Finance Secretary Neermal Rekha, who failed to resume duty as expected on July 31st, has been replaced, Minister of State Joseph Harmon announced yesterday.
Deputy Finance Secre-tary Louise Boyer is now acting Finance Secretary and Harmon stated that Cabinet has approved her appointment “until such time that she can be confirmed.”
At a post-Cabinet press briefing at the Ministry of Presidency, Harmon said Minister of Finance Winston Jordan had briefed Cabinet about Rekha’s “abandonment” of his post. He noted that repeated attempts to contact him were to no avail.
Cabinet was advised that Rekha proceeded on leave, which ended on July 31st. “Since that date Mr Rekha has not returned to work and has therefore abandoned his post as the Finance Secretary,” Harmon said.
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with Rekha for a comment yesterday.
A senior source within the ministry said yesterday that, given the circumstances, there is no need for a letter of dismissal to be issued. The source said the mere fact that Rekha had abandoned his post clearly showed that he was no longer interested in the job.
Sources have indicated that Rekha was uncomfortable working with the present administration.
It is unclear if any legal action could be taken against Rekha and whether his actions could affect any benefits owed to him had he demitted office in the prescribed manner.
When asked if any efforts were made to contact Rekha before Boyer was given the post, Harmon responded in the affirmative. He said that calls were made to the man’s home but there was no answer. He said Jordan has since indicated that Rekha “has been in touch with his [former] secretary at the ministry on at least two occasions after July 31st.”
He said Rekha did apply for the leave that he took prior to his abandonment of the post and it had been approved.
How Rekha’s absence will affect the ongoing financial audits and what measures have been put in place to get information from him, if required, were not specific issues address-ed at the Cabinet meeting, Harmon said. But he noted that those matters have been taken into consideration by the minister. He added that Boyer, who comes with a lot of experience, will be “stepping up to the plate.”
Up to the point of his departure on leave, Rekha had handed over documents as part of a mechanism to do a check of inventories of the state that were used by previous ministers, heads of agencies and other VIPs. These documents are in the possession of Governor of the Bank of Guyana Dr Gobind Ganga and should have been examined by the government’s transition team. Rekha is also being seen as an important element in the ongoing financial audits.
Meanwhile, financial audits have started for at least three state agencies: the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Gold Board, and the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited.
