Presidential free for all

A shortage of staff includes the Office being without a legal officer and the President himself, without a personal assistant.

These were some of the revelations made by Secretary to the President and chief accounting officer of the Office of the President Gregory Serrette who yesterday also told a parliamentary Public Administration and Appropriation Committee meeting chaired by Bridgid Annisette- George that, “As a result of under-staffing members of staff are regularly asked to perform excessive duties on various schedules.” The Office was operating, he said, “under inherent systems and procedures that need improving and updating.” There is also no Comptroller of House, with the Fleet Chief Petty Officer taking on the role of Comptroller responsible for making decisions with regard to purchases.

The Office is entitled to spend $1 million to $2 million and to have its own tender committee.

Asked how he was dealing with the staff shortage, Serrette said that in the past, requests were made to the Service Commissions and the Public Management Consulting Division of the Ministry of Public Administration, but to no avail. “We intend to make further requests,” Serrette said.

In response, to the Office requiring an annual budget of $693,000 for replacing minor equipment, given there is no system in place for non-perishable items, Serrette said, “minor expenditure covers air conditioning units, furniture, furnishing and not only non-perishable items.” Also questioned was the sum of $50,000, spent annually for bulbs and tubes and allocation for a personal assist to the President, when there is none.

Asked how often was the inventory register at the Office audited, Serrette said on a quarterly basis, by the internal auditor. The last internal audit of the Office, he said, was last August/September.

Told that the last Auditor General’s report referenced that items furniture and equipment costing over $129, 000 and items costing over $300,000 were not entered into the inventory register, Serrette said, “Those items were in the inventory register of the House.” He said there was an inventory register for the Office and one for the House. He said the entry was subsequently entered into the household register.

The use of the Presidential Seal also came under scrutiny as it was noted that it had been used on consumables such as chocolates and beverages. To this, Serrette said, the crest was used on non-perishable items and all the items would be covered in the inventory register. However, assistant secretary Chandra Mahadeo said it was not used on perishable items, but on a chocolate wrapper which was “an isolated situation where it was given to members of the diplomatic corps”, during a function. She said she “thinks” this was entered into the inventory register.

Asked if there was a conflict of interest policy within the governing structure at the Office, Serrette said the Office follows guidelines set out by the Integrity Commission Act.

“There was no instance of conflict of interest as far as I know.” In terms of employing staff and there being no human resources department, and when asked about the hiring practices, a legal officer from the Office attempted to answer the question which would have involved naming President Anthony Carmona.

However, committee chair Annisette- George cautioned that the President was not being held accountable, but the chief accounting officer for the Office.

In terms of who he accounts to, Serrette said that the Office of the President does not form part of the public service and he was not part of any performance assessment.

His role and responsibilities were given to him by the Ministry of Finance.