BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE Federation’s Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, the Hon. Vincent Byron Jr., declared that the Team Unity Government did not victimise anyone and offered an explanation on what transpired in the Public Service during the ongoing transition process.
In an hour-long sit-down interview with the AG, SKNVibes posed a number of questions to him and he had decided to begin his answers with an explanation of the difference between the Permanent Pensionable Establishment and the Political Directorate, which are the two categories under which people are employed in the Public Service.
“I think it is very important to start our discussion with the Public Service because there is some talk of victimisation in the press. I will put it in a certain context just to find a way to deal with the question of Political Directorate.”
He said the Public Service is a honourable vocation and in many ways is not one in which employees are rewarded financially when compared with those employed in the private sector, who earn much more.
As an example, he pointed out that the salary of many CEOs in the private sector is much more than that of Government Ministers.
“But we have security of tenure in the Public Service when you work for a number of years, which qualifies you for a pension in your later years. And you are also entitled to a gratuity...lump sum payment. And so when you are a part of the term Permanent Pensionable Establishment, you lend yourself to a special vocation in your country,” he added.
The AG opined that public servants should be held with a certain regard as they forego many things, including opportunities to be in the private sector.
Difference between categories of Public Servants
The Minister of Justice pointed out that there are two categories of public servants – those in the Permanent Pensionable Establishment and those in the Political Directorate. And because many people have the wrong perception, he wanted them to know what the role of each category entails.
“The category of Political Directorate,” he explained, “involves those people who come to the public with a particular programme to influence how the country will go, the direction we take, the standards that we do, how we live in terms of economic activities and social dispensations. Those activities are really what people in political interest groups, pressure groups and political parties contest elections for to be able to do that. And once you win an election and you come into Public Service, you basically determine that you will then influence the country through legislation, various forms of services and actions.
“And so the Political Directorate comes and goes. There are five-year terms and sometimes more than five-year terms; but the Permanent Pensionable Establishment remains for maybe 30 years. And there are people who have been working for more than 30 years under different administrations.”
He explained to which category Permanent Secretaries fall.
“In terms of Permanent Secretaries, they are at the top of the Permanent Pensionable Establishment. I do not know of any Permanent Secretary who would be on contract. They have to be part of the Permanent Pensionable Establishment and, as such, should not be involved in any form of political activity with the Political Directorate.
“The minute you do that as the Head of a Ministry you are in breach of the Civil Service Regulations and Rules. It means that if a Permanent Secretary believes, or acts as well, that he or she is part of the Political Directorate, there should have been some sort of disciplinary action brought against that individual.
“In other words, a Permanent Secretary is not part of the Political Directorate and they should have been able to establish a very clear line or distinction away from the Political Directorate.”
He also explained the role of Permanent Secretaries and what they ought not to be.
“The Political Directorate gives an agenda to the Permanent Pensionable Establishment for it to be implemented. And surely the Permanent Secretaries, who are the technical people in the Public Service, will give technical and other forms of advice as well as assisting the Political Directorate in carrying out the policies. They should not be playing politicians!”
Observed crossover in category
AG Byron is of the view that there has been a crossover from one category to the other, citing observations made in the past by Team Unity.
“I think that over time people in the Permanent Pensionable Establishment have come to blur the lines between that establishment and the Political Directorate. We see many times how they dressed. Many people in the last regime went to work in red and they thought it was a badge of honour to identify such, and they openly and vocally paid allegiance to the party in power rather than to the Public Service.
“This, I have to say, is not just me talking, but what the Public Service Act requires...the General Orders requires. It is part of the law and it was broken down terribly by the last Administration. In some cases, very senior public officers acted as though they were part of the Political Directorate. And so there have been in many ways that sort of culture came into the Public Service, and many people in the country believe that’s how it should be.”
Some people, he stated, had accepted that culture, but members of the current Administration have objected to it and would create a change.
“I know Team Unity for one thought that we must have a paradigm shift; a new way of governance when we came into office. We claimed that we have a broad tent that is not just here for PAM, CCM or PLP but for all the people. And if you are a part of the Permanent Pensionable Establishment, that’s the way it is...Permanent Pensionable Establishment. The concept of a clean sweep does not pertain under the Team Unity Government, but, at the same time, those who not only cross the lines into the Political Directorate of the last regime, but who still continue to show that allegiance to the extent where they do not perform and try to impede the work of the new Government, we will not hesitate to take action to deal with them.”
Senior Officers sent on holiday
The AG declared that a certain action had to be taken against some senior public officers for what he insinuated is to rectify wrong doings.
“In one or two cases I had to ask senior public officers to take holidays so that there was a chance to deal with the current situation. And we ultimately have to find a way to deal with individuals if their behaviour had been egregious and clearly not in keeping with the Civil Service Regulations and Rules...with the Act.
“Those individuals are clearly part of the Political Directorate and not part of the Permanent Pensionable Establishment.”
Contract Workers and rollover
The Justice Minister also spoke to the issue of contract workers.
“Primarily, there are many people in the Government Service who are on contract, two-year contract. And once they have satisfactory completed their term of engagement they could get a percentage of their salary during that period as a gratuity. However, gratuity is not an entitlement and I think those lines must be established very clearly in our country that we will do things differently.”
He however stated that although one may have been employed on a contractual basis, ones service may be retained but it is highly dependent on credible performance.
Byron pointed out that a rollover system is in existence for some contract workers, professionals such as doctors and lawyers, but advises that it would be better for them to be employed under the Permanent Pensionable Establishment.
“Doctors, lawyers, mainly professionals, have opted to take our contracts. And I think there is a policy, if not, there should be one that after one or two terms that person should be drafted in the Permanent Pensionable Establishment. Just to stay on and on by contract does not make any sense.”
He made reference to an individual who is on contract for over 20 years and has now reached the age of retirement but, regrettably, is not eligible for pension.
In concluding his discussion on the allegation of public servants being victimised by the Team Unity Government, AG Byron said: “I think that we have to look at policy initiatives that people understand when they work for the Government Service they have an honourable job, but the public must see it as being honourable. It is not a political reward! The Government in power offers you a job and you have joined the Public Service.
“So, it is important to understand what the Public Service is. There have been ways in which it has been abused and one of the things we intend to do is to establish a new culture of Public Service and public servants.”
He stressed that the Team Unity Administration’s mandate is to create good paying jobs for the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, most times better than what one gets in the Public Service, and “that is why you vote for a government to create the economic environment, the social environment that make everybody better. The public’s purse should not be seen to be used for people to get rich”.
