Amid an investigation in Canada over a possible conflict of interest, sources say the recently signed contract between Caricom and Guyanese Naresh Singh for the position of Deputy Caricom Secretary General is to be terminated.
When Stabroek News contacted Singh yesterday by email he said he had no comment to make. Singh had told Stabroek News on Monday that he saw no need to delay taking up his appointment with Caricom saying that there is enough time for an investigation before he formally takes up the post. Singh had taken the extraordinary step of announcing his appointment even though there had been no word from the secretariat.
Sources say the Canadian investigation has proven embarrassing for Caricom and given the risk of an adverse finding, a decision was taken to terminate the contract. Caricom Heads wrapped up a two-day meeting in Haiti yesterday at which the matter was likely to be raised.
Singh resigned recently from a Canadian-funded programme CARILED to take up the Caricom position. He had moved to the CARILED project from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) amid an investigation by a watchdog agency of practices at CIDA. Singh was said to have been at the centre of this investigation. CARILED is funded through CIDA and this resulted in Overseas Co-operation Minister Julian Fantino last week referring the matter to the integrity commissioner. Further funding for CARILED has also been suspended.
