– dismissals not linked to polygraph tests, Ghir says
An undisclosed number of employees attached to the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) and agencies that operate within the airport were dismissed shortly after polygraph testing was conducted.

Ramesh Ghir, the airport’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), last evening admitted that employees both attached directly to CJIA and to agencies that operate within the airport took polygraph tests recently. Reports indicated that these persons were dismissed after they failed the test.

However, Ghir stressed that the results of those polygraph tests had nothing to do with the recent dismissal of employees.

The polygraph testing, according to him, was not conducted at CJIA and employees were dismissed for various other reasons. Breach of organizational policies, rules and guidelines were among the reasons for dismissals, he said.

Insisting that there was no correlation between negative polygraph results and the dismissal of employees, the CEO said that this was not the first time CJIA and the agencies were dismissing employees. Dismissals, Ghir said, have been happening for a number of years. Those employees recently dismissed, he said, have been “paid all their benefits”.

Over the last few years the rise in narcotic trafficking at CJIA had raised questions as to whether there was collusion between airport staff and drug traffickers.

Questioned about whether the recent dismissals were linked to any such evidence, Ghir said that CJIA has not fired anyone for such a reason.

“I cannot speak for any agency and whether they have fired staff for that reason but at our end [CJIA] we have not fired anyone for a reason along that line,” Ghir stated declining to comment further.

Stabroek News was unable to ascertain how many employees, directly attached to the airport, were dismissed and which of the agencies that operate within CJIA had fired staff.