AG suspects $½ M fuel fraud
(CNS): A new report from the Office of the Auditor General has revealed that an estimated $500,000 could have been obtained by public sector workers fraudulently as a result of misuse of the government’s fuel station in North Sound Road. Dan Duguay and his team found that over 30% of the transactions reviewed were suspicious and at least 25% of transactions charged at the fuel station were not for government purposes. The report also revealed that a significant number of the cards issued to civil servants to gain access to fuel were being held by people who had resigned from government. With little or no control over the system, Duguay says it has been severely abused, causing significant loss to the government purse.
"The lack of effective controls, the ineffectiveness of management review and the high number of suspicious transactions are all red flags of possible fraud in the system of fuel disbursement," the AG stated. "This, along with the high number of people who should not have had access to the system, led the Office of the Auditor General to conclude that there was a very high probability that there has been significant fraud in the government fuel distribution system."
Although he said it was not possible to give an exact figure, the office had estimated the problem to be in excess of $500,000 of fuel each year being used for non-government purposes. He said that his office had recommended government review polices and controls over fuel distribution as soon as possible.
The potential fraud and abuse of public money came to light as the result of an audit by the Internal Audit Unit within the Treasury Department conducted during 2008/09. The unit examined the five biggest users of government’s fuel depot, one of which is the RCIPS. Duguay said that the report reveals that practically every control in place to monitor usage has been circumvented or inadequately controlled
The fuel management system used at the Department of Vehicle and Equipment Services is a GASBOY card, which is issued to workers who need to fuel up public vehicles. There are currently 1,600 cards in use — equivalent to one fuel card for every four individuals in the public sector However, Duguay pointed out that 25% of those cards were issued to people who had resigned but the cards were still active. There were also more than a 100 incidences of two or more cards being issued to the same employee. But as a result of those cards being passed on and around, the management had no control over who was using the cards when.
"The issue of fuel card distribution indicates a total lack of control and responsibility," Duguay noted.
Not surprisingly, Public Works, the National Roads Authority, Environmental Health, Water Authority and the police were the biggest users, accounting for almost three quarters of the fuel consumed by government. The audit found that in some cases fuel cards were being used multiple time in one day, and while there may be legitimate reasons for that, it was hard to justify when the card holder had resigned from post.
According to the internal audit, the RCIPS had 505 cards for 233 vehicles, with 141 being issued to ex-employees. In one incident a card issue to a terminated employee made 156 fuel transactions in one month, a year after that employee had left the service.
The auditor’s office pointed out that with no controls it was not possible to pinpoint who was using the card. In the management response, the RCIPS said that it notified the DVES of all terminated employees and therefore it should not be allowing the cards to be used.
Duguay noted that the absence of management controls at the DVES had created an environment where fraudulent use of fuel intended only for government use is a virtual certainty.
He said there were several red flags for that fraud, including multiple transactions on a given card in the space of one hour as well as purchases on vehicle cards that were in excess of a vehicle’s fuel capacity.
The auditor general observed that the system was well designed but it had entirely failed to function as it was not being observed by those managing it, providing the recipe for the fraud, which the office believes has occurred. Given the recommendations made by the internal audit unit, Duguay notes that the five major fuel using entities have detailed what steps they are taking to improve controls.
The auditor said, however, that more drastic steps needed to be taken to stop this potential for abuse in future and government needed to make an immediate and effective review of the overall arrangements to ensure that in future fuel paid for by government is only used by government.
Category: Headline News
where is the Governor? Is he not stepping in to addrees this high profile corruption or is he turning a blind eye too.
This is just the height of slackness. Government is showing how extremely negligent and careless they are. Where are the checks and balances?? They need to scrap this entire program and unfortunately the good will suffer for the bad. However, they can follow suit like the private sector where the employee pays for the gas themselves upfront and then request it back from Government as a reimburseable expense. I guarantee this will cut back on a lot of fraud and a lot of wasteage!!! Of course there needs to be clear rules and guidelines as to what is a reimburseable expense and the turn around time for payment for these employees should be swift.
We need to scream about this issue everyday until these people are named and shamed and made to pay back government for this "theft"!!!
I don’t think people realise what a precarious situation we are in, the big T word i.e. taxes are pretty much guaranteed to be forced upon us if we continue with all this waste and people are still raping this country for all they can get…We are so not as patriotic as we would like to think.
It appears to me that any report by the Auditor General is largely ignored and we do not learn from mistakes of the past. It was only just over a year ago that a report was published on the shortcomings of gas being improperly charged at Pedros Castle.Surely to goodness someone has to take responsibility for implementing proper systems of internal control within the Government Departments.At least both Political Parties can share this one!
The post that I have copied below is THE most intelligent and sensible piece of writing.
Just yesterday- I witnessed with my own eyes, a MOTORBIKE (and not a police bike either) being filled at the fuel depot. This MUST stop.
With the exception of emergency vehicles- ALL government vehilces must be parked after 5 PM and on weekends. ANYONE caught driving a Government vehicle outside this designated time- should be suspended immediately without pay for 30 days and on the second offense be terminated.
The deliberate theft of the Governments (and peoples) fuel for personal usage is criminal and those who partake of the behaviour MUST be held accountable.
This could not and would not happen in the private sector. It boggles my mind to think of the MILLIONS of gallons of Government gas used by civil servants over the past 5+ years.
Mac, do the right think and issue directives WITHOUT delay that mandates what has been said about Government cars being parked.
Mr. Premier- Make this your
Mr. Premier-
Make this your FIRST cost
PATHETIC! Obviously all the thieves are not in Northward! However, these newly discovered thieves should all be rounded up and sent there. But they won’t, because they are government. The people that are supposed to be serving the Cayman Islands are busy helping themselves, stuffing themselves illegally with the gas (and other goods) which are paid for by the people of the Cayman Islands!
I do not know why people were given cards to go get gas whenever they felt anyway. People should know that that ‘privilege’ would have been abused, and especially with the rise that we had in prices? Why do persons have access to it anytime?? It was just shear negligence I think. Just goes to show that some people in Government are just not doing their jobs. Not until push comes to shove and cuts have to be made. Then they start targeting EVERYONE. Same goes for the police- one day they were talking about illegal tint, what happened with that? I still see it on cars.. Customs officers same thing. Immigration- same thing… They just have to straighten up. Thank God we have an auditor who’s not asleep. Unfortunately he can’t be auditing everywhere all at once. Who knows how long this would have gone on for? Who was the manager for the employees who are no longer employed with Government but still have access to these gas cards? If they were doing their jobs they should have known this. It’s ridiculous that people feel the only time they need to get things done is when others put fire under theira**. What ever happened to good work ethics? I don’t think that its theft- unless there was notice that the cards could only be used by YOU, for the purpose of WORK, during WORK etc. Were these people clearon that? Like I said, just shear negligence.
British MP’s were named and shamed. Cayman should not be any different. If the Government does not name and shame those who stole from the public purse then they are turning a blind eye to corruption within the Cayman Islands Government.
Not only should the card holders be named and shamed but the departments heads should be shamed for not having proper control of their staff and the use of the cards
Name and shame every single one of them. It is corruption without doubt.
Integrity is like virginity you only lose it once and cannot be trusted again.
One word….CAMERAS! There is a date and time recorded in the fuel dispensing system. Install cameras at the DVES fuel depot to record and observe the individual and vehicle tags. Match the time of recording with the time of fueling.
Any unauthorized dispensing of fuel…prosecute. Any civil servants doing this should be dismissed. Gross misconduct.
If the powers that be are at all serious about changing the theft and greed mentality found in this country then a good way to start is to name the individual who used the card 150+ times in a month over a year after he left the job.
Name him and charge him if you want to run the society based upon law and order.
I dare you.
Has the theft of fuel been referred to the RCIPS? Let’s see if the new Commissioner is up to disciplining his own if any of them can be shown to have been involved.
Nah,….he got more impotent things to do….the long awaited Heliocoptor has finally arrived…be ready to start being kept awake at nights with low flybys and night sun spotlights and loudspeakers blaring "Ride of the Vlakyries"….We will soon see the commissioner walking around wearing a big ole stetson and muttering…., "I love the smell of napalm in the morning….smells like….VICTORY!!"
Besides…if he sacked everybody who got gas innapropriately…he would have about 13 police officers left…
Once again Dan is the man.
And this is the guy Big Mac wants to get rid of despite the fact that the man is bringing to light all of our problems WHY WE ARE WERE WE ARE TODAY.
Now to the issue.
The sad part is its too late now. I would have liked to have seen a sting set up to catch these people where you set up cameras at the facility and review daily the tapes. I’m sure there are patterns already established by thesepeople where you could more or less know when they will be coming back. Catch them in the act and take them to court. Once you find out which card they have sue them for every dollar they took plus
I want to see heads role inside the DVES because someone can’t tell me they didn’t know this was going on. AND if they say they didn’t then more heads should role because they are OBVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT. Let me state that again. OBVIOUSLY INCOMPETENT!!!!
And we wonder why we are in debt to our eyeballs.
Please check the government’s cell phone bills too, Mr. Duguay. There is a lot money flying away improperly there too, I assure you.
Thanks for continually turning up these stones and letting some sunshine in on Cayman’s rot.
You definitely earn your salary.
Dan,
Check on computers too. I see all kinds staff walking round with laptops. See how many Government purchased of late. Damn, you can’t do that can you. You dont have audited reports!
Then there is personal use of government equipment, official travel, re- wirement of funds (misappropriation, right).
A good place to start is with the quarterly reports, Yes, Dan check those and see how much valu for money Governemnt is getting that is central government and its entities, start with them, lil less scrutiny there by all.
MonkeySee said it already and I will say it again. With immediate effect, cancel all GasBoy cards, no exceptions, not even POO POO1.
Start afresh by issuing new cards from the top down. Be very wary as to who and why they are issued. I can quickly draft a policy if you want, won’t even charge you.
While we are at it, call for the immediate return of all Government issued cell phones and laptops. Shut them all down. Same procedure, return them one by one, but only with contractual agreements stating the restrictions on usage signed by the issuing officer and the recipient.
Auction off the leftovers.
Incompetent and corrupt leaders breed incompetent and corrupt people. Cayman is stealing from itself and has been for so long it is a cultural trait. Cayman has been doomed by the lack of respect and discipline shown by its own people from the start. Much like a virus it can not be stopped, Cayman can only be made more comfortable until its inevitable death.
For those who think I am wrong………….Prove it! With actions and results.
Caymanians stealing gas with cards that point right to them. Watch as nothing happens.
There you go again Joe assuming that only Caymanians were involved.You should really think or at least do some research before you post.Had you done this you might discover that just as many (probably more) expats are driving Govt. vehicles as there are Caymanians.But then you wouldn’t want to post that would you.No; you prefer to get on here and bash Caymanians ;after all that seems to be what you do best.
When the names come out or not you can prove me wrong yourself. I’m not bashing Caymanians I’m bashing thieves. And I expect to be bashed by them/you. Its what you do best.
Driving is not stealing. Your try at pointing in the wrong direction in the hopes that it will confuse the issue is as lame and incompetant as the excuses of why you steal.
Joe,?S while you say that I was trying to point in the wrong direction ,it is you who is guilty of doing so .To quote you"Caymanians stealing gas with cards that point to them".You could have said "civil servants or ex civil servants" which would have been appropiate but by naming only Caymanians you showed your bias.
Please prove me wrong. If your "system" worked properly you could do this easily.
Shame on the THEIVES .WHY dont they make them park these vehicles at 5pm and use their own vehicles to get home,and park the Gov vehicles on weekends too they are seen every where except working for Gov.
Where are the Police? Where are the arrests? These bastards stole from me and you and I DEMAND ACTION!
Where are the Police? At the gas pumps filling up their cars for free!!!!!!!! It won’t be hard to find the perpetrators – look in the mirror!!!!! Bring everyone to justice and set examples. If they are found guilty, charge them and kick them out of their job – this is ridiculous and shows how the island is corrupt at grass roots level.
Sack the worst offenders. There’s your Civil Service budget cutback right there and fully justified. NO severance needed where theft is involved.
But that wouldn’t be the Caymanian way would it. The Caymanian way is to let them off because, well they’re Caymanian!
Reply to sack the worst offenders…..The problem with that is a lot of these
offenders are …..ex-employees….. No wonder the country is having
money problems….These people are nothing but thieves. A complete
overhaul of these cards should be done. After that cancel ALL the
current cards and issue out new ones to the ”proper employees”
If any service station gives out gas on not authorized new cards then
they would be stuck with the cost themselves.. That would soon stop
improper use of government moneyon that issue.
Well we have to rename the RCIPS Royal Cayman Islands Petrol Station haahahahaha whats new Corruption as usual
Does anyone know who ya ga check to get one of these free gas up cards the RCIPS same to have extra ones 233 vehicles and 505 cards = 269 extra cards I want to know who dat was with 156 transactions in one month he must be running a GAS Station 156 divided 30 days is 5.2 times everyday for a month. These cards all have individual pin numbers i presume why were they not deactivated duh?
This has been going on for man, many years and all through greed and slackness. What needs to be do is revert to the system of being open M-F 8A -5P and if anyone was neglient in fillingup by friday a purchase order had to be received via the Supervisor on duty to go to a specific station ONLY! These PO”s had a minium of three signatures once used ( a copy with receipt were returned to the supervisor for monitoring purposes).
Why is it that we can also find retired, resigned or terminated persons still on email lists long after they have left??
In other places, people go to prison for this kind of stuff. Here, the people just get really angry. Nothing will happen as a result of this, except for maybe processes put in place to keep it from happening again. Maybe. But make no mistake – I would bet a lot of money that at least 98% of the culprits were B&B Caymanians who felt entitled to do this. The problem is, this kind of stuff is happening all over the place in government, although not as blatant as this. Stop this kind of behavior and you have a good start on reining in runaway expenditure. The civil service is a cancer eating away this society.
To anonymous Wed 23:31,I take it that the other 2%were expats who felt entitled to do it.
Check this story out about how Govt. misuses it’s funds.
In Cayman Brac a particular government dept. every year would send back money unused in the budget because during the course of the year they had cut cost and negotiated contracts etc. etc. so they saved the Govt. some money for that fiscal year. Well, this savings of money again happened the next year, and the next year. And every year the jackass Supervisor of the person who was saving the Govt. money every year would give that young woman a poor report on her job, that she never used up her budget and that her department was not run properly. This Cayman Brac Woman, saved us money every year after completing all that her dept. was assigned to do for those 12 months. She is abused by her boss (i’m not saying the nationality); for sending back money. She has now grown sick and tired of getting these poor reports on her performance because she didn’t spend all the money each year, that she has resigned.
Then let me sum it up for you if the people in Govt. don’t want change, or be run like the private sector, then they need to resign now. Why? The people are tired of the slackness and complacency going on in Govt. They are abusing our money and we have had enough!
Yes Mr. Premier, the writing is on the wall I hope you can see as well as I can see, but it is written in plain English to me.
The wastage is over, no more, and time to cut the excess loose.
How is it that a god fearing nation is so rife with corruption… Who knew? And for some to blame the foreigners?? Come on!!!
I work for a local contracting company and we are provided with a vehicle which we obviously gas up on the company’s fuel account.
If I was caught ‘milking the boss" I would expect to get FIRED. If I was the boss I wouldn’t put up with that crap for a second.
There ya go Cayman, Dan’s given you a golden opportunity to trim a few jobs around here …if you dare.
Uncle Bob,are you saying that only Caymanian civil servants are involved.Are you aware that the civil service is made up of expats and Caymanians or are you posting from overseas and have absolutely no idea what you are talking about?
Fuzzy, no need in getting all defensive.
I read the article, and some of the posts got my goat.
I kept reading (frustratingly) comments on here pointing the finger at the foreigners (again) and that worn out self rightious "there’s no way it’s Camanian’s" bs line again.
That attitude is gonna sink ya ship, which seems to be lying a little low on her stern of late.
For the record I bet it’s a mixed bag. With a slight lean!!
Am I on island? Filled up the boss’s truck at Jose’s today …and paid for my patty from my own wallet thanks very much.
that’s pretty much what he’s saying. truth hurts?
……and Ezzard goes after clampers!!
hhhmmmm
Sick, sick, sick. The same 25% probably abuse their cell phones too. Grounds for dismissal I reckon.
If not dealt with, then Government simply fulfills the role of ‘enablers’ and compound the problem of entitlement further. This is another example of the breakdown of Cayman- tough to point the finger at expats on this one when a majority of Civil Servants are b&b.
People living beyond their means, feeling entitled, and trying to cheat the system- and succeeding in a big way. No morals, no values, no remorse? How about the Christian values?
Name and shame the fraudsters. Then fire them. A justifiable way to accomplish the hard reality (reducing the size of the Civil Service) that needs to happen. And the fraudsters did it themselves, they made a choice, and now need to face the consequences.
I’d like to hear Izzard defend his own on this one…
To devil in the details,it might be hard for you to point your fingers at any guilty expat ,but if they are guilty,well they are guilty.So stop trying to paint a one sided picture.Even if Caymanians are a majority in the service it does not mean they have committed a majority of the transactions.Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty.
any expats involved should be treated the same- name, shamed, then fired.
Fuzzy,
I’m hedging my bets on who the majority of the culprits are… and would love to be proven otherwise.
Time may tell… or it may all just be swept under the carpet. Soon come.
I find it interesting how little response there has been from the MLA’s – a little too close to home perhaps?
Sad day is what I say.
Mr. Premier-
Make this your FIRST cost saving measures forthe civil service! Mandate that governemnt cars, with the exception of Police and emergency vehicles be ONLY driven MON-FRI 830 AM to 500 PM……ANYONE caught driving vehicles outside this time will be reprimanded.
All too often we see Government cars being used for shopping, picking up children from school, on the weekends, pulling boats, picking up women from bars, and the list could go on.
There is ALOT that can be cut and SHOULD be cut from the civil service before salaries are cut and this must be done.
This is unbelievable (or not), but regardless, the people who "stole" gas should have their cards immediately taken, and moreover charged with theft.
If the government had any steel they would pursue these people for theft!
Even better…just cancel ALL cards and issue new ones! Might be inconvenient till the new ones are issued but it will terminate the fraudsters using them with immediate effect!
Another clear example why the Chief Officers and Chief Financial Officers should be terminated forthwith. Do we all now understand why they refuse to complete their financials as it would surely uncover even more theft of our country’s finances…………….Keep shedding light on the truth for us Mr. Duguay, the country needs some transparency and accountability.
ok well lets see the government act now shall we? prossecuting all caymanians and card holders for fraud?????
yeah i think not either. what a disgrace. hang your heads god fearing? i think not
To Anonymous Wed.19:38.I believe you were trying to say "All cardholders suspected of fraud"Am I right?
well done mr duguy. unfortunately the governments hate you because you keep embarrassing them with hard facts like this. bravo my friend
Sadly, these greedy civil servants have spoiled it for everyone else. Cayman, you have had your last democratic election.
The whole lot of you have been tried and found seriously wanting.
I keep waking up every morning thinking that "common sense" will prevail in my home land. But it doesn’t happen…..everyone needs to finally stand up/man up, everyone, and realize that the "free ride" is over. The world has changed for now…maybe 5-10-15 years. Caymanians are a smart, warm and wonderful group of people. Time to take control of your lives. Don’t end up like the Bahamas or JA. This is all good……we all can learn from what is happening now and change for the good.
Apologies for the preach…..
Why Why Why Why am i not surprise my o my the old police is again tied up in some fraudulent scheme Whats new this has been going on as long as i can remember i remember the days where certain individuals were filling 55 gallon fuel drums for the long weekends. Abuse was not only rampant 2008 -2009 it was in fact from when they install those pumps. One of the situations when certain government officials abuse this is during Hurricane season that’s when some real s@#% goes down. An for the public’s information this was not the first time this has been reviewed and that they promised to fix it the last time as usual nothing happened some abuse some out right theft Some officers use to bring their personal cars behind their patrol unit. Poor old Dan Dan just learning the old corruption rackets now! Becareful my friend the old outfit has new players in these ya times. Nice try though.
Where in the heck were you when this was going on?
The people need to start talking about the theft and abuse and criminal behavior going on around here.
Thieves will steal and if they are crooked police then send them to Northward.
If they are crooked politicians send them to Northward.
These thieves make me sick.
Well done Dan!
Kudos also to INTERNAL AUDIT UNIT for doing this audit!
The details of the report done by the Internal Audit Unit is on the link below –
http://www.gov.ky/pls/portal/docs/PAGE/CIGHOME/FIND/ORGANISATIONS/AZAGENCIES/AUD/SPECIALREPORTS/FUELAUDITREPORT.PDF
Again.. this is only the beginning. The overall government needs to hold employees/directors/ authorities accountable for how they are misusing govt money. Another example is giving directors & senior management all BLACKBERRY’s that are paid by government; when these people are making MORE THAN ENOUGH MONEY to pay their own phone bill and expenses.
THANK YOU DAN DUGUAY FOR INVESTIGATING SOME OF THE DIRT THAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN GETTING AWAY WITH IN THE CAYMAN ISLANDS FOR TOO LONG!!!
AND MR. PREMIER, it’s not only salaries that need to cut-but maybe some people who choose to use and abuse gov’t money and positions- which allows them to have the benefits to both worlds!!
Cards are issued to people. People have names and addresses.
So that money can easily come back, by simply prosecute them for theft.
It would be a good idea to mention the names and positions of the top 10 abusers.
Any person found to have abused the system should be fired forthwith for cause. That’s what would happen in any normal company.
This, along with cell phones, free flights, and free pension and medical can be put more into perspective if you look at the civil service and government agencies more like a
A private club with special privileges subsidized by the public.
This type of theft (and it is stealing) is not exclusive to the government fuel depot. I observed a government employee filling a government vehicle at the ESSO on West Bay road.. I noticed this indicidual because they were fueling using this government suziki using the pricier full-serve pump.. Not their money who cares. He then went inside the station to pay with a charge card and put an assortment of candybars and treats on the card as well. If does this every day we it will be no wonder this June when government is again unable to meet it’s obligations and runs out of money.
Keep up the good work Dan "snoopy"Duguay.Its high time someone put these folks in their place re the "stealing"that is so rampent in this country.I bet there is tons more where this came from as well.Good job Dan.Keep it up.
another sad, embarressing day for cayman’s overstaffed, under performing, over paid civil service……
Good job Dan!
Next, start working on government cell phone usage?
This kind of XXXX has been going on far too long. The people taking gas at our expense are thieves as far as I am concerned, but it does not end with them.
The people at the top in government – both civil servants and politician’s take their "entitlement" to first class travel and 5 star hotels for themselves and their cronies at the people’s expense. The man on the very top claims to be entitled to a housekeeper and a chauffeur and a cook at the people’s expense. The top levels of the civil service see those above taking what they want at the people’s expense and then they feel entitled to fancy SUVs and other expensive vehicles at the people’s expense? Is it any wonder that such a large number of people feel entitled to free gas at the people’s expense when you look at the example set by those higher up.
It all has to end NOW. We simply cannot afford such corruption and even if we could it is just plain WRONG.
Solution:
http://www.gasboy.com/page/fleet_commercial_gas_pump_gasboy
This is only one discovery…there are more to unfold. I have heard stories that are unbelievable with those in higher ranks!
A very easy and inexpensive way to solve this problem. Install CCTV cameras outside the gas pumps and see all those who do multiple fill up’s per day or every other day, especially on weekends. I bet the portable red petrol/gas containers will disappear as well.
oh man, Chuckie is making Big Mac do things that he would NEVER normally do! He announced a pay cut for MLA’s which he would never do, & now he has backed down (with his tail between his legs) from selling the GAB! Mac is backing back! WOW!
Well done Mr. Duguay and team. Wait until you get to auditing the cell phone usage !!!
How do you tell that someone’s job is on the line???…Reports like this.
Thank you Dan for uncovering this. Now for real Kudos, work on the high schools and bypass roads.
Sounds to me like the Auditor General is still doing a sterling job and a huge service to the Caymanian people in exposing this and the other reports (none of which our Premier likes)!
Dan the Man!
ole wutless civil servants/head of departments cant even control the departments and expect $5000+ pay and benefits each month..civil service is over paid badly Mac need do a bigger cut, cos they na even doin they job
OY!! Don’t paint everyone with the same brush!! There are some DAMN good civil servants out there…You need to be a little more specific in your rantings!!! While I do agree that this is an outrage, the blame lies greater with those senior managers and Supervisors than with the average base level CS’s..
Thats right, damn good civil servants who want to control the mess but aren’t allowed to do their job because a friend of a friend must have the post. Snakes who can’t get a job in the real world.
Sounds like the person who made 156 transactions in one month was selling fuel….example….I’ll fill up your car with gas and you give me $50 (or whatever amount).
I can see why Big Mac wants Dan to go…..he’s doing an excellent job!!!!
Next one.. a FOI request (do they apply wholly government owner companies, I wonder?) on CAL to find out the full list of all persons who are listed by their "pass bureau" as being eligible for staff ticket benefits.
Rumours have it that about half the population of the Sister Islands somehow have acquired these benefits over time… would be interesting to see the true figures.
Seriously, Government needs to move to the year 2010 and implement the respective controls and meassures. Sad enough that the Immigration system is still operating with a manual filing system of paper files instead of electronic scanning etc. However, reclaiming fuel cards from employees who leave their employment is just simply common sense!
Unless both political parties are serious, whoever goes in to implement standards will end up like Mr. Lonny Tibbetts. Birthright and entitlement are killing us.
Now that sucks. I’ve been having to use my personal vehicle for Government business during the past few years and I’m still waiting on a response to numerous requests for gas compensation or a company car to use but yet there were ex employees out there still getting free gas all along. Wow! I think I’m going to start leaving my car at home and catch the bus.
This should cut down on Sunday traffic in the waters around Rum Point.
eg. Vehicles in gov’t fleet x 25% fraud rate x approx $50 (a low est avg pump fillup figure) x 25 weeks…I’m surprised it’s only CI$500k.
Thank God for Mr Duquay!!! I would also like to see an investigation on the amount of money paid to LIME and Digicel for those Blackberry’s that the civil servants have and use for personal calls, etc. This foolishness has to stop and Mac needs to shake up the entire civil service. Who has a problem with the salary cut, then lay them off and let them find a job in the private sector where they will have to work to get paid instead of napping under their desk!!
It is no wonder this country is in the mess it is in!! When you call certain departments you can’t get one person to answer the phone.
Mac, consult with HE the Governor and sort this out, the sooner, the better. You are the only one who is not afraid to make the unpopular decisions that will benefit our country at the end of the day.
If he is not afraid to make the unpoplar decision Mr. Bush, would have cut those salaries longtime, but it does not benefit him in anyway so he with let it slid for now I guess. Cann’t you people see this man is for himself alone, and will do anything to blind us even it means to cut his arm off (in this case cut his salary)
Thieves! Allow them to pay it back + community service or go to jail! They knew what they were doing. If you are fired then you don’t have the priviledges anymore. This is the problem. Those who aren’t committing the armed robberies are complaining about the crime and then taking advantage of Cayman in some other way. We ALL need to do out part. Take care of our country. Make sacrifices for it, do not steal what you can get.
Well I can’t say I’m surprised.
And I’m sure the AG has hammered the nail in his own proverbial coffin, since we all know how much certain sections of our society like attention being drawn to their shortcomings…..
Mr. Duguay, I as a Caymania is very Greatful to you for all of the Crap that has been hidden from the Public for too long. Thank you very much I for one is sick and tired of seeing Government Vehicles been used by employees for there Personal Use. Why are the vehicles allowed to be taken off the compond after working Hours each employee that i see running up in down in these Government Vehicles has there own personal vehicle why arent they using it. When are these so call Heads of Dept that Government has Going to start doing there Job??? Why because you are doing the same thing Pulling you personal Water Craft /Grass cutter when this vehicle should be park on the compond for the weekend. Every Employee that works with Government earns a salary go and get your self a loan like the rest of us do because i for one is SICK and tired with the crap you guys are doing.
Does not surprise me that this is happening. My question is now this. WHAT IS THE GOVERNMENT GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
Its the entitlement generation. Its also "if its done up top then why not down here". It just never ends. 500k here….700k there….it all ads up.
Seriously, is ANYONE actually SURPRISED with this ? Dan is doing a wonderful job, ferreting out this mis management of funds. He should a gold medal for Cayman. Plain and simple, the cards need to deactivated and the people charged with fraud…unless of course they are related to the Minister etc etc…oh, I guess the Expats will be blamed for this too…"it’s all the foreign workers drivin them cars na"…pleeease…Keep it up Dan !!
"currently 1,600 cards in use"
What a sham!!!
Where does one get one of these so called GASBOY cards?
I could use some free gas too!!!
Don’t worry… rumor has it you can go to CAL and fill up on jet fuel !
Arrest them. This is theft, theft from all the Caymanian people! Thank you Dan!
I agree – this is theft, plain and simple. No wonder certain parties are anxious to get rid of Dan – he’s raining on their parade!
It’s a crying shame that people would be so dishonest………….. and continue to use the cards while still not employed with Government.
Yes, I believe him!!
I see enough people driving around in Gov’t cars all hours of the night with pedestrains in with them too!! And it mostly the foreign workers – cuz not too many caymanians given cars anyway!!
I hope he gets them good!! Not only is gov’t paying for the lodging, children schools – they now paying for their transportation!
But I nah surprised – yah know why – look at the waste of money the big shots wasting on travel alone!! Come in like they must be thinking: "Man, yah know wha? I feel like Red Lobster for dinner tonight – I going on a trip"!!!
Deh all outta der minds!!!!
GREAT JOB MR. DUGUAY!!
Read the post properly and stop blaming the camanian mess on the foreigners….Once you resign from Gov, there is noway you gonna be driving around in their cars!!! so whether or not you saw foreigners driving around as you claim, itsimply means that they are still working for the Gov. The blame is for the culprits who resigned and still have access to the cards….Dishonest bunch of demons!!
"Not only is gov’t paying for the lodging, children schools – they now paying for their transportation!"
Wow – how do I apply for this? I’m an ex-pat civil servant and currently about 70% of my income goes on lodging and school fees. I pay 2000 dollars a month on school fees alone because my children are not seen as good enough to mix with local children. This would be regarded as blatant racism virtually anywhere else in the world but in Cayman i’m regarded as a leach. Amazing!
You obviously have a beef with people who have to travel for work. You must not get out much but then are you qualified to have any of the nice jobs where travel is required? I think not and thus your sour grapes. If you were smart enough to know how childish and ignorant you sound you would let up a bit about the travel. People have to travel to do business. It is only closedminded people like you who have nothing else to do all day than complain and that is why you don’t get ahead.
To say it’s mostly "foreign workers" is factually incorrect. The vast majority of those issued cars/cards are caymanian.
But you should be looking at those staffing the facility. They should know very well who is entitled to gas and who is not. We are hardly talking of a huge conglomerate here, it is a few hundred cars at the most, it’s really not rocket science. Are they being fooled? Or is it more a question of favours for neighbors, family members, friends, cronies etc.?
What’s going to happen when you find out the guilty are NOT "mostly the foreign workers – cuz not too many caymanians given cars anyway"? I guess you will say it was okay then, huh?
I hope that there will be an investigation into this fraud, and especially so with respect to the terminated employee who made 156 fuel transactions in one month, a year after he/she had left the service. This investigation seems to represent widespread common theft by a large number of public sector employees. Shame on you all.
My how being broke forces the government to scrutinize the ‘small’ details. This has been going on for ages and its about time to put a stop to it.
This is tantamount to theft so you know what to do to those who steal…… Take away all gas cards, issue new electronic ones. When someone leaves simply de-activate the card. Ta-daaa. Who ever is issuing cards to terminated employees is a div – fire ’em.
If the card is used fraudulently, unless the proper holder can prove who did it, that holder should be held responsible.
Prosecute those who have been terminated and are abusing the system, garnish wages or fire those who are currently stealing the gas.
Zero tolerance here please, I just paid $50 to fill up my car when it seems all I had to do was "see a man about a dog" wink wink
That’s right. No mercy. This slackness has been going on for far too long.
With all the CFOs in Govt under this decentralized financial model this shouldn’t even be occurring? More eyes on the books but still not able to manage them?
The abusers and the people responsible for overseeing these types of things should be severely punished.
But, alas, this is Cayman and I expect the usual treatment where no one will be held responsible. This makes me sick!
People need to wake up – the same section of the Constitution which makes it mandatory for Beloved Leader to have a chef, a housekeeper and a chauffeur at the public expense also makes it compulsory for people no longer working in the civil service to get free fuel for life. As for the fact that some persons have multiple active cards at the same time, the next section of the Constitution clearly states that the spouse and children of civil servants who don’t actually do any work are also entitled to free fuel for life.
…… I cannot wait to hear the politicians, and the Deputy Governor respond to this one at a time when most of the people are having trouble making ends meet.
The premier’s office comes with certain privileges just like any other job. Why do people like you constantly bark about the fact that the premier has these perks which the PPM put in place hoping to get them for themselves. You should speak to them about that. I guess it just burns you that the PPM lost. Please let it go man!
Rubbish, just plain rubbish. The Premier’s office comes with the same number of personal servants as a red shank has wings. I am a UDP supporter – that is, I support the policies that are right and honest and have been agreed by the party membership. People like you who keep on trying to defend what is indefensible give the UDP a bad name. Stop confusing what is party policy and what is just plain greed on the part of a few! Blind loyalty to a person does not help either the party or the country.
I’m not surprised at all to hear this. I bet the same thing is going on with cell phones issued to government employees. Any system which can be abused WILL be abused without proper checks and controls in place.
just this morning some folks were talking about how instead of first hitting the poor people’s wallets, the government should cease and desist with fringe benefits such as this!! get rid of these types of things (travel, housing, car/vehicle allowances) BEFORE you start taking away people’s salary and pension through cuts!
Good job AG! hopefully more of these things will come to light and something positive can come of them….
OMG, This has probably been going on for years. Given the state of the government’s finances these people are thieves and should be made to pay back the people for the money that they have stolen.
Finally somebody speak about the government fuel they been waste it like crazy special Environmental Health if you check records 2007 to 2008 I just feel sorry for government how they been waste the fuel I know somebody who spend 700 in fuel in less than 3 weeks, and people and the solid waste even worse all I can said government need to do better and stand for the community and get better people to do a better job.