PM Mottley: More appointments coming

Public servants who have been acting in positions for three or more years will soon receive their appointment, Prime Minister Mia Mottley has promised.

She gave this indication on Tuesday as she started the debate on the Barbados Optional Savings Scheme Bill in Parliament.

Mottley pointed out that the issuing of the four-year bonds which will attract an interest rate of five per cent, was to help create room for Government to move ahead with capital projects and continue upgrades to government services.

However, recalling that her administration has already appointed scores of customs officers “and started doing it with nurses” since coming to office two years ago, Mottley said she was thankful for the support of the labour unions and she would be continuing with the appointment of public servants.

Early last year some 138 posts were created for Customs Officers IV, in an effort to regularise clerical officers who have been acting in the positions at the Customs and Excise Department for several years.

While she did not give a specific number of public servants to be appointed, singling out those in the health sector, police force and customs department, Mottley said her Government was committed to the appointment of public servants who have been “languishing” in acting posts for way too long.

“It is my duty as the minister for the public service, over the next few months, to have as many people appointed in this country who have been in positions for more than three years. This is not an idle promise. This is a journey on which we have embarked,” she said.

Mottley, who is also the Minister of Finance, said she saw no reason not to proceed “immediately” and appoint those who have been acting in positions for three or more years once they did not have a “negative report”.

“Indeed, the director-general of the ministry of the public service has brought to my attention that in some instances there are requirements for medical reports by the CMO (Chief Medical Officer). I said, ‘let anybody who is a certified doctor provide those reports,” said Mottley.

“We have to go back and deconstruct the system and reconstruct it. If not, all we will be doing is leaving it to bottle neck and humbug people who want to go and get a mortgage and get on with their lives and be able to determine if this is the correct platform for them or they want to shift,” she added.

Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley however, questioned the timing of Mottley’s announcement of future appointments, saying perhaps it was a tactic to get more public servants to take up the BOSS bonds.

In fact, stating that the practice of victimization was “a prominent dynamic” in the Barbadian culture, Atherley suggested that those awaiting appointment could be pressured to take up the bond offer out of fear of not getting the appointment or promotion.

It is not immediately clear how many public servants are awaiting appointment or have been acting in positions for three or more years.

“So the fear of victimization is real, especially for persons in acting positions. You can imagine that persons who believe that soon perhaps promotion is coming my way . . . you don’t want to miss out on appointment by vexing the government. These are realities.

“Even people who operate at the highest levels in Barbados fear victimization. Even people who are not part, centrally so, of the political process in Barbados, fear victimization. A lot of professional people out there fear victimization especially in a context where you have a government with this type of numbers. So don’t tell me that the fear of victimization is not a dynamic to be seriously considered in this whole equation. People feel vulnerable and people feel pressured,” said Atherley.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb