Deafening Silence of Board of Directors on Funds Belonging to State Body

The governing board of the state-owned Gravel & Concrete corporation is coming under pressure for allegedly attempting to cover up the unauthorised use of EC$ 20,000.00 from the funds of the company by a female employee.

Well-placed sources told THE NEW TODAY that the employee who is part of the Management Committee used the money without any approval from Management to engage in overseas studies in Britain.

A source familiar with the issue confirmed that the matter was discussed at the level of the Board of Directors but no decisive action was agreed upon to censure the employee for her action.

He said the manager of Gravel & Concrete Arthur Ollivierre only asked at a Board meeting to give an explanation about the $20, 000.00 that the employee managed to access without approval.

He stated that one board member has suggested that the employee should be dismissed but did not get the support of some of the others.

Speculation is rife that political considerations might have been an issue in the indecision of the Board as the employee involved is from a rural constituency in St Andrew and did support the ruling Congress party in the 2022 general election.

According to the source, some employees at the company have told the manager that he should take full blame for the money issue.

THE NEW TODAY was told that this is not the first issue involving money and this particular female employee.

The current Chairman of the Board of Gravel & Concrete is Sylvester Quarless who is currently in Canada fulfilling a diplomatic position given to him by the Congress government of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.

Gravel & Concrete has had a history of mismanagement for over 30 years under successive governments.

Ollivierre has not answered several calls made by THE NEW TODAY to his cellphone on Thursday.

In the early days of the current Congress government, several fingers were pointed at a particular Board Member of the state body for engaging in several acts of wrongdoing.

The Director is known to have gotten the company to purchase office furniture from his private company.

He has since been removed as a member of the Board of Directors.

The current line minister for Gravel & Concrete is Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell.