Dear Editor,
I write to draw your attention to the unacceptable behaviour of the Regional Executive Officer of Region Eight, Mr Ronald Harsawack, and his continual refusal to disseminate information to the council even when requested.
Here are a couple of examples;
1. I wrote him four letters dated June 12, 2013, September 23, 2013, October 21, 2013 and December 15, 2013 requesting AFR monthly reports from all the programme managers. To date he has not presented any.
2. I wrote him two letters dated October 29, 2012 and November 11, 2012 enquiring from him how much money was spent to repair Toyota Land Cruisers PKK 2288 and PLL 6278 and a copy of the contract for the repairs of those two vehicles. To date he has not responded.
3. I wrote him two letters inquiring from him if an Assistant Regional Executive Officer has been appointed in Region Eight. To date he has not responded.
4. I wrote him two letters requesting from him copies of minutes of all tender board meetings. To date he has not provided any.
On all of these occasions the REO has seen it fit to ignore my request and has not responded. I consider this behaviour to be unacceptable, in addition to which it is impossible for our council to function effectively given the constant refusal of the Clerk to share information with the council. It is now two years since our council has been forced to endure this unacceptable behaviour from its Clerk, with no end in sight.
I guess the Minister of Local Government, Mr Ganga Persaud, would agree with me that for any clerk of a council to behave in such an uncooperative manner does not augur well for the development of any region, since it is counter-productive to development.
In light of these and many other more serious issues concerning the REO over the years, I am imploring the Minister to consider moving him from Region Eight and send someone who is willing to work with the council in accordance with constitutional provisions.
I trust that he would treat this issue with the seriousness that it deserves.
Yours faithfully,
Mark Crawford
Regional Chairman
Region Eight