According to the Contractor General's report, Courtney Rose was recommended by former NSWMA chairman Alston Stewart.
AN UNSETTLING stench still hovers over the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NWSMA) in the wake of recent scathing reports delivered by the Auditor General and Contractor General to Parliament which detailed startling levels of impropriety at the executive agency.
The reports have triggered a firestorm of public criticism, and have raised a number of serious, but interesting questions.
One such question is: Who is Courtney Rose?
According to the report tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, 10 contracts were awarded to a Mr. Courtney Rose within a six-month period totalling $5.9 million, plus material supplied by the NSWMA. The records show that contracts awarded to Courtney Rose were for labour only, but the quotations provided by Mr. Rose included the cost of materials.
DISCREPANCIES
However, this was disputed by the director of corporate services, planning and research who explained that the discrepancies listed are erroneous.
Another damning declaration was that there was no evidence of contracts for the electrical work associated with Mr. Courtney Rose's contracts.
Further, another contract was awarded to Mr. Courtney Rose, in the amount of $50,000 per fortnight, for the supervision of rehabilitation work on the Riverton access road. This expenditure is budgeted at $603,200.
Mr. Courtney Rose is not registered with the National Contracts Commission (NCC).
Mr. Rose's association with the NSWMA is unclear. During the period under review, at different times, he was engaged as a temporary employee, contractor, supervisor and a consultant with the respect to different projects.
The NSWMA awarded several contracts to Mr. Rose which were not tendered. Additionally, the NSWMA has issued conflicting reports regarding Mr. Rose's tax compliance status in relation to these contract awards. Further clarification was sought from the NSWMA, which indicated that Mr. Rose was a temporary employee and as such, was not required to provide a tax compliance certificate (TCC).
DOCUMENT NOT PROVIDED
During a subsequent interview with the director of corporate services, planning and research in her capacity as project manager, it was indicated that Mr. Rose had a TCC that could be provided, however, to date, this document has not been provided.
In response to a request to provide the rationale for Mr. Rose's association with the authority, the NSWMA advised that the executive chairman had recommended Mr. Rose. The authority was requested to provide copies of all quotations received in relation to the contracts awarded to Mr. Rose, however this information has not been forthcoming.
'Sub-contracts' for casual labour valued at $1.131 million were 'awarded' by Mr. Rose and paid for by the NSWMA, without evidence of supporting documents. It was ascertained that these 'sub-contractors' were casual labourers from the area employed to carry out manual work on the subject road.
