When public servants become politicians
June 6, 2015 | By KNews | Filed Under Editorial, Source
This week the new government signaled quite clearly that it was not prepared to work with anyone who was against it. For example, there were those Permanent Secretaries who thought that they were more politicians that public servants. Two of them who resigned to go on the campaign trail have been sent packing; their resignations have been accepted.
At least one commentator contended that asking for the resignation of some of these people is heartless given that they have mouths to feed. That would suggest some form of witch hunting. But the truth is that the previous administration politicized the public service thus, giving any new government the right to rid the structure of any political appointee.
There is something else that is happening at this time. There are changes in the state media. And one can expect to see such changes, especially, since those functionaries operated as though they were employed by the political party in power to promote the aims and objectives of the political party.
Needless to say, this attitude saw people questioning the credibility of the state media. It has not escaped notice that since the change in government, the Chronicle newspaper is doing what it should have been doing all the time. It never carried a letter from anyone who appeared to be critical of the government. But any person who dared to write just about anything about the then opposition found a ready space in the newspaper.
Today, less than a month after the change in government the Chronicle is a more balanced newspaper and it has found that its circulation has increased. It is even free to carry the material submitted by its old masters.
There is something to be said about the changes. It tells us that many of those employed in the system were not professionals. Some worked with fear of victimization and some got punished for doing the correct thing. One employee of the National Insurance Scheme got suspended for two weeks for reporting fraud within the system. The culprit was a senior member of the scheme who actually had the ears of the political hierarchy.
The most significant change forced by the new government has been with the Guyana Sugar Corporation. This entity suddenly became a hole on the economy largely because of poor management and corrupt practices. People used GuySuCo to import all manner of things in their own name, things such as luxury cars and fancy home furnishings.
They paid scarce attention to the company with the result that no matter what the conscientious worker did, the company kept losing money. Soon, despite its status the government insisted that the loss-making entity remain in place. The Ramotar administration then made it a political football. If the opposition dared to complain about the status of the sugar corporation, then the government would invoke the race vote.
Caught over the barrel, the political opposition kept voting money for GuySuCo with no means of knowing how it was being spent. A forensic audit is being mulled. But there was another thing that suggested that the Managers of the sugar company were saying to the government that GuySuCo was not the preserve of the government.
In that vein the Managers announced that they were closing the sugar company. This was the height of eye-pass, closing a government entity without the involvement of the government. It has not escaped attention that the sugar union is complaining that it was not consulted before the sacking. There is no need to consult the union; it did not seek to be consulted when there was need for money to keep the industry turning. It was not consulted when the previous administration opted to sell the turbines that generated electricity.
Besides, the union boss acknowledged that the GuySuCo administration was incompetent. It would seem as though the government owes every Tom, Dick and Harry an explanation for its actions, when the previous administration never even bothered to answer to the parliamentary opposition.
