Dear Editor,
Every election cycle we have this problem of people from the old government deemed “political appointees” being let go, and that generates charges of political and racial discrimination. The old government uses that as political fodder to rile up its supporters and burn things on the road. But the new government says it needs its own, new, loyal people to guarantee that the new government’s policies and programmes would be carried out. That’s a valid, reasonable justification.
Just as with the problem of lack of diversity in employees in government agencies, successive governments have done nothing to solve this recurring government transition problem, which creates much ill-will in the society.
We need to adopt some American-type solutions such as when a new President or new Governor is elected, they bring in their own new team, and the old team leaves. This is possible because there is a governance design where the rules allow for the creation of what are called “policy exempt” positions. These are specially identified and designated positions, so anyone who is in a “policy exempt” position knows that when the Government that appointed them leaves, they leave also. You take such a job knowing you are exempt from the usual “due process” rights, entitlements, and protections of the usual public service rules. These “policy exempt” positions are “at will” positions, and you serve at the pleasure of the government of the day.
With this formalised “policy exempt” framework, all the acrimony, ill will and charges of racism and discrimination, are no longer tenable, and it would be silly for the Opposition to cry foul. If or when these jobs are advertised, they carry a notation that they are “policy exempt” positions, so the applicant knows going in that the job is time-limited. For such positions, if they are done as contracted positions, an outgoing government cannot renew them to go beyond its term (as the APNU+AFC calculatingly did). That would be improper to do. So, any legislation to create such “policy exempt” positions must cover all these things.
The advantage of having a certain number (say 100 or 200) positions and certain specific positions formally designated by law as “policy exempt” means a government cannot hire unlimited numbers of friends and family, and resurrect old dinosaurs, the long retired, the feeble, and the maimed, and those that fled the land, to just squat on the national payroll (as our governments like to do).
Lastly, the renewal and continuation of “policy exempt” employees from the previous government is a case-by-case decision, at the discretion of the new government, as was done with Dr. Greenidge, Dr. S. S. Ramphal, Dr. Bynoe, Dr. Ganga, etc. If the government retains you, great! If not, you leave willingly and go to your Plan B; you don’t do a “Harmon.” Any new government would always let the extremely toxic ones go in haste such as those who worked hard at subverting democracy, and that’s understandable. However, affiliation with an opposition party should not necessarily be an automatic disqualification. According to the “New Declaration of Sophia” promulgated by Volda, “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.” I may have missed it but do not recall the ERC, the Coalition or churches denouncing this statement. All lives matter and everyone has the right to eat. The Constitution says we have the “right to work.”
The government should consider that our country loses an estimated 80% of its UG graduates. Lack of human resources have affected implementation of projects. There is an extreme shortage and unavailability of specialized high science skills in the STEM fields, including oil and gas. And that’s a big factor why we are still a third world, “shole” country. Successive governments have failed to implement practices to recruit and make it attractive for highly qualified Diasporans to return and serve.
Usually the parties wax eloquent about how the Diasporans are important, but they are treated merely as a large fundraising and lobbying farm. It was reported that President Ali said recently, “We must welcome back to their homeland our diaspora who played such a positive and constructive role in defence of our democracy”. President Ali noted that while many Guyanese reside abroad, their love and commitment to their country have not changed and this was “passionately demonstrated” over the last five months. “My government intends to embrace Guyanese abroad as we enlist them here at home,” Dr. Ali asserted. We have heard such high rhetoric before, so we are watching to see some sincerity in actions, as Dr. Ali seems sincere.
Nation, there is a solution to this “political appointment” problem. Will the Government lead, this time around?
Yours faithfully,
Dr. Jerry Jailall
