Tweet
Time to reward professionals rather than political favourites
Friday, January 20, 2012
IT'S a long established practice that after the installation of a new Government certain positions in the public sector experience a change in personnel.
Some are understandable, given that they are sensitive posts and the new administration would wish to have them occupied by persons in whom they have the utmost trust and who share their policy ideas and vision for the country.
Having accepted that, we have no quarrel with the naming of Mr Patrick Atkinson as the attorney general, even though people opposed to the appointment point to the fact that Mr Atkinson is a Government member of Parliament.
The fact, though, is that Mr Atkinson is an experienced attorney who knows his craft and, as he pointed out after he was sworn in, has knowledge of civil law.
What we would advise those opposed to Mr Atkinson's appointment to do is examine his performance on the job. That, we suggest, will allow for fair judgement of his ability to avoid politics influencing his decisions.
So, as Mr Atkinson embarks on this new chapter in his life, we wish him well and hope that he will justify the prime minister's confidence in him. At the same time, we must salute his predecessor, Mr Ransford Braham, who took the principled decision to resign after the general election to give the new Government an opportunity to have the person of its choice in the position.
There are, as we said, other positions that will see changes. Our hope, though, is that the administration will not change individuals merely on the basis of partisan politics or because there is a need to place friends in positions of influence.
For too long that has been the practice, and the country has not benefitted significantly from this system of political rewards. In fact, what it has done, more than anything, is drain the country of its financial and other resources. For we have seen where politically appointed executives have abused State resources for personal gain or for acceptance in social circles, leaving the taxpayers with huge bills at the end of each month.
The country needs to get to the point where people are appointed to positions based on their competence, and the decision as to whether they are retained should be based solely on their performance.
The desire of Jamaicans for a new kind of politics was evident in the just-concluded general election, and the leaders of both the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) were very vocal in their commitment to granting that wish.
That yearning for change manifested itself in the behaviour of the electorate throughout the campaign, as supporters of both parties, while demonstrating their political leanings, made it clear that after the vote we all must live together.
The upshot was that this was arguably the most peaceful Jamaican election in 50 years or more.
The atmosphere is, therefore, perfect for the administration to set a tone of respect for professionalism rather than political favouritism. It will redound to Jamaica's benefit.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1k0HJwCEx
Friday, January 20, 2012
IT'S a long established practice that after the installation of a new Government certain positions in the public sector experience a change in personnel.
Some are understandable, given that they are sensitive posts and the new administration would wish to have them occupied by persons in whom they have the utmost trust and who share their policy ideas and vision for the country.
Having accepted that, we have no quarrel with the naming of Mr Patrick Atkinson as the attorney general, even though people opposed to the appointment point to the fact that Mr Atkinson is a Government member of Parliament.
The fact, though, is that Mr Atkinson is an experienced attorney who knows his craft and, as he pointed out after he was sworn in, has knowledge of civil law.
What we would advise those opposed to Mr Atkinson's appointment to do is examine his performance on the job. That, we suggest, will allow for fair judgement of his ability to avoid politics influencing his decisions.
So, as Mr Atkinson embarks on this new chapter in his life, we wish him well and hope that he will justify the prime minister's confidence in him. At the same time, we must salute his predecessor, Mr Ransford Braham, who took the principled decision to resign after the general election to give the new Government an opportunity to have the person of its choice in the position.
There are, as we said, other positions that will see changes. Our hope, though, is that the administration will not change individuals merely on the basis of partisan politics or because there is a need to place friends in positions of influence.
For too long that has been the practice, and the country has not benefitted significantly from this system of political rewards. In fact, what it has done, more than anything, is drain the country of its financial and other resources. For we have seen where politically appointed executives have abused State resources for personal gain or for acceptance in social circles, leaving the taxpayers with huge bills at the end of each month.
The country needs to get to the point where people are appointed to positions based on their competence, and the decision as to whether they are retained should be based solely on their performance.
The desire of Jamaicans for a new kind of politics was evident in the just-concluded general election, and the leaders of both the People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) were very vocal in their commitment to granting that wish.
That yearning for change manifested itself in the behaviour of the electorate throughout the campaign, as supporters of both parties, while demonstrating their political leanings, made it clear that after the vote we all must live together.
The upshot was that this was arguably the most peaceful Jamaican election in 50 years or more.
The atmosphere is, therefore, perfect for the administration to set a tone of respect for professionalism rather than political favouritism. It will redound to Jamaica's benefit.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz1k0HJwCEx