Issue had nothing to do with controlling the use of the Region Two Chairman’s vehicle by the REO

Dear Editor,

I have noticed that the Regional Chairman of Region Two in your letters’ column denied misuse of the Region’s vehicle assigned to him (‘It is not for the Region Two REO to determine when the Regional Chairman must use his vehicle’ SN, September 18). While I have never questioned the Regional Chairman’s full use and control of the state vehicle “24 hours a day”, I simply requested that he make the vehicle available for the use of the Regional Administration and acting Regional Chairperson while he was on 42 days annual leave.

I felt, as the Regional Executive Officer, I should have been allowed by your newspaper to react to his allegation.

I wish to let you know that we should now inform the public ‒ taxpayers in particular ‒ that the issue had nothing to do with control of the use of the vehicle by the Regional Executive Officer. It is unbelievable that copying the request to return the only enclosed vehicle in the Region to the Minister of Communities and the Permanent Secretary had no effect on the Chairman’s disrespectful action. Neither did a second reminder that the vehicle is needed to provide assistance with transportation for the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs.

In the circumstances, I must now insist that the Regional Chairman apologise to my principals and to the Regional Democratic Council for unbecoming behaviour before the next RDC meeting. Yours faithfully, Rupert Hopkinson Regional Executive Officer Region Two