Ex-chairman charged credit card, shopped abroad for Transport Board ‘to save money’

Former chairman of the Transport Board Anthony Wiltshire said he spent in the region of $80,000 from his credit card on various equipment and furniture for the state-run entity over a period of time.

And pointing to a report he said was from David Bartholomew, the then Trinidad consultant on a special bus rehabilitation project, Wiltshire said his overseas purchases had resulted in massive savings to the cash-strapped Transport Board.

“In Bartholomew’s report he mentioned about the said tools. ‘Equipment/tools were purchased through the intervention of the chairman, a saving of approximately $103,000 for the full implementation of the plant maintenance programme’. So who get the benefit? Not me, Transport Board,” said Wiltshire.

When pressed about how much he spent over time from his personal funds, Wiltshire said “About $80,000 or something like that.”

At one point, Wiltshire said he provided invoices to the Transport Board to be refunded and said he would be given the refund after the tools arrived in Barbados and were checked.

Wiltshire, who also admitted to purchasing two pieces of custom-made furniture locally, explained that he would buy the tools whenever he travelled because they would be too expensive to buy in Barbados.

He insisted that the then Minister of Transport Michael Lashley gave him permission to make purchases from his personal funds for the Transport Board, but said the okay was given verbally, and that the board was okay with it.

“I said these are extraordinary times which need extraordinary measures. And I made it clear to them . . . I have a [credit] card which can accommodate that, and I would do it. The other members said no problem. I said I am not going to use it willy-nilly. I spoke to the minister and he said no problem, he wants to see buses on the road,” recounted Wiltshire, who added that if the situation was to present itself again, he would do the same thing.

Atherley, who was at a loss over why the former chairman would need to make a purchase locally from his credit card, said invoices suggested that the cost for the items purchased at the local furniture store was $6,000 each and it was the financial controller at the Transport Board who requested the invoice before making the reimbursement.

“You made the claim without invoices through the General Manager at the time and when the request was put to Ms [Felicia] Sue it was she who requested of the General Manager that invoices be provided. That would be correct as far as you are aware?” asked Atherley, who then rephrased the question.

Without directly answering the question, Wiltshire, who was shuffling through documents on his desk, whispered: “She has a convenient memory.

“I read her transcript and she said she was concerned about that,” he added.

He then went on to explain an instance in which he “received payment of $5, 800 from Sue” to make a purchase of a pressure washer and other items on his way back from one of his overseas trips, but said that did not materialize and he gave back the money which the financial controller then signed for.

However, Atherley went back to his question saying the invoice he had was for the acquisition of two local items costing $6,000 each.

Wiltshire, who then said the benches needed had to be built to specification, said when he visited the furniture store a deposit was needed “instantly” in order to get the benches within a specific time.

However, Atherley was still at a loss as to why the chairman had to be the one to visit the workshop and pay for the furniture, and why the then minister of transport would approve such a move afterwards.

But Wiltshire insisted: “The point is, it was paid for, it was legitimate, and I got back my money.

“The point is that it was done with the interest of Transport Board. I didn’t do it to get any fame or fortune. Let me make it clear. I didn’t carry ‘way anybody’s money. In fact, I did not get even the interest on it,” he added.

Also featuring prominently in the discussions again where matters relating to the cost of transmissions and the frequency with which they were being changed.

Wiltshire again disputed figures in the latest Auditor General’s report regarding several transactions at the Transport Board including the cost for transmissions, while insisting that the financial controller “inflated” some figures for the imported ones that he said were actually cheaper.

He also said there were some level of sabotage taking place against the work of Bartholomew, adding that he was paid $13,500 per month, and not the $22,000 he claimed the financial controller reportedly said he was receiving.

marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb