Civil service boss hits back at PM’s sabotage claims

Accusations by Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness that unnamed public sector workers are trying to sabotage government policies and programmes have drawn the ire of the president of the Jamaica Civil Service Association, Techa Clarke-Griffiths.

Clarke-Griffiths said such “blanket statements” would only serve to dampen the morale of public sector staff, and she urged the prime minister to present evidence in such cases so the issue can be dealt with according to policy.

“The word sabotage is a very strong and serious one, and, I mean, if there is evidence to support the prime minister’s claim, then there are processes and procedures to deal with those,” she told The Gleaner.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Holness pointed fingers at unnamed public sector workers trying to “sabotage” government policies and programmes, warning that personnel changes are coming as his administration moves to meet the country’s needs.

“I don’t usually speak in extreme terms, and there are some subjects that it is better not to speak about, but, more and more, I am coming to the conclusion that there are persons in the public sector who are determined to sabotage – and I don’t say it lightly – delay, derail policies, programmes and initiatives of the Government,” he said.

“I see you,” Holness continued.

DISTINCTION MUST BE MADE

But Clarke-Griffiths asserted that a distinction must be made between deliberate misconduct and legitimate professional advice. She also noted that the day-to-day challenges that public sector workers face may also be interpreted as sabotage.

“There are thousands of public sector workers who work every day to keep the country functioning,” she said.

While acknowledging issues of productivity, accountability and service delivery within the sector, Clarke-Griffiths stated that these issues must also be analysed within the context of the resources in place to do the work.

“The public servants who go to work on a daily basis, their intention is to make sure that they do the work that they are being paid for and that the resources that are provided to them are utilised in the best way possible,” she said.

“We have enough professional administrators in public service to make sure that the policies [and] programme initiatives that the Government implements will be undertaken,” she added.

The prime minister further stressed that the Government will be moving to improve speed, agility and responsiveness, and it “cannot be business as usual”.

He said changes are coming in how people are deployed to boost performance. These changes should be understood as part of a Government reset to meet the needs of the country, he asserted.

“Government must be reset and reorganised to meet the needs of our country. Government must be frugal and disciplined in its use of public resources, agile in its decisions, and responsive to the people it serves,” he said.

Meanwhile, Holness reiterated his dissatisfaction with the pace of the recovery from Hurricane Melissa, one year after the Category 5 storm devastated the island.

He said Jamaicans who are still waiting for help are entitled to expect greater urgency from the Government and that significant additional resources have been allocated to restore homes and roofs.

An added $9.65 billion will be allocated to complete payments under the ROOFS programme, bringing total spending on home roof repairs since Hurricane Melissa to $21.65 billion.

The prime minister placed a yearend timeline for the completion of repairs on 90 per cent of roofs, while also stating that he anticipates that the recovery process from the hurricane will be completed by January.

Further, he announced that Jamaica is expected to sign an agreement with the United Kingdom next week for British reconstruction specialists to help the island rebuild.

Holness stated that he had also instructed the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority to fast-track two urgent interventions in the recovery from Hurricane Melissa – the construction of 100 prefabricated houses in St Elizabeth and three large community water tanks in Westmoreland.

“The task before us now is to accelerate the pace at which recovery reaches the families still awaiting, and to drive the reconstruction that will build a stronger and more resilient future,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com