Ann Greene denies she was disrespectful to Junior Social Protection Minister

The Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency, Ann Greene has broken her silence about the alleged verbal confrontation she had with the Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, Simona Broomes.

The confrontation which took place in Greene’s office in front of the Minister of Social Protection Volda Lawrence resulted in Greene being sent on her annual leave.

In a letter which appears in today’s Stabroek News, Greene said her actions are being totally misrepresented and it amounts to injustice. She also denies that the unprofessional conduct came from her.

“There was display of unprofessional conduct on the day in question but it was certainly not by me and this could be attested to if a proper inquiry is conducted. It seems that trying to represent staff, being honest and forthright amount to being “grossly unprofessional, constituting insubordination, contemptuous and untenable”, Ms. Greene wrote.

She said the incident took place at the end of the visit by the two ministers in her office when only the Deputy Director and I along with the Ministers, the Permanent Secretary and the Permanent Secretary’s Admin. Assistant were present.

According to Greene, no other staff member was present.

She wrote that “I presented the Hon. Ministers with packages containing information on the operation of the Agency and a goal for the next year. It was thereafter; that I suggested to the Junior Minister, in conversational tone that she should build relationships because the staff and I are hurting from her remarks and utterances during the campaign trail which we feel was an attack on professionals serving the people and should not have been.”

She said she never demanded an apology or said that she is not willing to work with the Ministers, since “to the contrary I have been preparing the staff for this from the time the announcement was made. I am not going to say more on this matter. “

The Director of the Child Care and Protection Agency said a proper investigation should be carried out into the incident.

“A proper investigation should be conducted for the facts. I stand by what I say and I have been a public servant for over 40 years and worked with a number of Ministers through transition phases and always zealously guarded my professionalism, being honest, genuine and sincere and I see no reason for me to change my approach now. I intend to continue to be a professional consequently I will have no further comments in the media on this matter.”

The Minister of Social Protection, Volda Lawrence claimed that Greene was loud in her statements to the junior minister over statements the Minister made on the campaign trail.

Before becoming Minister, Broomes served as the President of the Guyana Women Miners Organisation and led a national effort to tackle trafficking in persons and child labour.

She was recognised for those efforts by the U.S government which named her as an International Hero in the fight against human trafficking. She has always been critical about the role the Child Care and Protection Agency ought to play in taking care of victims of human trafficking who are children.