MoF’s Finance Secretary sent packing

Finance Secretary, Michael Joseph, was on Friday terminated from his post under Ministry of Finance (MoF).
In the November 13 termination letter seen by Kaieteur News, Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General (AG), Anil Nandlall, wrote to Joseph on behalf of President Irfaan Ali, and states that, “I regret to inform you that your contract for service as Finance Secretary, Ministry of Finance, dated the 1st day of November 2018 to the 31st day of October 2021, inclusive, is hereby terminated with effect from the 14th day of December 2020, pursuant to Clause Seven of the scheduled of the said contract.”

Joseph was directed to proceed on administrative leave with “immediate effect” until his contract ends on December 14, 2020. Importantly, the letter does not give a reason why Joseph’s services were terminated. Nonetheless, he was requested to return any property and records belonging to the government, which may still be in his custody.

According to the MoF’s website, Joseph hails from Stewartville on the West Coast of Demerara, and brings to the MoF a “welded portfolio” of experiences, certification and training in public administration, business administration, public finance, corporate finance and project management.
He served in the capacities of Budget Director and Director of Finance with the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Saint Lucia. He also served as General Manager of the Saint Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC), and as the Executive Finance Director on the Board of the Saint Lucia Banana Growers’ Association (SLBGA).

In addition, Joseph undertook project management consultancy assignments under the Caribbean Project for Economic Competitiveness (CPEC), designing projects for grant funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), in several CARICOM countries including Guyana.
He was a Director on the Board of the Windward Islands Banana Development and Exporting Company (UK) Ltd. now WINFRESH.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honors in Public Administration from the University of the West Indies (UWI), and a Master’s degree in Finance from the University of Strathclyde, Scotland. He also received specialised training in Public Finance from the Institute of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Public Sector Investment Programming from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in conjunction with the Economic Development Institute (EDI) of the World Bank. He is currently a candidate for the degree of Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) from the Cave Hill School of Business (CHSB) of the UWI.