Letter about SEBI Part of a Series of Worrisome Behaviors by Dr. Wayne Forde – UG

Jun 25, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – The University of Guyana (UG) on Saturday responded to a letter published by the Kaieteur News on June 23, 2023 that alleged unethical behavior by some at the University.

In response, the University said that the letter intended to cause “egregious harm to individuals inside the University of Guyana.”

“This can be evidenced in a series of threatening emails and phone calls made by Dr.  Wayne Forde to persons named and unnamed in the contextually unactual letter he published.

In fact, The Vice Chancellor has had cause on two occasions to politely write to Dr. Forde asking him to cease and desist from threatening behaviors. The last such letter sent was 2 days ago,” the response said.

Further, the University said that for legal and ethical reasons cannot divulge the details of the particular matter which is the subject of Forde’s letter. Notwithstanding, the institution said that it has been advised that a very brief description of the originating issue is permitted in the interest of public accountability.

“The matter which Wayne Forde has sought to expand into a public furor has to do with The Dean and the Faculty of SEBI’s refusal of the request of the writer of the letter, who is a temporary lecturer in SEBI, to receive a legal document between the University and another external entity in which he has no standing,” the response detailed noting that the University adheres to a strict confidentiality code and cannot share agreements with third parties without the written consent of all the parties to the documents. As such the request of the writer had to be denied.

“The refusal to accept this decision on some specific grounds and the official record of these discussions would have escalated in subsequent meetings of SEBI until the matter was sent to the Vice Chancellor as a complaint.”

Upon receipt of the complaint, the Vice Chancellor acted by following due process by seeking the Faculty’s response to the complaint and by sending the matter to the Committee of Deans for their review and response. The Vice Chancellor noted the response received and the Faculty’s counter response including evidence of a most concerning nature pertaining to Mr. Forbes’ behaviour.

This triggered an “independent internal investigation to ensure complete factuality, fairness and objectivity on both sides.”

The University of Guyana said that the “final process entails interviewing Mr. Forde and all members of the faculty, and others directly involved in the matter.”

“Therefore, it is grossly unactual and misleading for Mr. Forde to represent that no action was taken,” the University said in its response.  

Moreover, the University of Guyana said that while it is a desire to respond in a timely manner to complaints, it is regrettable that cannot obtain for certain types of complaints.

“However, all matters do receive attention. The response time depends on various factors such as the number of cases, workload at the time, the nature and complexity of the cases and resources or actions needed for their resolution. These processes are being addressed for increased efficiency,” the response stated.

Additionally, the statement noted that “while some people believe that they should receive the personal and undivided attention of the Vice Chancellor in any matter they think is relevant, with 11,000 students, 1500 staff, and 141 units and 2000 micro processes to oversee on a daily basis, plus unplanned national items to respond to, this is never going to be possible. Therefore, certain matters are delegated.”

The University said Mr. Forde’s insistence on singling out the Vice Chancellor and female staff has also been noted and presents some very troubling concerns.

“Given recent developments, the University has been advised that nothing more should be publicly discussed since this matter has unfortunately become a matter of legal and criminal interest in regard to 8separate infractions allegedly committed by Dr. Forde against SEBI and the University. Despite this the University would wish to address these matters in an amicable manner.”

Further, the country’s premier tertiary institution said that, “In the spirit of collegiality and mutual respect, The University of Guyana continues to urge that core journalistic principles of fact and background checking be exercised to minimize harm and exposure to legal and other actions before publishing. The University, however, notes with appreciation the corrective measure of right of response given by the newspaper in regard to this unfortunate matter.”

Meanwhile, the University thanked “caring members of the public for their insights and commiseration on the letter obviously intended to cause egregious harm to individuals inside the University of Guyana.”

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• Behaviors, Dr. Wayne Forde, egregious, University of Guyana (UG), Worrisome

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