Department of Local Government Welcomes New Director General
Major Richard Reese was introduced to the staff of the Department of Local Government by outgoing Director General, Devon Rowe this morning, Monday March 15, 2010. Mr. Rowe introduced the Major as man of extensive experience and assured the staff that they would be getting “an excellent director general”.
In his response Major Reese thanked the staff for the reception and commended the HR unit for the expedience with which preparations were made for his arrival in the Department. For his part, Major Reece revealed that his preparation for his new job included a few briefing sessions with Mr. Rowe as well as attendance at two of the Department’s recently held parish visioning symposiums.
Major Reese described himself as an open person with very good communications skills, although he is usually very brief and to the point. He also said he was a team player, he said “we should recognize that each person brings specific skills and attributes to the table and as such we must ensure that there is mutual respect”. This he said was very important when managing an organization irrespective of its size; “one may think that the economic challenges and the asset management challenges, might be most significant but generally 40% of your time is spent on Human Resource challenges and team building..” he said.
The new local government DG outlined his years of experience in both the private and public sector ending his address to the staff by saying he was looking forward to working with everyone to advance the objectives of the Department and the government. He also pledged his support to “advancing the personal development of the staff”.
