Region 5 used as guinea pig to “control movement of people”

Overpaying teachers

– Opposition MP

Opposition Member of Parliament (MP) Juan Edghill has claimed that the recent move by the Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) Administration to withhold the salaries of teachers was a deliberate attempt to control the movement of people in and out of Guyana, particularly those in the teaching profession.
Edghill told Guyana Times on Sunday that he strongly believed that Government was seeking to test out this new regulation using Region Five as a “guinea pig”, because there was some fear and need to control the travel of people allegedly coming from the Government.

“This would appear as something that is taking place at the level of Central Government and Region Five was being used as the experiment to test to see how this would go,” he explained.
The MP said the group of people most likely to be affected by this was teachers, because they travel for long periods during the August holidays because of the extended vacation leave they get.
“I don’t understand why there is that great need to control people,” he lamented, while explaining that hundreds of Guyanese continue to acquire United States visas for their vacation travel.
Shifting his attention to the issue of overpayment, where the Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Five, Ovid Morrison claimed that this was costing the Region more than $80 million, Edghill told this publication that an overpayment could only occur when a payment is made after you were no longer legally employed.
“And if a teacher is on their vacation, they are legally employed. So, how could there be an overpayment made on a salary, when you are legitimately employed,” the former Junior Finance Minister added.
Edghill also raised concerns over the statements made by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, who he said seemed to be speaking on the issue, when the REO was really answerable to the Minister of Communities.
The former Minister also made reference to the Auditor General’s 2015 Report citing page 280, which highlights that in Region Five the net salary overpaid for the years 2012 to 2015 totalled $2.933 million.

However, this amount does not apply to teachers alone, but also includes amounts paid to the Guyana Revenue Authority and the Guyana National Insurance Scheme. But after monies were recovered, the net salary and deductions outstanding totalled only $2.156 million over the same period.
“I am unaware that in Region Five there is an $80 million figure quoted in there for overpayment of salaries for teachers. Where the REO and Minister Harmon got that figure from is anybody’s guess. But it is not grounded in fact as reported by the Auditor General,” he asserted.
While the REO claimed that he appeared before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and was asked to give an explanation for the expenditure of about $80 million, in respect to the payment of teachers, Edghill, who is a member of that committee, said it was never a subject for discussions at the PAC.
“For the REO to use the PAC and figure of $80 million as an excuse for his action, he is trying to find a fig leaf to cover under. It is not grounded in fact,” he stated.
Meanwhile, another PAC member, Harry Gill is questioning whether Morrison deliberately inflated the amount to justify the “draconian measures” he took against hardworking teachers.
“And did he also mislead the Government that caused the Minister of State to lie to the nation? This duplicity should not go unpunished,” Gill asserted.
In retaliation for the sudden imposition of this new policy decision, teachers and members of the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU) picketed outside the Regional Administration’s compound on Thursday.
The GTU has since written to the Permanent Secretary of the Communities Ministry, since the Ministry has responsibility for regional spending.
The Union said something was amiss with the decision of the REO and has expressed its preparedness to take legal action against the Region if this matter was not resolved soon.