Whistleblower claims allegations of “serious and sustained fraud within the council”
shepwayvox
Updated: 25.05.22 @ 15:12
A whistleblower’s allegation of corruption and cronyism inside Folkestone & Hythe District Council are so serious they claim only a “wholesale root and branch disposal of certain staff will stave off government inspectors being called in.”
The whistleblower claims “there are serious concerns including allegations of serious and sustained fraud within the council… all to frequent breaches of contract procedure and procurement rules and poor oversight by those charged with monitoring payments.“
They go onto claim:
“The truth is all too often suppressed and shrouded in a veil of secrecy from councillors. Officers are ‘pressurized’ not to put correct data in reports which go before all committees… there is much staff bullying especially by seniors on juniors and the council lacks a fundamental grasp of governance… it operates in chaos. It’s clear that without wholesale change and a root and branch review of every tier of management within the council such behavior will continue unabated.”
What makes it worse the whistleblower claims is “hardly anybody is in the office, so there is little oversight of what individual officers are getting up to. This has created a breeding ground for wrongdoing on a large scale.“
The lack of governance does not surprise us, nor does the lack of questions coming from the Audit & Governance Committee. That might be because “Officers are pressurized not to put correct data in reports which go before all committees.”
Update: This whistleblower has not been suspended due to any ongoing investigation, and as such has no axe to grind.
