Philipsburg:--- With the ongoing Piranha investigation that involves several persons that were and are currently working within the civil service of government especially within the Ministry of Finance, the Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt has decided to remove his Ministry's Secretary General Sherry Hazel effective February 1, 2013.
SMN News has been reliably informed that Minister Tuitt met with the senior civil servant sometime last week and informed her of his decision to remove her from the position she is currently holding within the Ministry of Finance.
On Wednesday during the Council of Ministers' weekly press briefing, SMN News asked Minister Tuitt if the information we received has any merit, Minister Tuitt confirmed that he did meet with a senior civil servant and informed her that she will be removed from her position effective February 1st, 2013.
The Finance Minister said that while the person was removed from her position within the Ministry of Finance, she still remains an employee of the civil service. The Finance Minister has refused to divulge the details of the decision he took regarding the Secretary General for the Ministry of Finance.
It should be noted that the former Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto was arrested by the National Detectives late December 2012 and was interrogated for days while in police custody. According to Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos, Shigemoto was suspected of committing embezzlement, fraud, and breaking government rules. It should also be noted that the Minister of Finance Roland Tuitt requested that the SOAB conduct an investigation on the TAXAND contract that was granted to Judith Brewster by the former Finance Minister who was arrested late last year. At the time the TAXAND contract was granted to Brewster, Hazel was working with the former Minister of Finance as his Secretary General.
Currently the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance are currently without a Secretary General.
