Change in D.O.E.’s Procedural Manual Not Sitting Well with Public Officers

Some senior public officers in the Department of Environment are questioning a change in the qualifications for the Chief Environmental Officer post. They say that according to an internal circular on the vacancy, dated December twenty-third, an applicant no longer needed to possess a master’s degree in an environmental-related field – that is, environmental science, ecology or natural resource management. Instead, they could have a master’s in management or administration. For them, this flies in the face of the D.O.E.’s Procedural Manual, and so a letter by those aggrieved by the changes was sent to the C.E.O. in the Ministry of Public Service on December thirty-first.  P.S.U. President Dean Flowers says it’s almost two months later, but there has been no response to the letter.

Dean Flowers

Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union

“I would classify them as some of the most senior staff within the Department of the Environment who had written to C.E.O. Zetina in the Ministry of Public Service voicing some concerns with the vacancy notice and in particular their concern over the qualification and experience that was now required for the new Chief Environmental officer to possess. And they zoomed in on the issue that the qualification and experience was limited to a master’s degree and their concern was that it was accepting applications from candidates with a master’s degree in management. Just a year ago, I believe, the department had also put out a vacancy for a senior environmental officer and the senior environmental officer works right beneath the deputy and the chief. And the qualifications for that post that is lower than the Chief Environmental Officer post is a Master of Science degree in environmental sciences or environmental studies, a master’s in environmental engineering, master’s in environmental law or other related that is physical, biological or information science. So they pointed out that there was something irregular about the qualification and experience for the chief, because when you look at a lower level post, it had higher requirements in terms of qualification and experience. So clearly, their concern was that this move to accept a master’s in management or administration was effected to accommodate a particular individual.”

Back in November, 2021 Alegria went on pre-retirement leave and officially retired earlier this month, on February eighth, 2022.  A memo signed by C.E.O. Doctor Kenrick Williams back then outlined how the duties of the post were split between Deputy Chief Environmental Officer Edgar Eck and Senior Environmental Officer Anthony Mai.