Nearly two months after an internal government probe into former Acting Chief Forest Officer John Pinelo concluded with no finding of misconduct, speculation is growing that the long-serving forestry department official could return to the top role at the agency, which currently sits vacant.
The investigation was launched following private allegations that Pinelo had engaged in inappropriate dealings with a private sector businessman. The probe was carried out internally by Belize’s Ministry of Sustainable Development, which ultimately completed its review and announced it had found no tangible evidence to support the claims against Pinelo.
With the substantive Chief Forest Officer position officially unoccupied following the retirement of the previous permanent officeholder, Pinelo, who is the most senior official within the Forestry Department, is now seen as a likely candidate to reclaim the acting post or compete for the permanent role when it is re-opened for applications.
In a recent press interaction, Minister of Public Service Henry Charles Usher clarified that his ministry had no involvement in the internal investigation conducted by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, and has not yet received any formal documentation or findings from the probe. “The Ministry of the Public Service can’t act unless we receive something from whatever ministry has oversight of the issue,” Usher explained to reporters. “So we have not had the opportunity to see anything yet in reference to this particular set of events. And so the Public Service Commission as well has not been able to act. It has been an investigation that was done internally at the Ministry of Sustainable Development, and we hope that we can get full disclosure as to what that investigation actually revealed.”
When asked directly whether the Chief Forest Officer post would be formally advertised to fill the vacancy, Usher confirmed that the listing will be released publicly in the very near future. The post was originally advertised earlier this year, after the permanent chief announced his retirement, but the listing was pulled amid the investigation into Pinelo. The former chief stayed in office for several months beyond his initial retirement date on leave, leaving the post only recently vacant.
“So that vacancy was pulled back to say, ‘Okay, we’ll wait until the substantive post is actually vacant until we publicize that post again.’ So that will happen very soon,” Usher added.
Pinelo, who stepped back from his duties and took a one-month paid leave of absence for the duration of the internal investigation, remains the highest-ranking career official in the Forestry Department. His potential return to the top role comes after the government cleared him of all formal wrongdoing, leaving the door open for his reappointment.