Two weeks after her offensive declarations on November 25th at a PNCR Region Four meeting, the words of party chairman and Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence warrant continued attention particularly as the government has not held her or itself accountable for her behaviour. As was pointed out in yesterday’s editorial, Minister Lawrence is yet to apologise for the substance of her outrageous and dangerous statements and this failure undermines good governance and damages the credibility of the government.
Her recorded remarks gave a piercing insight into what happens in the inner sanctums of all political parties and like-minded organisations. They are minefields of division, partisanship, political warfare and offensiveness. Now that the public is aware of what she said on November 25th, one can legitimately ask what message the PNCR faithful who were present that day at Congress Place took back to their various constituencies. Ms Lawrence pledged that jobs would only go to PNCR types – redolent perhaps of the days of Burnham when the party card was a ticket to many opportunities and conversely, others were shut out. Furthermore, in what would be seen to be a nexus with her role as the Public Health Minister, Ms Lawrence said that she was looking for a Portuguese-speaking or a Spanish-speaking doctor and he/she should also be PNCR.
“Well I got news for you: The only friends I got is PNC, so the only people I could give work to is PNC. And, right now, I looking for a doctor who can talk Spanish or Portuguese and ah want one that is PNC”, Ms Lawrence had stated.
Given the fact that they were being addressed by their party’s chairman – the de facto deputy leader of the PNCR – and that these statements were made at the headquarters of the party, those who attended could have taken Ms Lawrence at her word and returned to their communities with the message that they would be given preference for jobs. Those expectations can take root and lead to a series of unsavory consequences. It is now the responsibility of Ms Lawrence and her party to repair the damage done if, indeed, that is their intention. The PNCR in its press statement on December 1st on its General Council meeting of that day made no reference to Ms Lawrence’s statements or the controversy generated. At the very minimum, the PNCR must disavow the statements made by Ms Lawrence and do so urgently.
Discussing the results of the November 12 local government elections, Ms Lawrence had this to say on November 25th: “We don’t have to wait no three years comrades there are mechanisms for us to go back to the polls. You see this long, long story, me ain’t able buse and cuss and waste me time; I lash you in you head and done the story. Done the story. Sometimes we like to yap, yap, yap, yap too much. Comrades; we have to run things in those NDCs… the same ones they say we lose”.
This alarming statement which includes the words “You see this long, long story, me ain’t able buse and cuss and waste me time; I lash you in you head and done the story” demands an explanation from Ms Lawrence considering the violent words employed.
Ms Lawrence’s plight underlines the duality of the backward political system in this country. High executives of the political parties engage in the most rancorous of rhetoric and actions at the party level while being entrusted simultaneously with senior government positions that demand adherence to rigorous standards of conduct and non-discrimination. Ms Lawrence was formerly the Minister of Social Protection, a mandate which would jar trenchantly with the statements she uttered on November 25th. She now holds the portfolio of Minister of Public Health, again one that demands eschewing the slightest hint of discrimination or being uncaring. Her words of November 25th were those of a take-no-prisoners party warrior and not a healer.
Her statements could also create difficulties for the Public Health Ministry and the range of donor countries, international institutions and private organisations that are dealt with on a daily basis. No friendly government accountable to their own legislators and people could easily disregard what she said and whether those statements couldn’t lead to discriminatory behaviour in her ministry. This would also be a challenge for international institutions and private organisations which may be interested in providing aid to the health sector.
When this government first took office in 2015, it was recommended in these columns that every single vacancy in the public sector be advertised and that the filling of the positions be as transparent as possible to ensure that there could be no hint of jobs for the boys. This was not done and many positions in the public sector have been filled by persons whose main qualification would have been their longstanding affiliation with the PNCR or ties to an official in government. Given Ms Lawrence’s statements, there should be no filling of any position in her ministry without a public advertisement and the hiring must be transparent and explicable to those who are not chosen.
Finally, the government is also at fault here. It has studiously avoided holding any of its officials accountable to its own Code of Conduct which it had promised in its 2015 manifesto and which it shockingly and disgracefully delayed for many months. When Minister Broomes was involved in a confrontation outside of a restaurant on the East Bank there was no punishment for her and the government came up with the quaint notion that it was her party which had the responsibility to decide whether to discipline her. It will be one of the more striking ironies of this administration that it was Minister Lawrence who extended apologies to the guards who Minister Broomes and her driver confronted during the incident.
By ignoring what Minister Lawrence said at Congress Place on November 25th, the government has shown itself as unwilling or incapable of disciplining its members, particularly those who have high party connections. This is a gross dereliction of responsibility which further undermines its commitment to non-discrimination and its public image.