“Cleaning up” civil service must be done rationally – Elihu Rymer
This is the view of Elihu Rymer during his radio programme, The People’s Business, which was aired on Wednesday, November 23, 2011.
“The atmosphere of cleaning house is not a Virgin Islands style, it is an American style and that is not the kind of system that we function under. The assumption that you can walk into government and suddenly you know and understand all the procedures...people running around saying here is what we are going to do, that is not how we do things! Our system is based on a rational understanding of how Governance is undertaken,” the talk show host opined.
Since the newly elected National Democratic Party (NDP) government was sworn into office on November 9 2011, Virgin Islands News Online was informed that some civil servants are walking on “eggshells” because they’re uncertain of their employment future.
To date only private secretaries in three Ministries have been transferred, this include the Premier's Office, which has a new Private Secretary along with a new assistant to the Private Secretary.
Furthermore, Wendell M. Gaskin, who holds the substantive post of Deputy Financial Secretary, is expected to return to the Ministry of Finance. VINO was informed following the 2007 election, he was reassigned to the Internal Audit Unit.
Political pundits aslo noted, “expect some reshuffling. It’s only natural that is going to happen”.
More so, Rymer pointed out that the civil service system should be trusted because it has a long history and it's mandate is to worked in tandem with the Government.
“These are the people, as it were, that have the records of what have happened. Therefore, it is very important that until you have reasons or otherwise, to respect the public service and respect their achievements,” he charged. “These people have the best interest of the Virgin Islands just like those persons coming into office.”
According to him, such a method was instituted by one of the Territory’s most successful Chief Ministers, H. Lavity Stoutt, with whom he had the pleasure to work with.
Rymer added, “He had a gift and always recognised a good idea no matter where it came from and he was able to get the full support of the public service.”
Meanwhile, one of his guests on the radio programme, Julian Gordon agreed that while the public service is vital to Government, motivation and training are critical.
“That is how we can have a vibrant public service because it holds the hands of politicians and provide the tools for them to function well when they walk into the office,” he said.
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