Four top brass resign from Vector Control Unit amidst audit findings

(Mondale Smith)

The Vector Control Unit will see changes as early as Monday (today) whether there is resignation or not says Health Minister Dr. George Norton. This statement was made even as news indicates that four top brass officials have resigned en-block from the Unit. That unit is responsible for control and treatment as well as record keeping related to vector borne diseases nationally, such as Malaria, Filaria and other neglected diseases. And as such, the Health Ministry has asked for a complete revamp of the unit to make it more accountable. Kaieteur News understands that four of the unit’s top brass recently tendered their resignations even as external audits conducted by the international funding agencies are turning up damning findings. The Health Minister did not deny the information of the resignations but he did not mention any names. “We know that work has been done and we have already interviewed persons to take up the positions in case those who tendered their resignations are gone and we are hoping for the best,” Dr. Norton said. He however stated that “Government could not be satisfied with the existing conditions at that unit after every effort has been made to put the unit in order.” One of the four who reportedly tendered his resignation is Rihad Rahman the Head of the Malaria Section of the Vector Control Unit. Reports are that Director of Vector Control, Dr. Morris Edwards, spoke to those concerned last Friday with the hope that careful consideration would have been given before they actually resign but from all accounts the resignations were not withdrawn. Not wanting to definitively state if the audits prompted these officials to resign, the Minister noted that “the audits came up with some findings that are not complementary to the whole unit. Minister Dr. Norton said the external auditors offered a list of concerns from their findings, which include, “the consumption of fuel and claims for per diem by officials.” Kaieteur News understands that there was a major breakdown in communication between the unit’s management and the staff, which was not in the best interest of the country and this was one of the reasons that prompted the audit. But information indicates that help has been sought from PAHO to get the Vector Control Unit running on even keel. The Minister said that there were some discrepancies of under-reporting of data collection and processing of Malaria cases from the Unit, which caused red lights to blink. In 2013 there were 32,000 cases of malaria recorded while in 2014 only 11,000 cases were recorded. “There must be some reason for the big drop because that is alarming and it tells us that something is not right because they have not changed their strategies,” Dr. Norton said. The person in charge of the vector control unit at PAHO/ WHO came to Guyana to help create a concept note, put systems in place and make suggestions of how things should run in the best interest of the country. As part of new efforts, plans are in train for individual Technical Directors to be in charge of malaria, filaria and neglected tropical diseases, while a non-technical manager would be employed to take stock. As opposed to sending technical personnel from Georgetown, a strategy the health ministry plans to employ is training of persons in regions where the mosquitoes are prevalent so that fewer resources would be spent on travelling and relocating of professionals. “Regardless of the fact that we are getting funding from donor agencies, we are very particular about accountability,” the Minister said.