By Leroy Smith
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ann Greene was issued with a letter on Friday, May 29 directing her to proceed on annual leave which amounts to 36 days, following a heated argument between herself and Junior Minister of Social Protection, Simona Brooms.
Greene is expected to return to work on July 7, 2015. iNews was reliably informed that Greene and other staff members were meeting with Ministers Broomes and Volda Lawrence when Greene asked Broomes to “build” a relationship with the staff at the Agency since they were still hurting over comments Broomes made during the elections campaign.
During the campaigns, Broomes, who was then President of the Guyana Women Miners Association, allegedly said that the best thing that came out of the Child Care and Protection Agency was the paint on the building.
After reminding Minister Broomes of what she said and advising her that this is now the time to mend the fence, the Junior Minister reportedly got annoyed and informed Greene that she [Broomes] is a Minister and that Greene had no business telling her how to do her work.
The exchange reportedly took place in full view of other staff members of the agency and at one point the Minister reportedly stormed out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
Efforts made by iNews to contact Broomes last night proved futile.
Greene has not yet decided if she will be returning to ministry. Sources noted that the move might not have been a properly thought out one given the fact that Greene has been heading the department since its establishment and she is needed during this transition period.
Hello, I feel Miss Greene is a woman who is passionate and truly cares about the welfare of kids and families. It’s frustrating when the Ministry, politicians aren’t paying attention and designating needed funds to help. Also, the Ministry need to implement laws to help and protect a growing problem of abuse and neglect within families.
In every family there is always going to be conflict and that is when the big daddy (The President) has to take control of the situation and keep the kids in check.
A square peg in a round hole. The Minister of Social Protection has LIMITED SOCIAL SKILLS
Not a good start for the new administration. Do like the USA- fire them all and bring in new people. There will always be conflict between the old and the new and nothing will get done.
In any conflict situation there are normally three sides to be analysed, the parties involved in the conflict and the truth In some cases one of the adversaries may be telling the truth . In most cases the truth lies somewhere between the two stories that are told. In this case based on what was written in the media, it is my humble opinion that Ms. Greene was totally out of order and that sort of unprofessional behavior and disrespect towards the two Ministers are totally out of order and must be nipped in the bud.Ms. Greene does not have to like Ministers Lawrence and Broomes, but she has to respect their offices and accord them the courtesies and respect that are due to their offices. If Ms. Greene feels for whatever reason she cannot work Minister Broomes, then she is within her right to request a transfer from the Agency that she heads or resign.
I do not know Ms Greene personally, but I am confident that her display during the visit by the Ministers is not a reflection of the person that she is, hence, she should take some time while she is on leave and figure out how she would mend fences with her bosses in order that they would function as a team to successfully address the many problems which are within their perview.
There is absolutely no need to politicize this unfortunate incident.
Greene doth protest too much.Check the accounts.
Women dont like each other plain and simple. Research shows women always bully women.
Dictatorship is alive and well within the PNC.
Those are the type of who knows how to be vulgar and to urinates in the public like cows.
To better understand these PNC women please Google: “Daughter of APNU official urinates on PPP flag then sets it on fire”
So much for putting square peg in round hole in the form as minister.
Mrs Greene could have done the reprimand of minister on a one on one basis. Egos wounded
Broome is too arrogant too early and needs to be fired Mr Grainger
Protocol dictates that Green set aside whatever anger she held towards Broomes, the campaigner, and addressed her concerns to Broomes, the Minister. How about Green asking Broomes for a side bar to express her disappointment and disapproval of what Broomes said? If Broomes insisted on holding her negative view of the agency, then Greene could seek an audience with the senior minister for a resolution. Hopefully, there is a still a resolution to the mutual satisfaction of both aggrieved parties.
From a statement put in the press the Good Minister did not respond to the disrespectful outburst from Ms Green and as you rightly pointed out that Ms. Green was very unprofessional
Ms.Broomes embarrassment to this new administration started very early, I don’t think this is what Mr . Granger is looking for in his new government, she looks like those old fools in the past administration, as soon as they get a position the power fly up in there head. She needs to act like a minister and be more professional.
I think I should have said ‘many of the previous gov’t officials’. Sorry. There were some decent ones.
Too much of this attitude from previous gov’t officials. Let’s have the change that was voted for.
Oh lard…haiti is gonna top guyana now…
Ha ha crab dance start already…lol..
Ms. Broomes that is no way lead. yes you are a Minister but that office does not makes you lord over other, it is an office to serve and meet with others in and out of your team finding common ground working for the betterment of all people. So please do not allow the office to cloud your head. you were elected to serve. PS: do not make the same mistake of your predecessors.
Ms Green is in the wrong (pure and simple).
This was uncallled for,
Minister Broomes and Madam Ann Greene, the journey of you two together , has now started. Please, let this matter end right there. Start afresh. Forgive and forget.
Minister Broomes, you are a good fighter for a good cause. At all times remember that you are but an extension of the Govt. Act dignified like His Excellency, President Granger and PM Nagamottoo. No demonstration of authority. Don’t go there.
Madam Ann Greene, tact and discretion are called for in certain situations. The Minister is your boss. Show some respect. Defer to her. Show humility. Don’t display inverted snobbery. The minister means well. Just like you, ok? When you return to work, show that you are above the Petty emotions and that you are a People’s Person.
A new day and a new dispensation has dawned on this motherland. Peace.
both of these ladies seem to have a temper which needs to be dealt with ASAP !! Ms. !roomes you are new to this kind of business and my advise to you is that you take teaching from those who were there LONG LONG before you. use Masm Lawrence to guide you along. PLEASE DONT LET POWER0 GIVE YOU0 A STROKE!!!
If what is said of both officials are true they both are to be blamed also bad blood was there even before now. To be truthful that agency not functioning professionally there are alot of gods there
When on the campaign trail statements that hurt some people are usually made .Let’s not forget campaign is campaign so to speak. Two wrongs do not make one right.In this case both the minister and Miss Green were out of place .Miss Green should have had a one to one discussion with the minister . The minister on the other hand should not have been so short tampered. As politicians one has to be more level headed especially in a time like this when Mr President is trying to make a good Guyana.We do not need a Clement in our party .However I am only commenting on what I read .Maybe there are more to the story
Ms Broomes should not have responded to Ms Greene at that forum.
MsBroomes has no formal training in management. Her rise to fame was the TIP issues that she was very diligent in pursuing, Somebody needs to let her know that her behaviour now is in keeping with the past administration. Mr President u have more work to do.
That decision need to be reversed with immediate effect and if possible Ms. Broome be made to make a public statement addressing same. While she may be minister, without the vote of the people she would have been there. Its too damn early for this kind of attitude. Too damn early.
I think the Director should have given deep thoughts before uttering anything that was said during the elections, that was already said and done, it is the call of the Jnr. Minister if she so desires to bring up that topic and deal with it if she finds it necessary,the Director should have shown more professionalism than to do that among junior and senior staff at a meeting, that maybe was the main reason for the outburst, (you have to think and rethink and choose your words, be diplomatic when speaking to or with your superiors) In my opinion both individuals showed some amount of disrespect for the Snr Minister; Now the Administration is definitely in chaos and there would be no turning back and a division would be among the middle and junior staff because of this type of negative behaviour in their presence. Snr Minister you need to do some damage control as soon as possible or more of this fracas will occur within your Ministry. You guys need to be clear headed and try to avoid such actions in the future so that our children can be assisted and the populace would see this Ministry in a different light. Work together for the common good of our country.
Ms. Broomes mus first be aware that she is there to serve all stakeholders internal and external and so begin by building confidence i.e. SERVE – Sacrifice self adulation, Empathise, Respect, Value and Endure with others. This makes you great as a leader. You are not infallible and avoid pride and arrogance Ms. Broomes. The election hustings always produce many unsavoury outputs/behaviours/words which must not be laboured upon. Having said that there was need for tact and wisdom on the part of Ms. Greene. As an experienced counselor she would have been better advised to use a one-on-one context to alert and advise the Minister on the concerns. “Showing up” the Minister is not the best approach, particularly a new leader, in an open setting.
People u don’t know the real issue behind the whole problem. There is more to it than meet the eye so don’t start the blame game, i was once an employee there before the new government so I know what’s going on. What Ms Green should have done is have a one and one with the Minister. What people don’t know, then they should not start judging. One thing I can say is that there are other qualified persons who can b appointed to position.
Mrs Greene in future you want to admonish your superior you don’t do it in a open forum in the presence of your staff, your anger got the best of you , and you just couldn’t wait to unload on the poor junior minister, and to Ms Brooms you’re minister, you should have handled the situation better , your decision seems impulsive , far as I concern, these two hard working public servants acted unprofessional.
Ms Broome,your attitude does not bode well with your Title it is far from professional. Your being a “Minister” does not exempt you from humbling yourself and apologizing. Unfortunately, your type of personality can destroy the efforts of re-claiming Guyana’s dignity, and is an embarrassment for President Granger, and Prime Minister Nagamootoo. I do hope you understand that this is the 21st century, and monitoring of Politicians is an open door, thanks to Social Media. Therefore, people will not put up with your arrogance, either you will apology as is expected ASAP; or your assignment should be reconsidered.
power hungry!!
This junior minister is the first one in need of a lesson in being a professional public servant, as required by her president. She also needs a lesson on the virtues of humility. And, look she sends the officer off the job, what happens with the unfinished work for our nation’s disadvantaged children? She is clearly power drunk. Oh my! Sad, sad.
You could say the same thing about the permanent secretary of Amerindian Affairs. Brooms lives her concern for child protection.
You are there to serve the people, not the people serving you. Ms. Broomes you need to apologise to Ms. Greene and the staff, this will not make you any smaller, but you really need to apologise. You also need to rescind on that letter given to Ms. Greene and have her back at work. Take my stupid advise this does not look well with the administration at all. Ms. Lawrence you are level headed, sit down with both Ms. Greene and Ms. Broomes and have them sort out their issues.
The elections are over and all the campaign rhetoric, insults and fluff should be left behind. It was not prudent for the Head to make an issue out of campaign utterances. A person in public cannot afford to be thin skin. On the other hand I would suggest that the Hon Junior Minister should take it easy, new found power and authority could be a temptation to muscle flexing. The staff knows about the Ministry’s business more than the Minister. In the circumstances all parties need to be tactful and respectful. Ministers of Government should well note that they are not doing their own bidding instead they hold a sort of delegated authority because the ultimately the work belongs to H.E. The President.
Very bad choice, we cannot take the same roads that lead to past mistakes.
Ms. Broomes should be more respectful of her staff even if she’s a minister…ms. greene is far more experienced in this field..ms broomes was a miner..hardly experienced in this field at all
This is the kind of big boy and big girlism that can twart the efforts of the new administration in reaching out to public servants to perform at a higher and more professional level in dispensing services to the public. Without knowing all of the facts, what is so wrong in mending fences? Is this junior Minister too large to do this or she thinks herself infallible?
Bad choice Ms. Broomes wrong wrong wrong