not voluntary this is accumulated leave.The ultimate decision to give him all that leave lies with his boss who is the Minister of Agriculture.
I trust that the Minister can give him that leave in parcels. If you can do without him for 308 days then u dont need him.
It is only when ppl are protective of their turf and have side issues that they will park their leave. I believe that this leave delay was a conspiracy to take control over the big contracts. 308 days leave What a shame. I suppose that he is not the only one who would have accumulated such leave.
What is more intriguing is that the CEO was the point of raised eyebrows on his capacity to buy a 60 million dollar house while working only 60 – 200 thousand dollars a month, or his other half.
The integrity commission did a bad job at not getting down the matter.
It is time this government get down too this quickly.
Let Surendra say how much bribes he paid to acquire the contract for the pumps and what were the market price for these pumps.