Region Nine Chairman Brian Allicock yesterday accused the Regional Executive Officer (REO) Carl Parker of overstepping his mandate in the administration of the region.
“He told the President that I am not cooperating with him but it is he who is not cooperating with us. He wants to rule. He don’t want to be put to the place where he supposed to be,” Allicock told reporters at the PPP/C press conference.
The two officials have been at loggerheads for months now since Parker, a campaigner for the coalition government, was appointed REO after the last elections, while the PPP/C retained control of the region.
Allicock yesterday complained bitterly about alleged attempts by Parker to meddle in his work and efforts to prevent him from conducting his duties in an effective manner. His complaints ranged from an inadequate budgetary allocation to inadequate money for fuel to not being informed of presidential visits.
Parker, in response, called Allicock’s accusations “baseless.” He said as the REO he is responsible for the administration of the region, through its administration, agriculture, public works, education delivery and public health programmes.
“I am responsible for the effective administration of those programmes,” he said, while adding that the regional chairman and councillors are responsible for policy direction, which must be in keeping with government’s policies.
He explained that the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) will decide where a school is to be built but it is the job of the REO to ensure that it is built and that the entire process is in keeping with the laws.
During the press conference yesterday, Allicock voiced his dissatisfaction with the way the “regional structure” is being run.
Stating that his office is being continuously disrespected, he said Parker has been stepping outside of his mandate. He said Parker had gone “unofficially to villages without permission and without prior informing the villages and the village council saying that he is holding meetings, which is purely political.”
He said he and others are uncomfortable with the fact that the REO “overrides the decisions that were made by the RDC.” He also mentioned that he was never officially informed of President David Granger’s most recent visit to the region and how workers on the instruction of Parker were made to rush to ensure that what was supposed to be a nurse’s annex was ready for him.
He said there ought to be a protocol which should be followed.
“I told him, look REO, if we are going to develop this region you have to desist from listening to people out there. Let us do the Regional Democratic Council work together,” he said.
He added that he has not been given an adequate supply of fuel to travel to villages because he had been accused of visiting these areas to do political work. As a result of this accusation, he said, Parker started giving him five gallons of fuel per week, which is inadequate. He questioned how this amount of fuel can accommodate his visits to villages located hundreds of miles away.
According to Allicock, Parker recently wrote to him and advised that he must use money from the budgetary allocations to purchase fuel. He said that while he has no issue with this, it is an impractical as the money allocated is insufficient. He said that in 2015, he had asked for $53 million but only $30.5 million were given. He said that out of that money, $25 million has to be used to pay Toshaos, Deputy Toshaos and senior councillors, $1.5 million (at $10,000 per month) is to pay councillors and the remainder is for the regular statutory meetings, emergency meetings, transportation for himself and councillors, national activities, stationery and maintenance of vehicles.
Responding to this, Parker told Stabroek News that he has no control over the money Allicock is referring to and it is up to him to spend as he sees fit. He said it has been months since he wrote to the Chairman and asked that they meet and rework the budget to “make the money do” but received no response.
He informed that the Ministry of Finance is adamant that there must be no over expenditure. He said if this happens, the accounting officers run the risk of being surcharged or dismissed.
Parker said that when he took up his position last year, he met 105 vacancies. He said that he then “set about to fill the critical positions.” He said that in this regard he wrote to the Public Service Commission and asked that those vacancies be advertised. That was done. Subsequently, he said, 26 qualified persons from the Rupununi sent in applications and these were sent to the PSC, which later informed that a visit would be paid to the region to conduct interviews.
Parker said that when the commission visited in November last year, three persons whose names were not among the applications he submitted were interviewed and two were later appointed. He said when he inquired why none of the 26 were appointed, he was told that they were not qualified.
“I am hamstrung by the fact that those positions were not filled,” he said.
It is expected that Allicock will raise his concerns an RDC meeting scheduled for April 1.
