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EDITORIAL - Civil servants must reclaim positions of authority
published: Wednesday | February 13, 2008
Among the opportunities afforded by the recent change of government in Jamaica, is for the clarification of the relationship between the political executive and the professional civil/public service - assuming that any such thing is needed. We think it is.
The recent report by Contractor General Greg Christie in the Cuban light-bulb affair makes the case for it. Of course, tension between civil servants and elected officials is not new, for a creeping politicisation of the civil service nibbled away at its professionalism, creating a culture of haplessness and fear.
However, the 18 years in office of the People's National Party (PNP) appears to have gone further, contributing to the creation of a new relationship, and thereby blurring the line of responsibility between top civil servant and minister. The PNP's long incumbency may not have caused a sense of entitlement among some ministers; it created a coziness between themselves and the civil servant. In the process, the latter forgot the permanence of their existence, beyond the party in office, and their role as professional guardians of public resources.
It is this blurring of the divide, their psychological elevation of minister and retreat on the part of the public servant that was so obviously captured by Mr Christie in his report on the Kern Spencer affair.
The Christie report, of course, is not the only example of retreat of the civil servant and the advance of the political boss to occupy the space. It, however, provides an opportunity, given the confluence of circumstances, for us to place the matter seriously on the table.
Not only is a new government in office, but one whose leader, while in Opposition often railed against the 'enormous powers of the Prime Minister'; against political interference; and argued for clear separation of powers between the various arms of government.
Then, there is Prime Minister Golding's unfortunate straying from his own advice with his clumsy handling of the Vasciannie affair with regard to the Public Service Commission's (PSC) appointment of a solicitor general. There is the dichotomous matter, too, of Mr Golding's wish to put aside 2.5 per cent of the budget for spending by parliamentarians - a bad idea which is now running into the common sense of economics. But should it ever go through, the scheme would serve to further weaken the authority of the civil service and give ascendancy to the politician.
If Mr Golding steps back to his pre-election base on those critical issues of governance over which he recently displayed poor judgement, then he can easily reset the environment for those civil servants who have faltered in regaining their confidence.
Clearly, this is a job not only for the elected executive, for much of the ground they have lost is due to the spinelessness of top civil servants who haplessly ceded ground and authority from a position of strength. It is unquestioned that permanent secretaries have insulation in the Jamaican Constitution and protection under the terms of their employment.
They have been afraid to use them. So they, too, should be held accountable. The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
published: Wednesday | February 13, 2008
Among the opportunities afforded by the recent change of government in Jamaica, is for the clarification of the relationship between the political executive and the professional civil/public service - assuming that any such thing is needed. We think it is.
The recent report by Contractor General Greg Christie in the Cuban light-bulb affair makes the case for it. Of course, tension between civil servants and elected officials is not new, for a creeping politicisation of the civil service nibbled away at its professionalism, creating a culture of haplessness and fear.
However, the 18 years in office of the People's National Party (PNP) appears to have gone further, contributing to the creation of a new relationship, and thereby blurring the line of responsibility between top civil servant and minister. The PNP's long incumbency may not have caused a sense of entitlement among some ministers; it created a coziness between themselves and the civil servant. In the process, the latter forgot the permanence of their existence, beyond the party in office, and their role as professional guardians of public resources.
It is this blurring of the divide, their psychological elevation of minister and retreat on the part of the public servant that was so obviously captured by Mr Christie in his report on the Kern Spencer affair.
The Christie report, of course, is not the only example of retreat of the civil servant and the advance of the political boss to occupy the space. It, however, provides an opportunity, given the confluence of circumstances, for us to place the matter seriously on the table.
Not only is a new government in office, but one whose leader, while in Opposition often railed against the 'enormous powers of the Prime Minister'; against political interference; and argued for clear separation of powers between the various arms of government.
Then, there is Prime Minister Golding's unfortunate straying from his own advice with his clumsy handling of the Vasciannie affair with regard to the Public Service Commission's (PSC) appointment of a solicitor general. There is the dichotomous matter, too, of Mr Golding's wish to put aside 2.5 per cent of the budget for spending by parliamentarians - a bad idea which is now running into the common sense of economics. But should it ever go through, the scheme would serve to further weaken the authority of the civil service and give ascendancy to the politician.
If Mr Golding steps back to his pre-election base on those critical issues of governance over which he recently displayed poor judgement, then he can easily reset the environment for those civil servants who have faltered in regaining their confidence.
Clearly, this is a job not only for the elected executive, for much of the ground they have lost is due to the spinelessness of top civil servants who haplessly ceded ground and authority from a position of strength. It is unquestioned that permanent secretaries have insulation in the Jamaican Constitution and protection under the terms of their employment.
They have been afraid to use them. So they, too, should be held accountable. The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
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