Keep politics out of it
Should the Executive Council be the body that determines who is hired to work within the public service and, even more important, should the Executive Council be the entity that fires public servants?
This question, we submit, is very relevant, especially in view of allegations about political victimisation made in the Island Council on Monday by members of the opposition National Alliance.
The allegations were made during debate on the Executive Council’s recent decision to dismiss Judy La Paix, a young St. Maartener who had been employed within the Island Government’s Personnel Affairs Department. La Paix, the sister of a well-known National Alliance politician, was dismissed with immediate effect, ostensibly for refusing to do her job and allegedly without a hearing. The National Alliance is crying foul and political victimisation.
The issue of hiring and firing, we submit, will become even more relevant after the birth of Country St. Maarten when the pool of public servants will be significantly larger and the potential for allegations about political victimisation even greater.
We are not attempting to venture into any consideration of the merits or lack of merits of the La Paix case, for that is a matter for the court of law to determine and it would be very presumptuous of us to trespass on the court’s turf. However, it seems to us that wise policy dictates that there should be no opportunity for our politicians to be able to politicise the process of hiring, promoting and/or firing public servants.
It seems to us that there would be much merit in having a separate, constitutionally-established, independent body comprising five or so independent-minded and qualified persons of varying and relevant backgrounds charged with responsibility for hiring, firing and promoting public servants. Such an entity would be akin to the Public Service Commissions as they are known in some of the English-speaking Caribbean countries and territories.
It is the same argument we have been making over the years when criticising the decision to transfer the authority for approving employment permits to the Executive Council – into the hands of the governing politicians and, in practice, a responsibility delegated to the Commissioner of Labour.
That decision effectively politicised the whole process associated with the issuing of employment permits and opened the process for possible political abuse and manipulation.
Country St. Maarten’s prospects for growth and stability, we submit, would be tremendously enhanced by a process of de-politicisation.
Give us your opinion on this story ![[new]](/images/new.gif)
Post a message on our message board! Click Here!
