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A WEEK after announcing his government's commitment to mandatory polygraph tests for all holders of sensitive posts in the public sector in the name of probity, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson seems unwilling to take the test himself.
In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last Wednesday, Nelson said he was not averse to the idea of taking the test but shut down the proposal when our news team asked if he would lead by example and take a polygraph test.
"I'm not saying to you that it is my intention to do it, but I am saying to you that I would have no aversion," Nelson said.
When pressed for clarification and specifically whether he would do it, the national security minister, who conceded that his post was a sensitive one, went into evasive mode.
"No, you're going a little bit too far now. You asked me if I would have any aversion and I tell you no. That is where I stop. I am not going down that road with you. I am going to bring this conversation to an end," said an apparently irritated Nelson.
breach of rights
In July last year, the issue of subjecting employees to lie-detector tests came to the fore after The Sunday Gleaner reported that senior officials from the Ministry of Labour had launched an investigation into claims that Bert's Auto Parts Limited was insisting that some of its employees take polygraph tests or face dismissal.
At that time, noted attorney-at-law Bert Samuels told our news team that if an employer forced an employee to take a lie-detector test, it would constitute a breach of the individual's constitutional rights.
"It is my view that where an employer forces an employee or seeks to force an employee to take a polygraph test, that is unlawful," Samuels said.
Earlier in the five-minute telephone interview, Nelson also declined to commit to whether he would support a call for parlia-mentarians to take polygraph tests as a matter of course.
"By whom? Who is going to do that? Under whose auspices? The Government can, as the Govern-ment, take a policy decision that members of the public sector who hold sensitive posts should. Because the Government is responsible for the public sector, they can make such a decision that members of the public service who hold sensitive posts should be vetted, but in the case of parlia-mentarians, who is going make that decision?" he asked.
integrity important
Nelson added: "Personally, as Dwight Nelson speaking for Dwight Nelson, I have no aversion to being subjected to vetting. As Dwight Nelson, I have no objection. I can't make that call for members of parliament on a general basis. That is not my remit."
Still, the minister said: "It is important that people who occupy sensitive posts are people with integrity (and) probity, and that is important."
In late January, the minister unveiled <span>the police's</span> new Polygraph Unit at the Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St Catherine. It was there the minister declared that "as a matter of course, this Government will ensure that all sensitive posts in the public sector should be subject to vetting to ensure the integrity of persons occupying these posts".
For years, Jamaica has performed poorly on the Corruption Perception Index. The new polygraph policy push announced by Nelson is part of a multi-pronged approach to weed out corrupt officials from the public sector.
A WEEK after announcing his government's commitment to mandatory polygraph tests for all holders of sensitive posts in the public sector in the name of probity, National Security Minister Dwight Nelson seems unwilling to take the test himself.
In an interview with The Sunday Gleaner last Wednesday, Nelson said he was not averse to the idea of taking the test but shut down the proposal when our news team asked if he would lead by example and take a polygraph test.
"I'm not saying to you that it is my intention to do it, but I am saying to you that I would have no aversion," Nelson said.
When pressed for clarification and specifically whether he would do it, the national security minister, who conceded that his post was a sensitive one, went into evasive mode.
"No, you're going a little bit too far now. You asked me if I would have any aversion and I tell you no. That is where I stop. I am not going down that road with you. I am going to bring this conversation to an end," said an apparently irritated Nelson.
breach of rights
In July last year, the issue of subjecting employees to lie-detector tests came to the fore after The Sunday Gleaner reported that senior officials from the Ministry of Labour had launched an investigation into claims that Bert's Auto Parts Limited was insisting that some of its employees take polygraph tests or face dismissal.
At that time, noted attorney-at-law Bert Samuels told our news team that if an employer forced an employee to take a lie-detector test, it would constitute a breach of the individual's constitutional rights.
"It is my view that where an employer forces an employee or seeks to force an employee to take a polygraph test, that is unlawful," Samuels said.
Earlier in the five-minute telephone interview, Nelson also declined to commit to whether he would support a call for parlia-mentarians to take polygraph tests as a matter of course.
"By whom? Who is going to do that? Under whose auspices? The Government can, as the Govern-ment, take a policy decision that members of the public sector who hold sensitive posts should. Because the Government is responsible for the public sector, they can make such a decision that members of the public service who hold sensitive posts should be vetted, but in the case of parlia-mentarians, who is going make that decision?" he asked.
integrity important
Nelson added: "Personally, as Dwight Nelson speaking for Dwight Nelson, I have no aversion to being subjected to vetting. As Dwight Nelson, I have no objection. I can't make that call for members of parliament on a general basis. That is not my remit."
Still, the minister said: "It is important that people who occupy sensitive posts are people with integrity (and) probity, and that is important."
In late January, the minister unveiled <span>the police's</span> new Polygraph Unit at the Police Academy in Twickenham Park, St Catherine. It was there the minister declared that "as a matter of course, this Government will ensure that all sensitive posts in the public sector should be subject to vetting to ensure the integrity of persons occupying these posts".
For years, Jamaica has performed poorly on the Corruption Perception Index. The new polygraph policy push announced by Nelson is part of a multi-pronged approach to weed out corrupt officials from the public sector.
mi belly!
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