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Would the PM still cry 'misbehaviour'.?
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Dear Editor,
Your editorial of January 2, "Who will now want to serve on the PSC" is one of the most insightful observations made to date on the issue of the dismissal of the Public Service Commission.
It has also occurred to me that anyone who accepts appointment to the PSC courts the danger of being labelled a "political hack" appointed to the position to carry out the prime minister's wishes. To dismiss an entire commission on the basis of "misbehaviour", without an impartial and independent body determining by the presentation of evidence and affording the commission a right of reply as to whether the actions complained of by the prime minister amount to "misbehaviour", offends the rules of natural justice. It seems highly unlikely that an entire board, among whose members are four people awarded the Order of Jamaica, can en masse be guilty of the same "misbehaviour".
Your editorial is unnecessarily kind to the prime minister when it observes that he has not mentioned Professor Stephen Vasciannie's name, therefore you wonder who in government is really opposed to Professor Vasciannie. Like any other politician, Mr Golding has had to balance the power structures and power influences within the Jamaica Labour Party. I would readily agree with you that he has demonstrated an ability to work with former detractors when the politics of the situation suits him. Any suggestion that he does this because he does not hold "hard feelings", however, is merely an attempt by your editorial to whitewash his actions.
This ability, to which your editorial refers, should not be interpreted as an ability to put past quarrels behind him. The appointments in his administration of people who in the past have levelled harsh criticisms of him demonstrate the hard realities he faces with his small, "less than taxi-cab" majority in the House of Representatives which forces him to respect the power structure within the Jamaica Labour Party. This certainly is no indication that he bears no "hard feelings". One can only accurately assess whether or not he carries "hard feelings" when he is not encumbered by such political considerations.
It is unfortunate that the prime minister's actions, aided and abetted by what some may regard as the complicity of the governor general who clearly ignored the rules of natural justice, have had the effect of undermining the independence of constitutional commissions. The framers of the constitution sought to ensure that certain appointments were arrived at independently, free from interference by the political directorate, and based on meritocracy rather than plutocracy.
Indeed, it is going to be extremely difficult to find people of proven integrity who will run the risk of having their good name sullied and besmirched by an appointment to this commission. The question that has yet to be answered is whether Prime Minister Golding would have accused the PSC of misbehaviour had it recommended anybody else but Professor Stephen Vasciannie.
Abe Dabdoub
Kingston
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Dear Editor,
Your editorial of January 2, "Who will now want to serve on the PSC" is one of the most insightful observations made to date on the issue of the dismissal of the Public Service Commission.
It has also occurred to me that anyone who accepts appointment to the PSC courts the danger of being labelled a "political hack" appointed to the position to carry out the prime minister's wishes. To dismiss an entire commission on the basis of "misbehaviour", without an impartial and independent body determining by the presentation of evidence and affording the commission a right of reply as to whether the actions complained of by the prime minister amount to "misbehaviour", offends the rules of natural justice. It seems highly unlikely that an entire board, among whose members are four people awarded the Order of Jamaica, can en masse be guilty of the same "misbehaviour".
Your editorial is unnecessarily kind to the prime minister when it observes that he has not mentioned Professor Stephen Vasciannie's name, therefore you wonder who in government is really opposed to Professor Vasciannie. Like any other politician, Mr Golding has had to balance the power structures and power influences within the Jamaica Labour Party. I would readily agree with you that he has demonstrated an ability to work with former detractors when the politics of the situation suits him. Any suggestion that he does this because he does not hold "hard feelings", however, is merely an attempt by your editorial to whitewash his actions.
This ability, to which your editorial refers, should not be interpreted as an ability to put past quarrels behind him. The appointments in his administration of people who in the past have levelled harsh criticisms of him demonstrate the hard realities he faces with his small, "less than taxi-cab" majority in the House of Representatives which forces him to respect the power structure within the Jamaica Labour Party. This certainly is no indication that he bears no "hard feelings". One can only accurately assess whether or not he carries "hard feelings" when he is not encumbered by such political considerations.
It is unfortunate that the prime minister's actions, aided and abetted by what some may regard as the complicity of the governor general who clearly ignored the rules of natural justice, have had the effect of undermining the independence of constitutional commissions. The framers of the constitution sought to ensure that certain appointments were arrived at independently, free from interference by the political directorate, and based on meritocracy rather than plutocracy.
Indeed, it is going to be extremely difficult to find people of proven integrity who will run the risk of having their good name sullied and besmirched by an appointment to this commission. The question that has yet to be answered is whether Prime Minister Golding would have accused the PSC of misbehaviour had it recommended anybody else but Professor Stephen Vasciannie.
Abe Dabdoub
Kingston