…rails against appointment of new deputy REO

REGIONAL Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two, Rupert Hopkinson, says he is contemplating writing the Minister of Communities, Ronald Bulkhan, after he discovered that personnel within the regional administration signed a correspondence on his behalf even though he was in the jurisdiction.The letter which was signed on February 12 by the Senior Personnel Officer (SPO) was addressed to the Public Service Commission (PSC), requesting the appointment of a Deputy REO (DREO). Hopkinson said he proceeded on a week’s leave a month later.
This publication understands that the selection of the DREO was undertaken via a process which commenced with the February 12 letter which was dispatched to the PSC via the Ministry of Communities. The letter, which was seen by this publication, bears the signature of SPO of the region, on Hopkinson’s behalf. It was seconded by the incumbent Deputy REO at the time, Sunil Singh. The letter called for the advertising of the vacant position when Singh would have vacated the position. When contacted, Hopkinson told this publication that he was concerned about the situation and he noted that he will be taking up the matter with the subject ministry.
Uneasiness
Meanwhile, the Alliance For Change (AFC) representatives in Region Two have written to the leaders of the coalition government, expressing dissatisfaction in the process which led to the recent appointment of Hemraj Hamandeo as Deputy Regional Executive Officer. The group is calling on leaders of the coalition to revoke the appointment. Hamandeo’s phone rang out when attempts were made to contact him for a comment.
In a letter seen by this publication, the AFC Region Two representatives noted that the appointment of Hamandeo was undertaken through an interview with persons of “questionable integrity and loyalty, “a reference made to persons with ties to the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP) . The AFC representatives at Region Two noted that the position of DREO requires the applicant having 15 years experience in the public sector, at least five of which must be at a senior management level. They said that “there is no way a 28-year-old could have fulfilled these requirements, “adding that Hamandeo was a schools welfare officer with unrelated experience.
The region’s AFC representatives believe the appointment of Hamandeo is a conflict of interest and pointed to several persons who are deserving of the position. They said that as it is there are other persons within the region who are eligible for the post, noting that the opposition supporters have “saturated” key administrative positions within the region. In the vacancy advertised, the post for DREO requires the applicant to be in possession of a university degree, diploma or certificate or a professional qualification, plus wide experience in an administrative or managerial capacity. Alternatively, the applicant should have 15 years experience in the public /private sector, five of which must be at a senior management level. The duties of the DREO include making decisions in disciplinary matters and making final recommendations on expenditure for local authorities to the Regional Democratic Council. In addition, the DREO supervises heads of department and approximately 3,000 staff.