By Elvin Bailey
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Robert Manning
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It has been chronicled in the annals of Social Security, how the scheme was started in 1978 as a successor to National Provident Fund with Robert Manning, Member of the British Empire, as its first Director; and that he held the post until his retirement in 1995. But that is far from being the full story.
Consider the fact that Mr. Manning did not contend for the job, did not apply for the job. He was chosen. And he was chosen for a reason. Granted, he had had five years at the NPF that may have helped to prepare him for the job, but so did a few other persons. I believe that the authorities saw his capability, his commitment, his discipline, his astuteness and the broadness of his back and decided that he was the one. Sometimes, the best man for the job has to be handpicked. No apologies!
That broad back was very important, because there was quite a lot of hostility to the notion that people’s wages, already meager, would become even smaller by the forced removal of 5 cents out of every dollar, and put towards ‘some ting a de edda, an me ho wait till me 62 to get um back’. Surely it was the face of Mr. Manning that everyone was associating with this “robbery”! Imagine too, that for the Nevisians who did not know him, it was ‘dem Sinkitt people robbing Nevis people again!’ Lesser mortals may have caved in under the pressure, but not Mr. Manning. He organized community meetings and withstood the wrath of angry crowds in order to sell the institution that was entrusted to him. He believed in what he was doing!
In our 30th year commemorative magazine, Peter Ngungiri interviewed Mr. Manning [and Mrs. Manning]. In that interview, Mr. Manning told of the steps taken, the sacrifices made to build our Social Security from the ground up. From the details provided, it is, in my view, more correct to refer to Mr. Manning as the creator of Social Security rather than its first Director. Truth be told, he had nothing to direct, and everything to create. It appears that even the legislation was drafted by him!
According to the staff who worked with him (and are still at Social Security), Mr. Manning had an interesting management style. He took time to learn the strengths of his staff members and would pander to those strengths. He also knew the weaknesses and helped them overcome those flaws. He would spring surprise questions from the legislation and the regulations during meetings, and this kept the staff motivated to learn. Nobody wanted to appear ignorant: the Act and Regulations held biblical truths that every worker was expected to know, preferably by heart. There are a few remaining staff who can still quote the law.
The Man shared information and knowledge at a time when it was fashionable to hoard. He was fair-handed, and gave a hearing to both sides of issues before making his decision. Nor was he wasteful of the resources assigned to him.
I also learnt that Mr. Manning was very instrumental in designing the Reciprocal Agreements, both the Canadian and CARICOM.
I first encountered Mr. Manning when I applied for a job at Social Security in 1987. I wrote the letter and followed up with an unannounced visit to his office. He came to me and politely informed me that there were no vacancies, and if one opened up, he would let me know. But then I moved to Montserrat and to Dominica, so I cannot say whether he tried to contact me. What I do recall is the hearty welcome he gave me when, 6 years later, I assumed a membership on the Board of Directors. Even this episode has a lesson: be kind to people, you never know where they – or you - will end up!
Social Security as a concept has operated within the region for 43 years (Jamaica was the first, established in 1966, followed by Barbados in 1967 and Guyana in 1969). Yet none of these organizations have had such a long-serving founding Director. Mr. Manning is the second longest serving Director, having served for 17 of the foundation years.
We are thankful that the foundation laid by Mr. Manning has become the bedrock of our society. Every citizen and resident of this Federation [and many beyond] have been touched in some positive way by Social Security and therefore by Mr. Manning. We are thankful that he has lived to see as much of the growth of the Institution as he has seen. We are glad that he was honoured during his lifetime for the pioneering work that he did. We are saddened by his death, and we ought to be ashamed if we did not all give him enough thanks for the sacrifices he made. Notwithstanding, we remain confident that he has gone to a better place and trust that he will enjoy eternal peace.
Thanks, Sir.
