Former Permanent Secretary (PS) Sewchan was not dismissed but has reverted to his previous position within the Local Government Ministry, Minister Kellawan Lall said yesterday.
Sewchan, the minister told Stabroek News yesterday, had only been acting as the ministry’s PS for the last three years. The Local Government and Regional Development Ministry had advertised a vacancy for the position and Sewchan, Lall said, was chosen to temporarily fill the post. Before he became the acting PS, Lall explained, Sewchan served as the ministry’s Principal Resource Development Officer. It was made clear to him at the beginning of his service as acting PS that once someone suitable was found to fill the vacancy then he would revert to his old position.
On Wednesday, at a post-cabinet briefing, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Roger Luncheon announced that following discussions on the matter two permanent secretaries had been reassigned; Nigel Dharamlall, former PS at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, was reassigned to the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. The PS from the Legal Affairs Ministry, Colin Croal, was moved to fill Dharamlall’s former position.
Following this announcement, the Guyana Times reported in its June 17, 2010 daily edition (under the headline ‘Sewchan’s sacking triggers PS reshuffle’) that “Sewchan (only name) was fired over his alleged involvement in the multimillion dollar fraud which was uncovered in February at the Region Four Regional Democratic Council.”
Lall, when asked about Sewchan’s alleged involvement in the Region Four fraud, described the Guyana Times’ report as “extreme libel.” Referring to the investigation conducted by the Auditor General (AG), Lall stressed that Sewchan was never named in the subsequent report as being involved in the fraudulent activities. The relevant sections in the AG’s report (on the public accounts of Guyana and on the accounts of the Ministries/Departments/Regions for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2008) confirmed the minister’s statement.
In fact, Lall further noted, it was Sewchan who unearthed evidence to show that the tender board process was being breached in Region Four. “There is nothing in the report to support the statement made in that newspaper (Guyana Times)…they pick up gossip…they are just being wicked,” Lall said.
Inaccurate reports in the media, the minister stressed, has only caused Sewchan and family unnecessary embarrassment. Sewchan, he reiterated, was never at any time sacked and still has a job.
Meanwhile, in wake of the reports on Wednesday that he had been sacked, Stabroek News attempted to speak with Sewchan. “No comment. No. No comment,” was all Sewchan repeated before adding, “I have nothing to say until it (the reshuffling) has been confirmed.”
In a statement issued yesterday afternoon, Lall said contrary to the reports in the Guyana Times and the Kaieteur News, Sewchan was not sacked. He said his reversion to the position of Chief Regional Development Officer was adequately explained by Luncheon. “Most disturbing is the unfounded “allegation” that Mr Sewchan was sacked for being involved in a fraud in Region 4,” he said, noting that at no time was he found culpable during the Auditor General investigation. He reiterated that it was Sewchan who, in routine checks, found the information that led him to believe there were breaches in standard procurement procedures in Region 4. “Mr Sewchan, though suffering severe injuries by these scurrilous public attacks, has remained true to the public service code of not making public statements and forgo the temptation to engage these gutter journalists,” he said. “These media houses, instead of acknowledging that this public officer has performed creditably in managing for three years an enormous sector such as the local government sector, have indulged in libel, unfounded allegations, innuendos, gossip and malicious lies. This is not freedom of the press. This is a blatant abuse of that freedom.”
