Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Six Dr Veerasammy Ramayya has resigned his position citing “unbearable” circumstances as the reason and has also signalled his intentions to resign from the Alliance For Change (AFC).
“I did not send an official letter as yet, but yes that is my intention,” Dr Ramayya told this newspaper yesterday when asked if he would also be resigning from his party. Should he follow through with this, it would be his second resignation from the party which he had served in the National Assembly during the last Parliament. He had rescinded the first resignation following his appointment as REO.
He indicated that he has sent in his resignation letter to the Ministry of Communities and he will work up to September 15.
“There are many reasons but I don’t want to get into it right now. I would make a statement at a later stage,” he responded when asked for the reason behind his decision, but when pressed he said he was unable to institute needed changes and was “getting fight down from all sides.”
The Ministry of Com-munities announced his resignation yesterday stating that it had acknowledged receipt of the notice of resignation “and expressed heartfelt gratitude to Dr Ramayya for his service to the Regional Democratic Council and the people of Region Six. Although his tenure at the region was short-lived, it has been a remarkable one.”
The ministry also assured the residents that no effort will be spared to ensure the region is provided with a replacement “with the administrative skill to deliver effective leadership to the region in the provision of services.”
According to Ramayya, while he would have attempted to implement needed changes in the regional administration these were being stymied by all those around him.
“The support that was expected I did not get it and the frustration became a little unbearable to tell you the truth,” he said, adding that he had made several recommendations for changes but these were not followed through.
Asked specifically from whom he received resistance Ramayya said some came from “my own people, AFC and APNU, working around me. The transparency that I had adopted to get things going people don’t want that they want to continue in the same manner.”
Saying that he was being “cornered by all three sides” the soon-to-be former REO said he would not stand for skullduggery and that was where he believed the problem came. He said he had no real problems with Regional Chairman David Armogan, but with others, including opposition PPP members at the RDC.
“Look I did not get the support I needed so badly to put things in place. Even the APNU people were not cooperating fully… I have seen evidence or corruption and I spoke about it on television but I was not getting any changes and I don’t like to complain to anyone…,” he said.
Asked about his future, Ramayya said he has “No future plans politically” adding that he does not need a job. Ramayya is an herbal doctor and has had his private practice for years.
He had been at loggerheads with the regional administration and only last month the Ministry of Communities was forced to issue a statement refuting claims that he had abandoned his office. The ministry had clarified that the REO had proceeded on annual leave.
He also had issues with Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the New Amsterdam Public Hospital Colin Bynoe, who he had accused of assaulting him and ordering out of the hospital after he had gone to investigate reports of problems with the hospital’s theatre.
His resignation brings an end to a controversial appointment, as the PPP/C had questioned his competence and qualification and the fact that he was appointed after the former REO was sacked.
Former REO Paul Ramrattan had described his dismissal as a “scornful act,” and maintained that he never used his office in a partisan manner but carried out his duties in professionally and lawfully.
Ramayya’s appointment in September last year, came shortly after he had announced that he was quitting the AFC, while charging that Berbicians were not adequately represented in the APNU+AFC coalition government. At the time, he had said he was offered an assistant position in either the Ministry of Agriculture or the Office of the Prime Minister.
However, he said he declined the offer made to him by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who is also the Vice-Chairman of the AFC. “Moses told me that they would give me one staff and pay me $180,000 per month. Be my own chauffeur and use my own vehicle…? That is not (an acceptable) position for me for what I have done for the party,” he had said at the time.
He had stressed that he did not reject the job offer because of the remuneration but rather because in that position he would have unable to serve the region for which he has been fighting.
“… The job would not have given me leverage for the work I wanted to do as it entailed me gathering information. I was willing to re-open my clinic and work because I could maintain myself,” Ramayya had said.
He had said that with the REO position he would have been better be able serve the residents of Berbice and to make changes that would see the people of the region receiving better service.
Questions were also raised about Ramayya’s qualifications, which are not in sync with what the Ministry of Communities had asked for in its advertisement for REOs. According to that advertisement, applicants must have a Master’s Degree in Administration, with five years’ managerial experience or a first degree in Management or Public Management or any other related field with 10 years’ managerial experience in the public sector. Experience in auditing/knowledge of regional administrative systems would also be an asset, it also said.
However, Ramayya had defended this and said he was aptly qualified for the job. He indicated that had served three years as a parliamentarian, a position that exposed him to the workings of regional administration. He had also said he was the holder of two Bachelor’s degrees, a Master’s Degree and a PhD. His studies would have been in social work, psychology and political science and apart from operating his herbal clinic, he also worked in real estate.
