…deem then political appointees who did no work
The PPP/C government is looking to fire some 56 staff attached to the Ministry of Local Government who they said did no work and were political appointees of the previous APNUAFC coalition.
Over $800 million is said to have been paid, over the past five years, to the 56 staff, but there is lack of evidence of exactly what work the individuals carried out over the period. Included on the list are several A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU/AFC) party members including City Councillor, Oscar Clarke; former Member of Parliament Barbara Pilgrim; Regional official, Ganesh Mahipaul and former Region Two Regional Executive Officer, Rupert Hopkinson.
This is according to new Minister of Local Government, Nigel Dharamlall, who on Monday said that the ministry will be holding “everyone accountable for every expense done without due process”, as he revealed the situation during a press conference at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. “We were unable to verify and validate the performance of these staff. No record of their work, documentation of their work, and since we took office no presence of their person,” Dharamlall related.
Aside from their salaries the individuals were earning various amounts in non-taxable duty-free and telephone allowances. The situation was discovered when the new administration recently conducted a situational analysis at the ministry. “In our first few days of work we went into the ministry to work with the technical staff and Heads of Departments to get an understanding of what the current situation at the ministry is in the form of a situational analysis,” Dharamlall said, adding that:
“In the minister’s secretariat there were 23 staff who were earning as much in total per month as $7.30 million.
There’s a Department called the Community Councils Department and from the names we have perused these are all political operatives of the APNU/AFC. When we add up the 36 persons in the secretariat of the CDC, they’re total salaries per month is $5,898,167. This is just their salaries it excludes their allowances and there is no record of their work,” Dharamlall disclosed.
The positions included “Advisor to the Minister”; “Special Ministerial Advisor on Local Government” a position held by Clarke; and “Special Advisor”, a positon held by Hopkinson.
“We had two Advisors to the Minister: Carmichael Thorne and Samuel Parris. Carmichael Thorne was earning $488,250 per month plus $30,000 in nontaxable allowance and telephone as well as a travelling allowance of over $20,000 per month. That is over $500,000 per month, and we have no record of any of the work they would have done,” Dharamlall divulged.
The Minister opined that the individuals were “part of the political machinery that were part of the [previous] government”.
As “Special Ministerial Adviser”, Dharamlall said, Clarke was paid approximately $418, 000 per month, in addition to $25,000 per month duty free allowance, and a telephone allowance of $15,000; while as a “Special Advisor”, Hopkinson was earning $376, 807 per month with a nontaxable allowance of $70,000 per month, along with a telephone allowance of $10,000.
Pilgrim was listed as part of the CDC Department and being paid $210,982 per month, along with nontaxable allowances of $10,000 per month and telephone allowance of $10,000 per month.
Listed as a Technical Assistant, Simpson Dasilva, was listed as earning $342,416 per month, $10, 000 nontaxable duty allowance, along with $10,000 telphone allowance and $10,000 internet allowance.
Mahipaul is listed as a Region Three CDC Officer, contracted since August 1, 2015 with a salary of $210,982 per month and nontaxable duty allowance of $10,000 per month. “This is a person on the pensionable establishment of the MoLGRD involved in heavy political work and there is no documentation, no validation of the work this individual has done,” Dharamlall said.
Together the money adds up to hundreds of million. “Between [Former Minister Ronald] Bulkan secretariat and the CDC per month this is $13.5 million per month. That by five years is over $800 million that these 56 persons have earned on the back of tax payers without evidence of their efforts. We cannot countenance this,” Dharamlall established.
Dharamlall said that given that the employees have not been at work since the government changed hands a few weeks ago they are in breach of their contracts. Nonetheless he noted that the current government is willing to work along with all “as long as they are competent and professional and would like to work in the development of our country.” As we move forward everyone who works for that ministry will exude greatest of professionalism, competence, and conduct of duties that is the minimum we will work and minimum that has been set for all of us,” he said.
