Former Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Audrey Waddell today dismissed reports that she has been terminated from the ministry for creating a position at Guyana’s Ottawa mission for her daughter-in-law, saying that her contract comes to an end in May.
On the allega tions of nepotism, Ambassador Waddell said that the woman’s hiring “is not the way it was presented” to the public.
“There is no termination. My contract comes to an end on May 31st” , Waddell told Stabroek News today when contacted.
“I haven’t received any termination letter or notice or told anything otherwise,” she added.
Asked if her contract will be renewed she replied, “I do not know”.
Waddell said that she today learned that reports had been circulating publicly that she was terminated and that she had created a position and contract for her daughter-in-law to be employed at the Ottawa mission on Canada, although the woman is not qualified.
“This is a strange thing also because I do not know that,” she said, while adding that as she is still an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs she has to be mindful of what she says but said that the employment matter “is not the way it was presented”.
When Minister of Foreign Affairs Hugh Todd was contacted today by this newspaper he said that he did not at the time wish to comment on the issue as “it is not ready for public consumption” and is an issue being “internally discussed”.
The Minister reminded that Waddell has over three decades of service to this country.
The career diplomat had been removed by the APNU+AFC in December 2019 from her Permanent Secretary posting which it had created for her, and which was followed by a restructuring of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It was during that restructuring process that the position of Foreign Secretary was created for then former Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenindge, after he had to resign from the Parliament, having held dual citizenship. At that time, President David Granger said that Waddell had been earmarked for a foreign posting.
Waddell remained employed at the MoFA and is Guyana’s Co-Agent in the border controversy case before the International Court of Justice.
