SSB CEO Dr. Leroy Almendarez Dismissed After Just Five Months

Majority of the Board of Directors at the Social Security Board voted in an emergency meeting on Tuesday evening to have Dr Leroy Almendarez dismissed.  The dismissal of the Chief Executive Officer was with immediate effect.  While the SSB has gone through ten CEOs over the past three decades, Dr Almendarez has broken record by serving the shortest stint in that position.  Love News has reached out to several persons to comment on the unexpected development, including the Prime Minister who would only refer us to a press release.  The matter has proven very sensitive as even the Christian Workers Union (CWU) and the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) will be meeting to review the facts of the dismissal.  One credible source within the SSB indicated to Love News that the dismissal came after Dr. Almendarez wrote to the board querying several decisions that were made.  Among them was the hiring of a Deputy CEO as opposed to an assistant.  It is our understanding that even the CWU had taken issue with this on the basis that the provisions do not allow for a deputy, but rather an assistant.  Another point of contention was the salary of an employee that exceeds that of the CEO, and a third issue had to do with benefits for a particular employee that would have seen an increase in SSB’s expenditure.  When our newsroom reached out to Dr. Almendarez for comment, the only thing he would afford us was confirmation that yesterday was his last day of employment.  One senior union member has expressed to Love News that his concerns surround the amount of money SSB would have to pay out to Dr Almendarez considering that he was only hired some five months ago with a 3-year-contract.