PSC unanimous-Reinstate Permanent Secretary Julian Willock
According to this news site’s sources, the Public Service Commission (PSC), a constitutional body charged with addressing civil servants promotion, disciplinary and transfer matters among others, had sometime last week taken up again the matter of Mr. Willock’s leave to bring an end to this long outstanding situation now almost two years old.
It is this news site’s understanding that the Governor, after the High Court had dismissed the first set of charges against the PS, had tacked on new charges on Mr. Willock.
It is unclear what those charges were, however, when the PSC investigated those new charges brought to them by Governor Boyd McCleary, they voted unanimously to dismiss the charges in a 5 to 0 vote, in favour of re-instating Mr. Willock to his job, according to sources in government who have been following this matter.
After two wins for Willock- we got to get him! New charges being forced
After Mr. Willock won in court and now through the Public Service Commission, many sources close to this matter have advised this news site that it is not over. According to two sources inside government, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) is now allegedly being forced to bring new charges against Mr. Willock and bring them as “criminal charges” for allegedly violating Labour and Immigration laws. This is even after both the Labour and Immigration departments have found no evidence of such violations and had reported this to the PSC.
The source said, “I am not sure what Willock did to those people but they are out to get him by any means necessary…he must be the poster child for Biwater and for accepting those keys for the water plant…they are determine to get him one way or the other.”
The sources also claimed that there may have been inappropriate meetings between the DPP and "very senior persons" in regards to pursuing this matter against Mr. Willock. However, the source has not presented any evidence to this news site of date of meetings, who met with the DPP and what they are trying to achieve. The same source told this news site that “they” also went up to the Water and Sewerage Department where Mr. Willock was the director to “see if they could find something”.
If you want to know the definition of a “witch hunt”, then this is a perfect example another senior civil servant told this news site.
Mr. Willock also served as the Director of the Water and Sewerage Department where he turned around the department and in 5 years raised over 11 million dollars in revenue, the first time in the history of the Department. Since his departure from the department, many have claimed it “went down”.
Two prominent local Attorneys told this news site, that if those meetings took place with the DPP then that would have been illegal as the DPP office under the constitution should be “independent from political or other interference and influence…that alone is grounds for Judicial Review…this is now clearly agenda driven..but who do you turn to outside of the courts for remedy?”
When contacted, Governor McCleary said he has no comments at this time and the Office of the DPP and Human Resources Department did not return calls. Governor McCleary had stated to ZBVI’s reporter Zan Lewis when he first came to the VI that Mr. Willock was not suspended but sent on leave and if he is cleared by the PSC he will be reinstated to his post.
Many public officers and the public are watching the Governor closely on this matter now that the PSC has reportedly ruled for Willock’s re-instatement.
History of Willock’s leave following Tabloid article
In July of 2010, the local tabloid the BVI Beacon which many described as a partisan paper aligned with one of the political parties, published an article in which it accused Mr. Willock of having persons worked for one of his group of companies without a work permit. Just on this newspaper article, the former Governor David Pearey sent Mr. Willock on leave from his post without giving the officer a chance to respond to the allegations that many in the community had described as false, malicious, politically motivated, outrageous, racist, and a weak and deliberate attempt to undermine Mr. Willock’s good character as well as his well established professional integrity.
Willock won case against government
Mr. Willock, then sought Judicial Review after the Government sent him on leave after simply reading the same article in the tabloid the BVI Beacon in which it claimed Willock had persons working in the Virgin Islands for one of his group of companies without work permits.
The Labour Department had already dismissed this claim when they wrote in a letter to the same newspaper, that Willock had all his work permits in order and had violated no Labour laws. Judge Joseph-Olivetti, in her May 24, 2011 ruling, a year later after Willock’s compulsory leave, said that Mr. Willock was aggrieved by the Governor’s decision to send him on leave and for setting up an investigative committee.
The government has since appeal the case which is expected to be heard later this year. Mr. Willock according to sources, will be represented on the appeal by the law firm of Farara & Kerins who won the first case against the Government.
Committee set up illegally, report submitted not valid
Some seven months later after being sent on leave, the Government set up a committee to investigate the newspaper's allegations, which most in the legal fraternity had already said was an illegal committee and it was the duty of the PSC under the law to investigate the matter. The committee headed by a local Attorney submitted a report but never interviewed the highly respected Willock.
Mr. Willock wrote the Deputy Governor and the then Director of Human Resources two days after the tabloid's report, however, the PSC did not see his response to consider Willock’s facts on the matter, as they had already advised the former Governor David Pearey, to send Willock on leave simply by reading the newspaper article.
The fact that the investigative committee never interviewed Willock was wrong enough, but it was illegal because it violated General Orders where any committee investigating a public officer must be made up of public officers. The Committee at the time had two non-public servants.
The court ruled in 2011 that the PSC cannot use the report because it is not valid and tossed it out. The court also said that all of Willock’s rights were violated because of the illegal act by the Governor acting on the advice of the PSC.
The judgement states; “first, the very composition of the committee being composed as it was of two persons who were not public officers would have rendered it ultra virus to the Regulations.” The decision also said that “the committee was also illegal, as the mandate given to it by its terms of reference divested the PSC of any residual power.”
In her conclusion, the learned judge wrote, “I am conscious that we are concerned with the protection afforded to public officers by the Constitution.”
Justice Rita Joseph-Olivetti said the Governor had no power to appoint the Committee and its proceeds and its report are invalid.
Minister for Communications and Works Hon. Mark Vanterpool has already called for his acting Permanent Secretary Arlene Smith-Thompson to be confirmed.
When contacted, Mr. Willock seemed very up-set over this news site pursuing this article and said he has no comments and as a civil servant he is not allowed to talk to the press. He referred all questions to two law firms: Farara & Kerins and Thornton Smith.
Mr. Willock, a fourth generation indigenous Virgin Islander, holds a Bachelors and Master’s Degree in Economics and Political Science. He also holds a certificate in Public Administration from the University of the West Indies and has one year of graduate law school.
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