Local Gov’t Ministry fired workers- Min Dharamlall

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development, Mr. Nigel Dharamlall said several towns clerks, overseers, and treasurers were fired due to alleged evidence of corruption and not following procedures. According to the minister the firing was based on the recommendation of the Local Government Commission.

The minister said those cases requiring criminal prosecutions are underway. However, the minister was silent on whether the accused were given the right to be heard or whether non-compliance with procedure was a direct result of negligence on the part of the workers and/or deficiency in institutional enforcement such as supervision, training and capacity building.

According to a Department of Public Information’s story, audits were conducted and persons were dismissed following multiple reports of financial infractions at Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDCs) and municipalities across the country.

The move the minister disclosed comes ahead of the March 2023 Local Government Elections (LGE) to allow for the strengthening of local democracies and improved financial management at the local level.

 “We are committed to ensuring that we continue to work with NDCs and municipalities to provide training and development, capacity building, institutional support to all 70 NDCs and 10 municipalities, just so that there can be better administration,” he expressed.