Two Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) employees and a judge received death threats and are concerned for their lives after whistleblowers revealed an alleged overtime and attendance fraud scheme at the authority’s Tacarigua Regional Complex site.
The judge was warned that “she could get a Dana Seetahal.”
The alleged overtime scheme, ongoing at the Tacarigua site for more than 15 years, costs taxpayers as much as $500,000 a year. Workers are also reportedly being paid for unworked shifts, with employees signing in and not performing duties. Whistleblowers alleged the scheme occurs at most WASA sites across the country, wasting millions in public funds. Whistleblowers alleged WASA executives knew about the situation and commissioned audits. An independent intelligence report was also conducted.
It found that “The TRC yard/site has become a focal point of security concerns due to ongoing issues related to shift manipulation, favouritism in overtime allocation, and escalating incidents of threats, intimidation, theft and sabotage. These activities are believed to be orchestrated by individuals using gang-like tactics to exert control over the site’s operations.
“The security situation at the TRC site represents a significant threat to personnel safety, operational integrity, and organisational reputation. Urgent action is required to address the underlying issues of misconduct, corruption, and criminal activity, and to restore confidence in the site’s security and management processes. Failure to take decisive action could have severe consequences for the organisation and its stakeholders,” the report found.
The report stated that the whistleblowers have a high score of verification and authenticity and can be trusted.
When contacted for comment, Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales said the matter is currently engaging the attention of the internal audit department of the authority.
“In light of this, it may not be prudent for me to comment at this time. The Board and the executive management of WASA continue to ensure that processes are not abused that undermine the interest of the authority and the citizens. Where such practices are discovered, I can assure you that appropriate action will be taken,” he said.
Findings of independent report on the Tacarigua scheme
Shift Manipulation: Intelligence indicates that certain individuals within the site management are manipulating shifts to favour specific employees for overtime opportunities, creating an atmosphere of favouritism and unfair practices.
Threats and Intimidation: Decision-makers, supervisors, and managers have reportedly been subjected to threats and intimidation tactics, likely in response to resistance against shift manipulation and favouritism. The situation escalated to the extent that threats were directed towards an external senior judicial executive. This poses a significant risk to the safety and security of personnel at the site. There is also alleged union involvement.
Theft, equipment abuse and sabotage
Incidents of theft, abuse of equipment, and sabotage have been reported, indicating a broader pattern of misconduct and criminal activity within the site. These actions not only compromise operational efficiency but also pose a risk to the safety of personnel and the integrity of site assets.
The report called for police intervention.
Whistleblowers claimed they were outed to the cabal by a manager. Instead of management disciplining those involved, whistleblowers were reportedly sent on leave (on the grounds of being protected) and transferred.
“I met it so more than ten years ago. Key players are in place making sure it happens because they are involved in all sorts of things—running women, blocks. That’s how they facilitate their things.
“It’s a whole clique of guys who come together. They decide who will stay home, allowing another person to work for them. And when the next week comes, the person who worked will be relieved, while the other person stays home and gets it. You could watch the roster and see a man working for however long, so a man could plan his days to suit how the roster is,” the whistleblowers said.
There are four shifts—A, B, C and D. Each week a roster is released, with each employee assigned to daily shifts of either 7 am to 3 pm, 3 pm to 11 pm, or 11 pm to 7 am. However, a group of 13 employees, led by one senior employee, allegedly manipulated the system, allowing them to rack up overtime payments.
“This is an example of how it works. C is working the night shift. B is supposed to come in the day, from 7 am to 3 pm. B then stays home, C continues working…In the evening, B is working, but C is supposed to come at night. C didn’t come in the night, so B continues working. So that’s how they are ‘dancing.’ They will do that for the month. The managers know what is going on. Just as I showed you, I showed them. They know,” whistleblowers claimed.
The overtime cabal reportedly then demanded that other employees join the dance. They started cutting into the regular shifts of other employees, affecting their salaries.
The whistleblowers said they received death threats, with one of them forced to make a police report after two men threatened him at the Tacarigua site. The whistleblowers are also allegedly subjected to intimidation tactics, with cabal members leaving back extra work for them and leaving company vehicles without diesel.
According to the whistleblowers, the managers believe that as long as enough work is completed, they don’t care what happens otherwise. The whistleblowers said employees are even paid extra duty allowances during their shifts for basic tasks.
Paper trail
Guardian Media’s Investigative Desk viewed copies of letters and emails sent to WASA managers and executives.
On April 21, 2024, a whistleblower wrote to his direct supervisor. He referred to a meeting held on March 27 where he complained about the unequal distribution of overtime at the Tacarigua site.
“The unequal distribution of overtime highlighted in the initial communication raises concerns of fairness and compliance with the Equal Opportunity Act and principles of equality in treatment. It is vital for all employees to be given equitable opportunities, especially myself. Failure to do so not only contravenes statutory obligations but also erodes the trust and confidence that workers should have in the workplace,” the whistleblower wrote.
Four days later, on April 24, he wrote again to his supervisor.
“The long and short of this matter is that both you and ***names other manager*** were always aware of the issues plaguing this department. But instead of doing what is right to ‘clean up house’ and rectify these issues, you both took the approach to sweep the issues under the rug,” he accused.
On June 13, another whistleblower wrote to WASA’s Human Resource Department, accusing the organisation of attempting to turn him from a victim to a villain after he was issued a transfer letter.
“I was sent on long vacation leave with the promise that the issues would be dealt with. I am still waiting years after initially raising the issue with…*names people*….notwithstanding, the PSA Monthly paid representative has chosen to ignore and side with management as, to date, no request has been formally made to meet and discuss this issue, while officers who are to protect the public purse seem to continue to misbehave in public office (by action or inaction) while thousands of taxpayers’ dollars continue to find its way in the pockets of the golden boys at North West Region every month…
“So, we have arrived at the most important point of this missive: the Authority has put me, *names another whistleblower* and my mother’s lives at risk. It was said, my mother ‘Could get a Dana Seetahal,’” he wrote.
On June 25, the second whistleblower was issued a transfer letter by HR from the Water Distribution (North Central) Department to the Water Distribution (South West) Department—Operations Division in the capacity of Systems Operator from June to August.
On July 2, he received another transfer letter from HR. He was instructed to report to duty at the La Horquetta Area Office—Operations Division from July until further notice.
In response, on July 3, the whistleblower wrote to management, accusing them of bias towards him and the other whistleblower.
In May 2023, a reduction in overtime memo was issued to the operations department by WASA’s then-acting Operations Division Director Shaira Ali.
“Given the mandate to effectively manage operating costs, each district is required to implement measures to reduce overtime costs with utmost urgency.
As such, further to the onboarding of the Leak Repair Contractors on Friday 26 May 2023, kindly note the following to take effect immediately—All in-house Leak Repair Crews are to complete works within normal working hours as far as possible unless PRIOR approval is granted by the CEO/Director, Operations; and Emergency works outside normal working hours will be undertaken by contractor crews,” she wrote.
In October 2021, a Cabinet sub-commitee appointed to review the operations of WASA found that the authority’s overtime bill between 2016 and 2020 was $468.3 million.
One overtime worker made a little more than $500,000 in 43 months.