PAEC probes $8M Plipdeco cranes

QUESTIONS are being asked about the controversial purchase of two cranes owned by the Point Lisas Industrial Development Company (Plipdeco). The parliamentary Public Accounts (Enterprises) Comm-ittee (PAEC), chaired by Opposition Senator Wade Mark, yesterday at the Red House held a public hearing into the acquisitions. Former Plipdeco president, Neil Rollinson, appeared before the PAEC and promised his full availability to meet the committee.

The Constitution in section 119 empowers the PAEC to monitor the accounts of any State Enterprise, plus any relevant reports by the Auditor-General. Attending yesterday’s meeting were PAEC members Wade Mark, Mary King, Hamza Rafeeq, and Hedwige Bereaux. The PAEC heard that Plipdeco’s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, (PWC) had sent Plipdeco a management letter dated 16 April 2004 expressing concern about Plipdeco’s statement of accounts for the year ending December 2002. The PWC letter said: “Docu-mentation of all the relevant issues involving the purchase of the crane was not as comprehensive as expected for such a significant decision”.

The two cranes had respectively cost US$2.5 million and US$5.9 million. A previous media report described one of the cranes as “foreign used” and partially-rusted, and said it eventually broke down at Plipdeco. Rollinson promised to attend future hearings of the PAEC.  He was presently unable to supply full documentation to the PAEC, having instead given it to the auditors, Ernst and Young, who were currently conducting a forensic investigation. PAEC chairman, Wade Mark, vowed to apply to the Ministry of Finance for a copy of the forensic report. The Committee is due to interview several top officials of Plipdeco and PWC at its next public hearing. Plipdeco is chaired by Kayam Mohammed.