Staff want Minister of Human Services and Social Security to be removed

Last Updated on Monday, 19 December 2022, 15:36 by Denis Chabrol

A number of staff members of the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security are calling for the removal of their Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud on grounds of alleged mismanagement and a bundle of failed initiatives.

Demerara Waves Online News has been able to independently confirm that workers are still aggrieved, although they were able to convince the government to send former Minister of Public Service Dr Jennifer Westford to meet with the Permanent Secretary and guide her on how best to address some of the concerns.

However, sources said little has changed at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and more workers are threatening to leave their much-needed professional posts next year.

Dr Persaud did not take calls or respond to WhatsApp messages. Calls to her office’s landline numbers also went unanswered.

President Irfaan Ali also did not immediately respond to queries about a letter that a number of the ministry’s staff said they have dispatched to him, levelling several allegations.

Concerns were also raised, in what is being termed a second letter to the President, about procurement practices and several initiatives that they said have yielded little or no success.  “Nothing goes according to workplan. As the Minister wake up, she has a new idea that throws everybody work off, without thinking about us and how it affects our schedule. Departments are not allowed to function. What is the purpose of Managers if they cant do their work independently?,” the letter states.

” The Minister is doing a lot of short-term programmes which has no impact whatsoever. WE call her the Minister of “failed initiatives” and the “launching Minister”. From creating a stupid hand signal in TIP to calling 914 hotline. If there is an emergency, y’all betta call 911,” the letter states.

The 914 Hotline remains active and hundreds of women have been trained and mentored in small business initiatives as well as the provision of assistance to find markets through an Online app, the ministry has previously reported.

Those include the Human Services Minister allegedly facilitating the hiring of several members of the Dharmic Sabha to work there in some instances at higher salaries while the highly qualified professionals are burdened with more work for less pay.

The staff want Ms Priya Manickchand or Dr Westford to be sent to head the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security Ministry because they are faced with constant threats of transfers, the plagiarising of their work, and alleged racial discrimination.