The Ethnic Relations Commission should audit public service employment
The Chairperson of the People’s National Congress Reform and Minister of Health, Volda Lawrence, has apologized for statements she made last week and which have raised a firestorm of criticism, with even some persons calling for her to be removed from office.
Volda Lawrence has done the right thing and apologized but the apology has not gone far enough. It still leaves unanswered question as to how a senior leader of the People’s National Congress and one who can possibly become her party’s next leader can make such comments as the one she uttered last week.
And secondly if her own statements did not reflect her philosophy then whose philosophy did they reflect – the government’s?
The Minister was quoted as saying “The only friends I got is PNC so the only people I gon give wuk to is PNC and right now I looking for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese and ah want one that is PNC.”
The statement not only has implications for fair and non-discriminatory employment but, as David Hinds has pointed out it also has implications for ethnic discrimination in employment.
The normal response to such controversies is to hold one’s ground, argue that one was misunderstood and taken out of context and have the apologists undertake damage control.
Some of this was attempted. Persons, including some within Kaieteur News, had shamelessly tried to justify the offensive statement. They must be feeling quite foolish now that the Minister has come out and apologized.
In her apology, the Minister was reported as saying “The rhetoric attributed to me over the last few days, is not reflective of who I am as a person or leader. I have learned that as a leader I must be cognizant of what I say and do, and must not allow emotions or political fervour to get in the way.”
But even if it is accepted that the minister got carried away by political fervor, then why were there no objections from the floor? The Minister was speaking at a PNCR District 4 Conference – the largest PNCR District. Why did no one walk out or publicly reprimand the Minister for bringing the party into disrepute by her statements? Is it that the majority of those present supported that position?
The present controversy therefore goes beyond the issue about the personal philosophy of the Minister. It is about the quality of governance practised by the PNCR dominated coalition government.
The PNCR has long been accused of ethnic discrimination in employment. These charges go way back to the pre-1992 period. There were persons who were hounded out of office under Burnham, bypassed or openly discriminated against.
The present coalition government, of which the PNCR is the dominant partner, has been subject to charges of purging the public service, of practising nepotism, sidelining persons for positions, favoring ex-military personnel and having a record of ethnic imbalance in its appointments of senior public officials.
There have been a number of charges of Ministers employing their family and friends and having to send home competent persons to facilitate to do so. There have been charges of politically and ethnically favored appointments. There has been evidence of persons receiving super-salaries for work which can be done for less remuneration.
There have been concerns expressed that a number of persons have been handpicked for jobs and that no competitive process was employed to select these persons. The handpicking of persons for jobs discriminates also against supporters of the government because when friends of Ministers are chosen for a job, this disadvantages qualified and able supporters of the PNCR who are not allowed to compete for certain jobs.
An audit needs to be undertaken of the present employment practices. The Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) should undertake this audit.
The ERC should investigate the persons who have left the government employ since May 2015 to determine whether they were pressured to leave or that they felt uncomfortable. The audit should determine how fair were the employment practices since 2015. In an ethnically polarized society, this has ramifications for race relations – the purview of the ERC.
The audit should allow for evidence to be led about nepotism and favoritism in employment. Finally, in the case of persons who feel that they were bypassed for promotion, dismissed or forced to resign, the ERC should undertake to determine whether this involved ethnic discrimination.
