THE Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Dr. Veersammy Ramayya, says he has never abandoned ship.Refuting claims made last month by Regional Vice Chairman Dennis DeRoop, who alleged that Dr Ramayya had “walked off the job”, leaving the council in jeopardy, Dr Ramayya said on Tuesday that DeRoop’s contention was far from the truth.

“I would never walk off the job when I can give notice,” the REO said in a statement after returning from a brief vacation overseas.

Ramayya explained that when he left work on July 15, there were no unsigned documents, contracts or cheques; and no financial transaction or processing of workers’ payments were hampered by his absence, as Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) Bhadase Poonai was performing the functions of REO. Moreover, this information could have been easily verified by both his secretary and Poonai.

“When I left here, not one document was on my desk. No contract was left unattended, and I was clearly disturbed by the accusation (that was) widely circulated in the media,” the REO asserted.

He said he immediately resumed duties on his return to Guyana on July 26, and has since been conducting the council’s business. However, he noted that because of the allegations peddled in the media, several commercial banks had refused to process business transactions under the council’s account.

“When I came this morning, there were about $6M in cheques that could not be processed,” Dr Ramayya explained.

The situation has since been remedied, and the banks have now resumed doing business with the Regional Administration.

“I’ve worked hard to ensure transparency in this region,” Dr Ramayya said. “It is something I have always been fighting for,” he emphasized.

He is currently working with the Council to prepare the Region Six budget.