Ouster of DCCA’s Ogumoro sought

By JOEL D. PINAROC
joel_pinaroc@saipantribune.com
REPORTER

Employees of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs sent a strongly worded letter to Capital Hill complaining about the leadership of DCCA Secretary Laura T. Ogumoro.

The letter was presented to Lt. Gov. Ralph DLG. Torres by members of the Saipan Seniors Advisory Council, who also had a closed-door meeting with the lieutenant governor on Wednesday.

Members of the council support employees of DCCA, said council president Maria Salinas in an interview.

“We are very displeased with her management,” Salinas said, adding that they are “asking that the secretary not be retained” and be replaced with someone “who is more sensible.”

Salinas said there are also “a lot of complaints from the [Division of Youth Services].”

Like DYS, the Office on Aging, where the Saipan Seniors Advisory Council belongs to, is under the umbrella of DCCA.

Regarding the meeting with Torres, Salinas said the lieutenant governor would also like to hear the side of Ogumoro.

The DCCA letter detailed allegations against Ogumoro, citing “the detrimental risk of continued leadership.”

The letter said there has been a “great hindrance in the function of the department and deprivation of human services to the people, families, community and deteriorating collaborative inter-department and extended professional connections and significantly, the damaging management of human resources in the department.”

Among the many complaints, the letter claimed that several “annual, highly beneficial programs, and critical services” were discontinued, under the current leadership.

On top of the list of canceled events is the Annual Energy Fair for 2014, under the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, the letter said.

The letter also claimed that there have been many “department dysfunctions” such as extreme micromanagement, which resulted in “clogging and disabling operations.”

The letter further alleged that the DCCA chief had instructed division directors “which vendors to go and not to go to in procuring goods and services disregarding cost-efficient purchases.”

According to the letter, there is also poor department accounting under the current leadership, and that division account and funds have been used without the concurrence of the division head.

The letter also claimed that the DCCA chief failed to properly address incidents involving employees, such as a sexual harassment, and often acted “unprincipled and unprofessionally.”

The DCCA chief also threatened and taunted employees with her authority, the letter alleged.

Lastly, the letter claimed that it did not contain the names of DCCA employees because the DCCA chief might retaliate.

“We are most certain that Secretary Ogumoro will retaliate immediately if employees’ names are revealed but we assure you that there are numerous employees that stand in solidarity in seeking for change and improved leadership.”