Governor alone cannot be blamed for neglecting public service– Gov Rankin
Governor Rankin make the statement at Day 50 hearing of the Virgin Islands (VI) Commission of Inquiry on October 19, 2021.
Who is responsible for public service?
According to Governor Rankin, “If the suggestion that the Governor is solely responsible for what grade an individual is at and they are paid for this job, then I think that that is too narrow an understanding of terms and conditions of service,” he said.
“The Governor is responsible within those terms of conditions for ensuring that we have an independent, professional, well qualified public service with developmental opportunities.”
He said more responsibilities include ensuring there is training, good performance pay and procedures for dealing with those who are not performing so well.
“And all that requires in terms of the training and pay, and the equipment and IT with which public servants work and need to do their job require an adequate budget being provided for that and then the training is to which I’ve drawn attention to… so we need to work together,” he said.
According to Governor Rankin, his embattled predecessor Augustus J. U. Jaspert had proposed a partnership approach with Government, and therefore, persons need to move forward in the interest of the Government.
Jaspert was known to have rocky relations with the elected Government of Premier Andrew A. Fahie (R1) and was accused of bullying the administration and causing strains between the elected government and the UK.
Gov't also responsible for the neglect of public servants - Gov Rankin
When questioned on the charge of the public service being neglected by the Governor, the FCDO and the UK over the years, Governor Rankin said the accusations may not be correct.
He said if more could be done in the area, then the suggestion would be for the elected government as well as the Governor’s office to achieve more in modern partnership.
“To lay all the failings at the foot of the Governor’s Office is simply not a proper reflection of the position,” he said.
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18 Responses to “Governor alone cannot be blamed for neglecting public service– Gov Rankin”
The Bates Hill fiasco is coming back to light. There are rumors of establishing a Naval Base on Anegada in the future to monitor the drug trafficking between South America and further afield. Time will tell.
Not related to the governor. An interesting look into the result of modern colonialist activity and Franco African economy. It is also interesting that the anti government sentiment has suddenly disappeared from the blue site.
Perhaps it will be said an education campaign is needed with the new pro vi narrative in full swing. Maybe the funding for the trolls was cut after they riled people up it wasn’t worth the kick back or maybe it’s all in my imagination.