Sacked Private Sec. Karen Vanterpool back with govt
Many would have remembered a story first and accurately reported by this news site on the firing of Ms Vanterpool, who is originally from Virgin Gorda.
No reason was given publicly for the sacking of Ms Vanterpool.
Director of Communications for the Government of the Virgin Islands, Mrs. Arliene T. Penn confirmed to this news site that Ms Vanterpool has been rehired and is “working at the Department Agriculture as a Senior Executive Officer and her current role is to provide clerical/administrative support to the Veterinary Division of the Department.”
Ms Vanterpool, who had worked with Government before her sacking, came to the public’s attention when she was hired weeks after the 2011 General Elections as the Private Secretary to Minister Walwyn.
Private Secretaries, who are civil servants, could only be hired on the direct request of a Minister of Government and they can only be removed also on the request of the Minister.
Following the 2011 General Elections, which saw the National Democratic Party (NDP) of Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith take power and a new Cabinet appointed, all five Private Secretaries were replaced as was expected and is customary.
However, controversy erupted when after just six months Ms Vanterpool was sent on leave on June 26, 2012 and her vacation leave was expected to end around the end of July, 2012.
Then this news site was the first to accurately report that sometime at the end of July, early August 2012, Ms Vanterpool was fired reportedly on the advice of the Minister for Education and Culture Hon. Walwyn.
In the article posted in August of last year by this news site, one senior civil servant who had wished to remain anonymous, had told this news site that, “it is highly unusual that a Minister will want his Private Secretary to take vacation leave just six to seven months in a new administration…it has never happened before…something must have gone wrong, like a fall out.”
A source in the Human Resources Department told this news site that Ms Vanterpool’s recent employment that commenced on May 6, 2013 “had not gone through the Public Service Commission as it appears that she is a daily paid worker and her appointment would have been handled by the Ministry of Finance.”
Both the Deputy Financial Secretary Wendell M. Gaskin CFE and the Ministry’s Human Resources Manager Jeremy W. Hodge did not return calls on the matter.
Following the 2011 elections that saw the now ruling NDP come to power, many public officers were fired, forced to retire, transferred, contracts not renewed and others sent on long vacation leave. In all cases, the officers were Virgin Islanders.
The elected officials continue to claim that “it's not us…we have nothing to do with the service” as the United Kingdom appointed Governor is responsible for the civil service. However, while that may be the case on paper, all of the sacking, hiring of supporters, family and friends, transferred and forced out of officers have been directly linked to Ministers of Government of the NDP.
A few months ago both the Accountant General Kharid Fraser and her Deputy Anna Rabsatt were both forced out in exchange for an Anguillan national Kalleesha C. Mendie.
30 Responses to “Sacked Private Sec. Karen Vanterpool back with govt”
well sah...the man fired his st.... mom
Peace!
Karen stay on your knees that is all I can encourage you with this morning. Modern day "Joseph" I call this, But you are a female so I guess you are "Josephine" LOL