#BTColumn – Choices: public or political servant?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Sean St Clair Fields

“I pledge allegiance to my country Barbados and to my flag, to uphold and defend their honour, and by my living to do credit to my nation wherever I go.”

At some point during our school days in Barbados, most of us recited our National Pledge during morning assembly and while in the midst of our robust debates on national issues, my friend Willy would suggest that I am somewhat confused because I readily admitted to supporting both the BLP and DLP political parties over the years, I often remind him that my allegiance to my country and my people is first and foremost.

Do right by the people and as a government you will have my support. I have a dream for Barbados. I want us to become a country that works for all citizens and that no matter one’s class, creed, religious ideology or political affiliation, each of us will have a fair chance based on merit.

Now having assessed the actions of current and previous governments particularly as it relates to downsizing, it certainly does appear that the same scenario plays out no matter which party is in power. As soon as the government changes, vulnerable public servants are sent home.

I believe most of us will agree that there is sufficient public evidence that supports the narrative that the retrenching of certain public servants is not generally as a consequence of their poor or insufficient work performance, but rather, because their political support is misplaced or because they refused to subscribe to the whims and fancy of political appointees.

In such an environment, one could certainly understand why some public servants especially those who work in Statutory Corporations or State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) behave more like political servants rather than public servants.

As such, I don’t think it is unreasonable to conclude that our system of governance is so politically infected that fairness, justice and transparency will remain elusive no matter which administration is at the helm.

The truth of the matter is that we expect our government to act fairly, we expect our government to pass laws that protect every citizen’s right to a fair chance based on merit, we expect our government to stamp out corruption, yet administration after administration, manifesto promise after manifesto promise and the agencies that would ensure transparency and accountability in our public affairs, remain under-staffed and starved for resources while others are yet to be implemented as promised.

I believe this approach is intentionally designed to smother transparency and accountability. With each passing day we continue to see the alarming repercussions of political corruption. It seems to be even more pervasive as more citizens are becoming philosophically and nationally unplugged. This widening disenfranchisement is evident by the number of people who say that they have no intention to vote in this or any other election.

I can only describe this situation as truly sad, but while the absence of transparency and accountability can be placed at the feet of our present and previous governments, we the people must also accept some of the blame when we sit ideally by and do nothing.

I am sure the question will be asked. What can we do? For starters, we can vote for the candidate or political party who we believe will take corruption and transparency seriously.

We can vote for the candidate or party who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to accountability.

We can vote for the candidate or political party who has the eradication of corruption as a pillar of our economic and social development. Not just in promises, but in action.

Most will agree that there will always be favouritism and nepotism in a society that is deeply political and vastly interpersonal. Such things will remain no matter which government wins. After all, wouldn’t you help out a relative or friend if you are in a position to do so? The problem is not with our choices but rather the policing of those choices. In any functional democracy, there must be police who police the police.

Our watchdog agencies, our auditors, our anti-corruption agents whose loyalty and allegiance are to Barbados, will ensure that the decisions that are made on the public’s behalf by those who are elected or appointed to serve, remain under constant review and scrutiny.

At the moment, we are miles away from this level of transparency.

What happens now is nothing short of salacious, especially in statutory corporations and state-owned enterprises. Now having worked in these organisations over the years, I can speak first-hand of the nefarious activities that occur in these public institutions.

I submit that our systems are designed to encourage corruption.
Firstly, the Minister after “consultations” appoints members to serve as Directors of the respective Boards.

The Boards who are charged with setting the policy for the effective functioning of the organisation often get quite involved with the day-to-day operations and in many instances end up given instructions directly to staff.

Many of these “requests” are of course verbally given as there must be no paper trail. It is extortionary corruption at its worst, as public servants who want to keep their jobs, are coerced into facilitating said request(s).

Additionally, these Boards often appoint persons in senior decision-making positions who essentially execute their “request(s)” without question.

I submit that without effective policing of the decisions that these appointees (public servants) make, we will continue to read in each Auditor General report about millions of taxpayers’ dollars that have been reportedly misappropriated.

We will also see no change in people being held to account. No one will be prosecuted for misappropriation or bribery.

Now while it may be wishful thinking to expect our leaders and public servants to exercise a high level of integrity, in the absence of an effective policing system and with our anti-corruption agencies begging for resources and legislative power to hold public servants to account, we will continue to witness public servants facilitating the requests of their political sponsors and not pledging their allegiance to country and flag.

Sean St. Clair Fields is a frequent contributor on social issues.