Director of Investigation at the Integrity Commission David Grey is questioning whether certain individuals were strategically placed in key positions at state-owned oil refinery Petrojam to enable corruption at the entity.
He raised the question in a report from the Commission which was tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The report outlines repeated instances of nepotism, corruption, breaches of government rules and procedures in relation to hiring and procurement.
Mr. Grey said the strategic placements of certain individuals is evidenced by the fact that Petrojam Chairman Dr. Bahado Singh, board member Richard Creary, Ike Johnson and Yolande Ramharrack interviewed Floyd Grindley for the position of General Manager.
Mr. Grindley was a part of the three member interview panel which recruited Mrs. Ramharrack to the post of Human Resource Development and Administration Manager, which oversees the grant of donations by the entity and recruitment of staff.
After assuming the post of general manager Mr. Grindley promoted Ronique Budram-Ford to Procurement Unit Head, a position which governs the award of contracts by Petrojam.
In his report Mr. Grey outlined relationships between key persons whose names came up in his investigation.
He noted that Dr. Wheatley and Mr. Johnson are both friends of Dr. Bahado Singh and were part of his wedding party.
The Director of Investigation concluded that there were instances of nepotism and gross improprieties and irregularities in the recruitment of Mrs. Ramharrack, her brother and three others to posts at Petrojam. He said the circumstances in which Mrs. Ramharrack was recruited as the Human Resource Development and Administration Manager are stained with irregularities as she failed to meet the minimum educational requirements for the position.
The Director of Investigation also questioned the source of the newspaper advertisement for the post as Petrojam officials say it was not published on their instructions.
In addition he said the circumstance in which Mrs. Ramharrack received a more than $173,000 productivity incentive for the period February 13, 2017 to March 31, 2017 was irregular.
He believes Mr. Grindley waived the probation period for Mrs. Ramharrack to enable her to benefit from the company's productivity incentive scheme, for which she would not have otherwise qualified, at the relevant time.
The Director of Investigation has also found that Mrs. Ramharrack was engaged in acts of corruption. He said the circumstances in which her brother Clayton Smith was recruited as an Instrument and Electrical Technician are stained with irregularities. He was hired despite the fact that he did not score above the required grade of 75 per cent on competency tests.
Mr. Grey has concluded that the actions of Mrs. Ramharrack in the recruitment of Mr. Smith is tantamount to nepotism as she used her position to hire her brother and there is no evidence she declared a conflict of interest.
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