Grilling of PS linked to ouster plot, say insiders

A rare occasion when government members of a parliamentary oversight committee coalesced in bowling tough questions at a senior civil servant is allegedly part of a “plot” to help Labour and Social Security Minister Karl Samuda shake his permanent secretary, Colette Roberts Risden.

Several high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MLSS) claim that Tuesday’s theatre at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which left Roberts Risden racing from Gordon House teary-eyed, was the latest “chess move” to have the permanent secretary shipped out and away from Samuda, who has reportedly not hidden his dislike for his most senior technocrat.

One by one, government members, many of them junior legislators, encircled then pounced, criticising a sometimes rattling Roberts Risden for the ministry’s lack of response to a litany of internal audits highlighting breaches in government guidelines and significant internal control deficiencies.

“The buck stops with you,” charged committee member Dwight Sibblies.

“Why were you derelict in your responsibility?” Kerensia Morrison asked.

“You and your team acted in flagrant disregard to the guidelines,” Donovan Williams declared.

“You are captain of the ship and you have to sit in the hot seat and take the blame,” said committee member Heroy Clarke, who in previous parliamentary displays would jump to the defence of civil servants against opposition questions.

STRUGGLING WITH TEARS

Seemingly bruised by the chorus of criticism of her six-year stewardship at the ministry by some committee members, Roberts Risden left the scorching meeting struggling to hold back the tears.

Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis had cited in her 2020 annual report that the ministry had failed to respond to 60 internal audit concerns even though they were brought to the attention of the ministry’s management, including the permanent secretary.

Roberts Risden was at pains on Tuesday to point out that she did not see the 60 internal audit reports until the auditor general’s annual report was published. She also indicated that internal audit findings were referred to line managers at the ministry.

But several committee members did not buy that explanation.

When quizzed by Sibblies, the permanent secretary admitted that she might not have seen the internal audit reports initially, “but eventually”.

Some committee members felt that the permanent secretary (PS) was shifting blame to her subordinates and reminded her that she was the accounting officer and had a duty to address any breaches that occurred under her watch.

Government members on the committee grilled Roberts Risden on whether she informed the late former minister, Shahine Robinson, about any of the egregious breaches that had been flagged by internal auditors.

“Did the minister from the ministry at the time get any communication from the permanent secretary indicating that we have these internal control weaknesses that have been highlighted by internal audit that we are working on resolving?” asked Juliet Holness, member of the PAC.

Roberts Risden said that she did not inform the minister in all cases about internal weaknesses at the ministry.

According to her, the routine audits would not have been brought to the attention of the then minister.

Holness also wanted to know if Roberts Risden had responded in writing regarding the list of audit issues that had been resolved and those that remained outstanding.

The MLSS accounting officer did not cite one instance where she responded to the internal audit queries in writing, except in the last week when the ministry made submissions to the PAC.

Asked what action has been taken against line managers who did not respond to internal audit reports, Roberts Risden said: “Persons have been spoken to and written to about it.”

Where more serious breaches had been detected, the PS said persons were suspended, transferred, or their contracts not renewed.

Committee Chairman Julian Robinson expressed the view that the management did not take the internal audit function seriously.

Roberts Risden fired back: “I take real exception to the Parliament and the people thinking that I, as permanent secretary, under my stewardship in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, do not take internal audit important.”

Eyebrows were raised when the PS disclosed that she did not always have the minutes of meetings taken when meeting with her management team.

With the permanent secretary slated to face the hard-hitting committee again in the weeks ahead, committee member Michelle Charles sought guidance on who holds permanent secretaries accountable.

The committee chairman indicated that the Cabinet secretary had oversight.

It’s not the norm for government members of oversight committees to grill civil servants who appear before them because of the potential embarrassment for Cabinet ministers.

It’s no secret at the labour ministry that there’s been a breakdown in the relationship between Roberts Risden and Portfolio Minister Samuda, who took over in September last year.

Many of the issues span the tenure of Shahine Robinson, who died last year but who had appointed her niece, Gianna Neil, to the board of the National Insurance Fund, one of the ministry’s agencies at the centre of the scandal.

Several employees at the ministry have spoken to Minister Samuda’s alleged constant belittling of the PS in meetings and visible annoyance at her.

“He wants her gone,” a senior official, who didn’t want to be named, told The Gleaner.

“Minister has been upset with her and the government members know. So, they are pushing his line,” another official added, noting that Samuda’s silence amid the criticisms of the ministry should be viewed as “suspicious”.

The relationship between the PS and Samuda reportedly tanked almost from day one over an undisclosed procurement issue that the minister felt slighted by.

It’s why the official suggested that the “unusual attack” from the government members of the PAC may have been part of a plot to hasten the removal of Roberts Risden.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has been at the centre of a scandal over the exposure of $3.3 billion to loss or misuse over the past two years.

An auditor general’s report has also revealed what appears to be a culture of unresponsiveness in the ministry to findings, lamenting disregard for procedures.

The Sunday Gleaner has also uncovered a series of questionable financial dealings involving the National Insurance Fund, which manages billions of dollars collected from an insurance tax.