…as Region 9 REO
Months after Communities Minister Ronald Bulkan rebuffed media reports that Carl Parker, embattled Region 9, Regional Executive Officer (REO) was still on the job, information has now surfaced that Parker was officially sent on leave from June, 10, 2017.
Parker was on February 9, charged in the Georgetown Magistrates’ court, with sexual assault against one of the region’s elected officials.
Bulkan had confirmed that Parker would be removed from his position as the REO of Region Nine with immediate effect as a result of the charge.
However, members of the community, the Regional Chairman and sections of the media had reported that contrary to the claims made, Parker was still on the job.
These advances were quickly shut down by Minister Bulkan who posited on February 21, that ‘Parker has been off the job for over one week, and that a replacement REO has since been installed.’
That replacement REO was identified as Kerwin Ward, a field auditor who was described as having years of experience with the region 3 Administration.
However a correspondence, seen by Inews, from the Ministry of Communities Permanent Secretary, Emil Mc Garrell to Parker stated that “ this letter serves to inform you that approval has been granted for you to proceed on ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE with full pay with effect from 2017.05.10…until the legal proceeding against you is concluded in Court.”
Based on the contents of the correspondence, Parker would have officially been serving in his capacity of REO months after Bulkan had said the he would be ‘interdicted from duty with immediate effect.’
It is alleged that Parker, 53, of Cenotaph Boulevard, Lethem, Region Nine, had sexually assaulted the female official on June 13, 2016, at Yupukari, Central Rupununi, during a village outreach he had hosted.
He appeared before Magistrate Judy Latchman, who read the charge in-camera before granting him bail in the sum of $200,000. The REO pleaded not guilty.
Opposition Leader Dr Bharrat Jagdeo had accused Government of failing to discipline Parker against whom several similar allegations have been made.
Earlier in this year a petition was signed by over 1000 persons requesting that Parker be removed from his post in that Region on the grounds of professional misconduct.
In the petition, Parker is accused of having committed an “accumulation of actions which are discriminatory against [the Amerindian] people”, discriminating and targeting Amerindians in that Region since he was appointed to the post of REO.
He is further being accused of 14 infractions which include, refusing to accept appointments by the Public Service Commission (PSC), among others.
