Caricom rescinds offer to Dr. Naresh Singh

Caricom has confirmed that allegations recently made against Dr Naresh Singh while he was employed with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) were taken seriously enough to repudiate the offer to appoint him deputy secretary general of Caricom.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Caricom Secretariat said that “subsequent to the offer and Dr Singh’s acceptance of that offer, information came to light regarding certain allegations against Dr Singh which had been the subject of a confidential investigation.”
It was stated that Dr Singh was approached for the post following proper recruiting process for the executive management of the secretariat; however, “the allegations and the findings of that statutory body of inquiry are of grave concern to the Caribbean Community and the secretary general”. Caricom has thus concluded that the secretary general had to make the necessary call to halt the appointment.
Meanwhile, Dr Singh told Guyana Times International that he was aware that “the contract which was established between us is being rescinded”, continuing that “ the ‘allegations and findings’ to which the Caricom statement refers can only be based on the facts which I presented in my earlier statement to the press as there is nothing else inappropriate in my career relevant to the situation at hand”.
Dr Singh said, “The language used by others to describe the facts I have shared have been sensational and damaging and out of proportion with the reality.” He added that the Caribbean populace and the media had to “judge whether my track record of excellence over decades of world-class leadership   work has been so compromised now to prevent me from being fit to serve”.
He further said that he would like to extend gratitude to Caricom for initially showing confidence in him.
On Tuesday Dr Singh stated that there was no need for Caricom to hold on his appointment, noting that he was originally forced to reveal his proposed future with Caricom after having to answer questions in relation to his sudden departure from CIDA and subsequently his most recent position as director of the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Programme. The Cdn$ 23.2 million Canadian initiative for consultancy work in partnership with the Local Government Ministry has been subsequently suspended as a result of the Canadian Public Integrity Commission’s investigation of Dr Singh.
CPI Commissioner Mario Dion said a complaint was filed in 2010 against Dr Singh accusing him of dereliction of duty, as he misappropriated office resources at CIDA prior to his appointment at CARILED. Dr Singh was also accused of a conflict of interest, because he was providing the same service through the private sector that he was commissioned to do on behalf of the government. The investigation, which covered two years of records, confirmed the allegations.
Dr Singh had adamantly stated that the issues involving his alleged conflict of interest such as consulting for the United Nations while employed at CIDA were given clearance prior to him commencing his contract work for both organisations. He explained: “In execution of my consultancies I received a very small number of isolated emails and conference calls during business hours which were inappropriate. At no time did I intentionally break the rules or attempt to enrich myself at the expense of the Canadian taxpayer.”