One week after Guyana Times had reported that Chairman of the National Agricultural and Research Extension Institute (NAREI), Dr Patrick Chesney, had been attempting to use his authority to fire the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Oudho Homenauth, the Agriculture Ministry has taken a position on the matter and has instead relieved Chesney of his duties.
This publication had reported on December 9, 2018 that employees of NAREI had written Agriculture Minister Noel Holder, seeking his intervention in the matter.
Sources had revealed that Chesney, who joined the Board of Directors less than one year ago, had put forward a motion to have Homenauth dismissed.
“Since Dr Chesney came on the Board, and almost from the beginning, he writes very insulting things about the CEO; and eventually, at one of the Board meetings, he decided to move a motion to have Dr Homenauth dismissed,” a source had said.
The source, who is an employee at the institute, indicated that the Chairman had insisted that the motion be voted upon by members of the Board. However, Chesney was the only individual who voted in favour of the motion which he had brought forward.
“He said, ‘Let’s vote’, and when the vote was taken, he was the only person voting in favour of the dismissal. Not everyone was at the meeting, but seven Board members voted against,” the source said.
Last week, Minister Holder acted on the matter following a probe, and informed Chesney that his services were terminated.
