Guyana Civil Aviation Autho-rity (GCAA) employees are to begin receiving the promised $18 million payout today after it gained Cabinet’s nod last week.
The matter was taken to Cabinet after Minister of Transport Robeson Benn halted the payout, citing non-approval from him and Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh as well as the fact that the authority’s ability to pay would have to be taken into consideration.
As a result, some employees staged a sickout in protest. They subsequently returned to work and were awaiting word on the status of the payout. This newspaper was informed that cheques would be distributed today.
Meanwhile, the GCAA is to undergo an audit, which this newspaper understands, has received approval from Benn.
A source told Stabroek News that there are many issues involving the body’s directorate and its inefficiencies. According to reports, there has not been a fully constituted board meeting over the past two years and this is of some concern to Benn. The source said just recently, a director was found to have a computer belonging to the authority in his possession. This newspaper was told that the computer was among a number of others purchased strictly for the authority. The director has since been made to pay for the computer.
The GCAA board, this newspaper understands, has not been meeting on a regular basis and when meetings are called many of the directors would absent themselves.
Stabroek News understands too that a GCAA director was asked to apply for his vacation leave, but was unable to ascertain whether this was directly related to inefficiencies at the level of the board. The internal audit is expected to start sometime this week and it was not clear whether the leave had been approved.
The source said attention would have to be paid to the GCAA’s restructuring plan, which has been lying around for the last two years. The plan, this newspaper was told, includes, among other things, revenue-saving measures that the authority could employ.
Meanwhile, GCAA employees started yesterday to move to Farley House, in Kingston from where they will operate, which would save the authority money. The source said the move was recommended by Benn as a cost-cutting measure.
