No replacement yet for CEO of CIU

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The government has said it has not yet identified a replacement for the Chief Executive Officer of the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), Chisanga Chekwe who resigned in December after only six months on the job.

His resignation was to take effect on February 28, but according to Telecommunications Minister Melford Nicholas he was asked to help the transition process.

“Mr Chekwe has indicated he wants to pursue other opportunities, and the idea of the extension would facilitate a smooth transition. As many persons would know, when we are developing our own facilities, sometimes (we) bring persons in to be able to improve [our] processes. And the transfer of knowledge and transfer process would have taken place for the period of time that Mr Chekwe has been in place,” he said.

Minister Nicholas said the government has not ruled out bringing in another immigrant for the job. He said whatever happens during Chekwe’s extension will help them decide.

“I think it gives the government an option whether or not the next person that would help the CIU would be someone local, or whether we think there are still gaps in the process, so we would want to look at inviting someone else to the CIU,” he explained.

When the government first announced that Chekwe had been fingered for the job, it reported that he had served for more than five years as deputy minister in the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade.

The former deputy minister is the second Canadian to be selected to the position of CEO of the CIU, the first being Don Myatt, who was formerly an official in the Canadian Immigration Service.

In between, the Deputy CEO, Thomas Anthony, a local, has been acting as CEO.

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