Dear Editor,
PLEASE allow me to once again educate and enlighten the former REO of Region Six, Dr. Ramayya, as to the role of an REO and on a misleading statement he made once again, this time on the GlobeSpan programme a few Mondays ago as to who the regional engineer has to report to.
As we all know, the REO of the region is the chief officer responsible for the general administration and development of the region.  The REO has to ensure that matters affecting the residents of the region are being addressed in the best way forward and to ensure that work is done to develop the region.
All the Head of Departments (HoDs) within the region is answerable and must report to the Regional Executive Officer (REO) on a daily basis or weekly basis.  The REO is the main person for the signing off of payment vouchers and all regional documents.  The REO is also responsible to ensure that all work that is budgeted for is carried out accordingly for value for taxpayers’ money.
Any person with a secondary level education and sound commonsense is going to tell you that as a public servant you have to report to your administrative boss and, in this case, that will be the REO.
The REO is not the head of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
The REO serves as the Clerk to the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) at its statutory meeting and when that meeting is finished the Clerk wears back the title as the REO of the region.
The RDC is headed by the Regional Chairman (RC) and the REO is answerable at all times to the RDC.  The RDC is made up of elected councillors who are chosen by their elected political parties to represent all the people of the region.
All Heads of Department, including the REO, are answerable to the RDC when matters arise at the RDC statutory meetings for questioning as to works being carried out and if not to standard and other regional matters that need clarification.
ALL Councillors of the RDC have to report at all times to the head of the RDC and that is the Regional Chairman, at no time the councillors should report to the REO as was demanded by the previous REO of Region Five and by extension the previous government.
Recently, Dr. Ramayya, who was given the task as REO for Region Six under the previous government, made some very eye-opening statements which now tell us that he was incapable of handling that position.
The former REO of Region Six was asked by Mr. Sugrim on a GlobeSpan programme, who are the person or persons that the regional engineer is answerable or has to report to? It was a shocking and again misleading answer and statement given by Dr. Ramayya, as he does most of the time on various issues.
Dr. Ramayya’s answer to the question was that the engineer has to report to the regional chairman, vice-chairman and the REO.  That answer was shocking because only the REO the engineer has to report to on a daily basis.
The engineer works under the REO and not the chairman or vice chairman and, therefore, Dr. Ramayya misled our people with misinformation just to create political conflict, which he is good at doing by setting people against each other for his satisfaction.
The engineer and all HoDs are at all times answerable to the RDC and whenever the statutory meeting of the RDC is in process and questions are being asked for clarification by councillors the chairman asked for the standing order to be dropped and for the engineer or the head of the department that is under the question to address\answer to the council what’s going on said question or matter.  The same goes [for] the REO who sits as clerk of council, he\she is answerable at all times to the council.
So, I think this is a little educational session for the former REO who seems to know it all and knows nothing at all.
The vice chair of most or all of the regions is the person that chairs the works committee of the region.  This committee has to ensure it visits all the works carried out in the region at the start, while in progress and at the finish.  This is the committee that has to give its final approval as to the works being done before the contractor can be paid in full; in a breakdown, this committee has to say if the work is up to standard or not and approve it or not. This committee is very important because it has to ensure that all works are carried out to specifications and must be to standard in order to have value for money.
The REO cannot approve or disapprove any works done by contractors, because that is the task of the works committee.
The chair of the committee and its members can call on the engineer at any time when they are visiting a project and need guidance and clarification. If fact, the engineer has to be on the visiting team if questions arise about the work being done is not according to the bill of quantities, etc.
This does not mean that the engineer has to report to the chair of this committee, because the head of his committee will officially report to the REO and RDC as to what is the findings on the various works and projects carried out that were visited.
So, the former REO is very misleading and should have educated himself about the role of the REO and who are the ones that work under him and are answerable to him.
This is the very former REO I know that was refusing to attend RDC meetings, visit projects, visit various departments within the region, sign payment vouchers, meet with the public, listen as to how things should have been done, etc.
Myself and the former REO were very good party colleagues; in fact, he [used] to seek advice from me on a daily basis as to what should be done but he never learns.  He would invite me to his office several times weekly to sit and talk as to how work should be done (several RDC officials can attest to this as they saw me going to his office very often weekly; in fact, I was questioned once by the Regional Chairman as to why am I spending hours in the REO office).
I advised the former REO that what he was doing is going to stifle the development of the region and that’s not good.
I advised him on several occasions to have a good relationship with the RDC, the regional chairman, and all heads of departments and to attend RDC meetings but he refuses because I know he was afraid to answer to the council.
After the former REO see that I was putting him straight, he started to call up various AFC ministers to seek advice and wants them to visit him also.  He also did something very heartbreaking to have ministers and the then Prime Minister visit him but I won’t mention, who knows about it know what happened.
The former REO also [tried] to relocate the REO office to his home because he does not want to go to work regularly.
I think the former REO should stop misleading the public on various matters and educate himself on matters before going on public programmes when invited.
I wish him well and do think he will reply with a cuss-out and personal attack.  But the truth to it is, I do believe with all my heart that Dr. Ramayya does not even know the standing orders that governed the RDC as a former clerk of the RDC.

Yours sincerely,

Abel Seetaram