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Head of Strategic Management Dept. on vacation leave
– Home Affairs Ministry
The Ministry of Home Affairs has refuted reports that the Head of Strategic Management Department (SMD), the civilian body that is overlooking the implementation of the Guyana Police Force’s reform process was sent on Administrative leave.
In a reactionary press release issued three days after the publication of an article on the subject in this newspaper, the Ministry stated that the head of the SMD is merely on vacation leave, which was properly approved.
Head of the SMD, Patrick Mentore
The Ministry had initially passed up on the opportunity to comment on the matter when this newspaper was making enquiries last Friday.
“The records at the Ministry of Home Affairs have revealed that Mr. Mentore was granted approval to proceed on vacation leave with effect from Monday 28th April 2014, as a result of an application made by him. This was in keeping with the terms and conditions of his employment as Head of the Strategic Management Department (SMD) of the Guyana Police Force,” the Ministry said in its release.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs is unaware of the suggestion in the Kaieteur News that Mr. Mentore was sent on ‘administrative leave’,” it added.
Last Sunday’s article had stated that Patrick Mentore, whose appointment last year as Head of the Police Strategic Management Department was mired in controversy, has been sent off to facilitate a management audit of the department.
The article further stated that from all indications the Force’s administration is not too pleased with the department’s performance and output over the past 12 months, and recommended that he be sent on administrative leave.
According to sources, Mentore has not endeared himself to the top brass of the Force because of his forthright manner of doing things. He was not inclined to withhold his observations once they are in keeping with best practices of police reform.
This aspect was very evident during his presentation at the recently held Police Officers’ Conference where officers appeared very uncomfortable with the issues he raised.
But the Home Affairs Ministry has dismissed these reports, pointing out that it is a fact that a Management Audit of the SMD is about to commence.
“This is not an unusual event as it forms part of the monitoring and evaluation mechanism for the SMD that was implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs by virtue of its oversight responsibility for the Guyana Police Force.”
According to a source at the Ministry, Mentore’s contract has not yet been renewed, although this is not the case with the other members of the Department.
One indication of the Force administration’s displeasure was the inexplicable recall of a Force vehicle that former Commissioner Leroy Brumell had allocated to Mentore.
In response, the Ministry said that the issue of the assignment of a vehicle to the SMD is a matter that falls under the purview of the Guyana Police Force.
According to a senior police official, the vehicle was loaned to Mentore for a short period, pending repairs to his personal car. The officer is of the view that since Mentore and the other civilians were appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, that Ministry should have been providing a vehicle to support the work of the Strategic Management Department.
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