Georgetown: Commissioner General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Khurshid Sattaur and 20 other members of his staff have proceeded on annualised leave, Finance Minister Winston Jordan has confirmed.
He however said that Sattaur had requested his leave, while the 20 other staffers had accumulated leave and were instructed to proceed on their leave. Although speculation is rife that Sattaur is being let go, Jordan insisted that the Customs boss was not sent on leave but rather requested his leave.
He noted that some of the employees have leave amounting to 300, 280, and 240 days and Minister Jordan thought that they should proceed on leave and return. Nevertheless, he stated that before sending the officers on leave, the Commissioner General was consulted and the Finance Minister was assured that the decision to send the staff on leave will not affect the smooth running of the Authority. “As the list was perused, I asked the Commissioner General if by sending a particular person on leave, will it affect the operations at the GRA… and once he would have indicated in the negative, we immediately informed the officer to proceed on leave”, Jordan added. He noted his surprise that members of staff had that amount of leave, and as result, emphasised that it is time for them to recharge their batteries and come fresh.
The Minister stated that at no point in time, heads of department should encourage staff members to have accumulative leave owned to them. “Once the time has come for leave to be taken… it must be taken… we cannot have people working in an organisation for years without taking leave… there are others who can do the same job,” he noted. Only recently Government sacked the deputy head of the GRA Clement Sealey following the expiration of his contract. Sealey’s reappointment at GRA had come under scrutiny by the A Partnership for National Unity while in Opposition. The party had questioned the rehiring of retirees into senior positions, which it contended was a dangerous practice that serves to de motivate others staff and stifle their growth.
Meanwhile, despite maintaining that Sattaur had requested leave, Guyana Times was told that the new Government has reportedly identified a replacement for him.
This publication was told that the New York-based replacement for Sattaur has already toured the GRA facility and could take up his position as soon as Sattaur’s contract expires.
Sattaur has already reached the age of retirement, but was retained by the former Administration. Sources said the Government will await the expiration of his current contract to replace him. Contacted previously on this issue, Jordan and Junior Finance Minister Jaipaul Sharma both denied having any knowledge of Sattaur’s replacement. “I… don’t know what’s going on,” Jordan told this newspaper recently.
“That does not fall under my responsibility so I don’t know,” Sharma insisted. However, GRA employees told this publication that the “word around the office” is that Sattaur will be replaced.
Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, who has responsibility for the appointment of agency heads as per the Cummingsburg Accord, was recently asked why Sattaur has not being let go by the Administration.
He said despite his party – the Alliance For Change – had called for Sattaur’s resignation during the campaign trail, now they are in office, he said they cannot go on a vendetta or political warfare. “You have to look to what is called equity and due process… you have to deal with due process,” Nagamootoo had said.
Minister of State Joseph Harmon had told a news conference that a number of state boards were currently being reviewed. He had said that some of the heads of boards and agencies “can never enjoy the confidence of the new Government and were just in a “holding pattern” during the transitioning period. Harmon hinted that there were several other individuals who still hold their positions because of the mere fact that the Government was not quite settled in.
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