Chief executive officer of the Estate Management Business Development Company (EMBD) Gary Parmassar was sent on administrative leave, pending a financial audit into the awarding of $400 million worth of contracts at the State-owned company.
Yesterday, in an exchange of text messages with the Sunday Guardian, Agriculture Minister Clarence Rambharat confirmed that on Friday “Parmassar proceeded on leave by agreement with the company’s board of directors.”
Rambharat revealed that auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers “has been engaged to conduct a comprehensive audit on certain multi-million dollar construction contracts awarded by the EMBD in 2015. The auditors have taken possession of all electronic and paper records relating to the contracts.”
Rambharat revealed that the contracts were valued at “just over $400 million.”
The Sunday Guardian learnt that on Friday, Parmassar received a letter from EMBD’s chairman Ronnie Mohammed informing that he was to be sent on leave with full pay.
The move comes two months after managing director of the Housing Development Corporation Jearlean John and seven other managers were sent on three months leave in order to carry out an audit.
John has since challenged the matter in court.
From October 2014 to July 2015, Parmassar acted as EMBD’s CEO.
When Parmassar was appointed CEO seven months ago, he signed a three-year contract.
Yesterday, a source at the EMBD said that Parmassar was asked to hand over the laptop he used and the company’s cellphone.
Information stored on both electronic devices was copied by the auditors. The cellphone was returned to Parmassar late Friday.
Parmassar was also escorted out of the EMBD’s office in Valsayn by security guards and told not to return to work until the auditors concluded their investigation.
Former minister of housing and urban development Dr Roodal Moonilal, under whose purview EMBD fell, said moves by the People’s National Movement to send contracted employees on leave were becoming habitual and consistent.
Moonilal said the party was clueless as to how to go forward or how to beat the challenges of the economic times.
In the coming days, Moonilal said, he would raise the matter in Parliament, in particular the selection of auditing companies by the PNM and “the role one minister in particular has been playing in the selection of the auditing companies.”
Moonilal said once employees are sent on leave this tarnishes their reputation and undermines their future employment prospects.