We also took the opportunity to ask DPM Faber about complaints coming out of the National Institute for Culture and History, NICH.
For weeks now, we've been hearing the grumblings of disapproval that Administrator Sapna Budrani is also the acting President of NICH. The biggest complaint is that there is no real oversight of her leadership decisions, no checks and balances, and that it is improper for her to hold two senior positions within the organization. Then, there was the Board of Directors, which the President is supposed answer to, and best information to 7News is that it only has two fully functional members.
So, it's an issue of good governance, and when we questioned Faber about it today, he said that these complaints are based on misunderstanding, and that there may be elements within NICH that are trying to undermine Budrani's leadership.:
Hon. Patrick Faber, Deputy Prime Minister
"I think that's a really um question that is based on misunderstanding. Let's put it that way. If you understand how the NICH act is set up, it is the president that really is the executive director, so to speak, of the institution. Miss Budrani at the time when those criticisms were being levied was hired at the administrator after Marconi Sosa departed for politics you remember. And it was in the absence of the longstanding acting president Mr. Greg Vernon who was about to take much vacation leave and all of that - that Miss Budrani was asked to hold over as acting president. You will be glad to know now that we have decided to appoint her president and so that leaves a vacancy in the administrator position which we hope to fill very shortly. But it is always the president that has the oversight and the president then answers to the board of NICH. So it is not what you say. In fact when Mr. Vernon was acting as president, he was also the person, the director of ICA which is the Institute of Creative Arts. So you could have had the same argument if you will and nobody levied that criticism."
"Listen, Miss Budrani is a lady who is very competent. She is no nonsense person and so she tries her best to do the right thing there. When it comes to that, that might be roughing some feathers. I stand firmly with her decisions as long as those decisions are right footed and the inner, I am understanding that there might be people who are trying to undermine things and we are working to resolve that, but for those who are criticizing the setup of NICH, please know that we have moved to ensure that the board is fully functioning. That is now in full effect and that we now have appointed her the president and we are moving swiftly possibly by the end of this week to have administrator in place."
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