Auditor’s report on Council graft and corruption allegations is still unreadable, claims Cllr Bollan
Cllr Jim Bollan, the covered up Burgh Hall, the coat of arms and fine dining.
EXCLUSIVE by Bill Heaney
Have the police been called in? Will West Dunbartonshire Council take disciplinary action against officials who went wining and dining with a contractor?
This is allegedly the same contractor with whom officials played golf at Cameron House Hotel on Loch Lomondside and ate out at luxury restaurants in Glasgow.
He is believed now to have been awarded £7 million worth of contracts, not £2.4 million as was previously flagged up to the Council?
His credit card is said to have been used to buy expensive champagne and Spanish wine plus T-bone steaks and double portions of fish dishes in Urban and other fine dining restaurants in Glasgow.
However, the officials reported to have been involved say they paid their share of the bill in every instance.
Following his request for an auditor’s report on these “serious” allegations of graft and corruption and a failure to follow the council’s own rules for procurement, Councillor Jim Bollan last night submitted this item for discussion at the next council meeting.
It said that the Council notes that councillors have still not been given a readable copy of the heavily redacted report into fraud and corruption allegations against council officers, which was discussed at the Council meeting on February 14.
This is despite the fact that the Council agreed unanimously that a new, readable version the redacted report would be delivered to councillors with five days of that meeting.
Cllr Bollan said the: “The amended report after appeal still contains 80 blank pages and 24 partially redacted pages out of 135 pages and is unreadable, although we now know the work given to this contractor was over £7 million of Council taxpayers money, not the £2 million we first thought.
“The whistle-blower has also provided further damning information that claims substantial amounts of Council taxpayers’ money was also used for private gain.
“It is imperative a fully readable report is now made available to any councillor requesting one within the next 24 hours.
“The public has a right to the truth and as councillors, we all have a responsibility to insist we know what actions are being taken in our name.”
West Dunbartonshire Council have boycotted and banned The Democrat because they do not believe our reports ever reflect well on them.