Guyana Anti Corruption Network

Missing Funds at Ordinance Fortlands NDC: Whistleblower Says Amount Exceeds $10 Million, Points to Second Official

The unfolding financial scandal at the Ordinance Fortlands Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) has taken a serious new turn. A second whistleblower has come forward to state that the amount of missing funds is actually more than the $10 million initially reported. This new source has also implicated a second elected official, naming a councillor whose recent spending spree has raised suspicions among residents.

The original report, published on March 24 (read the full report here), detailed the disappearance of approximately $10 million from the NDC. That report led to the firing of Chairman Ramsundar Phagwah, who was identified as a suspect. He was also alleged to have purchased a Mercedes Benz for himself and a Honda Vezel for a female staff member with whom he is reportedly in a relationship.

Now, a separate whistleblower has provided new information suggesting the financial misconduct is wider and deeper than first known.

“Hi goodnight i also heard the councilor with the fish stall is apart of the money going missing which kinda makes sense since he bought 2 new vehicles for himself and all his children one each in a matter of a couple of months,” the second whistleblower wrote.

The Other Implicated Party: Balchand Anantram

The “councilor with the fish stall” is Balchand Anantram, a councillor attached to the #38 Ordinance Fortlands NDC. This is not the first time Anantram’s conduct has drawn scrutiny.

In February of this year, the Guyana Anti-Corruption Network reported extensively on a long-running dispute in Sheet Anchor Village, East Canje, Berbice, where residents said they had been abandoned by authorities while dealing with a severe health hazard: Councillor Anantram’s fish stall (read the full report here).

According to that previous report, residents of Sheet Anchor Village had been complaining for over a year about an unbearable stench emanating from the stall, which is operated by Anantram and his family. The business involves cleaning, scaling, and selling fish on a large scale, as well as producing salted fish, and operates directly adjacent to family homes in a residential area.

One resident, who has two small children—one with a disability—pleaded for help, stating that complaints to the NDC, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) had all been ignored. Residents explicitly alleged that Anantram was receiving preferential treatment due to his political connections, noting that other similar businesses in the area had been ordered to close while his continued to operate.

Despite letters to President Dr. Mohamed Irfan Ali and multiple visits to the area by Minister of Finance Ashni Singh, residents said no action was taken, leaving them feeling abandoned.

A Pattern of Lavish Spending

The new whistleblower’s message now connects Anantram to the missing NDC funds, pointing to a dramatic and sudden increase in his personal wealth as circumstantial evidence. The claim that he purchased “2 new vehicles for himself and all his children one each in a matter of a couple of months” aligns with the pattern of ostentatious spending first attributed to the ousted chairman, Ramsundar Phagwah.

This development suggests that the investigation into the Ordinance Fortlands NDC’s finances may need to be broadened. What initially appeared to be a case involving a single chairman now appears to potentially involve multiple elected officials within the same NDC, with the total sum of missing money reportedly exceeding the initial estimate.

The allegations raise serious questions about oversight at the NDC and whether residents’ previous complaints about Councillor Anantram’s fish stall were ignored because of the same alleged culture of impunity and abuse of office that may have facilitated the larger financial scandal. Calls are growing for a full, independent audit of the NDC’s accounts and for law enforcement to investigate both Phagwah and Anantram’s sudden acquisition of multiple high-value assets.

For the residents of Sheet Anchor Village, who have been pleading for relief from the health hazard next door for over a year, this new information confirms what they long suspected: that a councillor they felt was protected was operating with complete disregard for the community. Now, they and the wider public await to see if the authorities will finally act.