It is four months short of three years since the current Congress government of Dickon Mitchell replaced the New National Party (NNP) of Keith Mitchell at the Botanical Gardens to preside over the affairs of the nation.
The new rulers captivated the electorate on their campaign slogan of “Transformation” in the Grenadian society especially in the way things will be done.
The new administration has made some changes like bi-monthly salaries for public workers in keeping with something that is already being done by many private sector businesses.
The payment of the Pension to public workers does not fall into the category of Transformation as Congress was only fulfilling a legal obligation of the State following the ruling by high court judge Justice Raulston Glasgow.
The government has done good to the public sector but the same cannot be said about civil servants fulfilling their obligations to the people of Grenada.
The so-called Transformational Agenda has not reached public officers and might be stuck or blocked somewhere along the route.
Too many complaints are coming from the public about the attitude of these workers who are on the payroll of the State to provide a service to the public.
The cry daily from the public is that they show up in the early mornings to do business with the government and the workers are oftentimes very late.
Many people will leave home at 6 and 7 o’clock to beat the traffic congestion into the city and present themselves outside the government office and have to wait until 8.30 and even up to 9 o’clock to get service.
The government office should be opened to the public at 8.00 a.m – not public offices entering the workplace at 8.00 a.m.
There appears to be no one in charge of these government ministries and departments.
Where is the Permanent Secretary and Senior Assistant Secretary who are supposed to be in charge of these places and have the responsibility to look after and supervise the charges under their control? No one seems to be in charge.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) is apparently a lame duck body in the absence of official complaints brought before it for consideration of possible disciplinary action by those running the government ministries.
The authorities will have to look at implementing a system in which public officers need to clock in to show their time of arrival on the job.
The government can also look at borrowing something from the former 1979-83 People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) of slain Prime Minister Maurice Bishop in which Emulation Ceremonies were held to recognise and reward those public officers who demonstrate exemplary service on the job.
Another issue that THE NEW TODAY wants to address is the recent decision taken by someone or somebody to reinstate a Customs Officer into the public service after he exited to the so-called more “greener pasture” of politics.
It appears that this was not an act of the PSC but was done outside of its purview.
The established norm is that public officers must never display open allegiance to a political party in the country.
There is nothing wrong with a public officer attending a political meeting to hear the views of a political party.
However, it is “a horse of a different colour” if the said public officer is seen at these political meetings dressed up and wearing the paraphernalia of these parties.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) might be setting a very dangerous precedent and trend by allowing this particular Customs Officer back on the job in what might just be political contamination of an already poor public service.
It might have been a much better option to provide an appropriate job opportunity to the said officer at a statutory body and not in the mainstream of the public service.
THE NEW TODAY is certain that if a particular political leader and party is returned to lead this country the floodgate that has been opened by Dickon Mitchell and Congress will escalate and become the norm in the public service with a set of political appointees becoming public officers overnight.
Unwittingly, the government might have opened the doorway to a runaway train by political mischief makers who might one day gain control of State power in Grenada.