Sunday, July 15 2012

THE EDITOR: Rumour has it that seven staff members of the TT Consulate in Manhattan have been fired and replaced by new hired hands.

Because of the nature of our politics, because political patronage and nepotism characterise our employment practice, of our dispensation of jobs to the boys/girls, the question whether the public service is staffed primarily on the basis of merit is redundant and an extravagant exercise in self-delusion. Thus, one of the reasons why the PNM has endured over the years despite its “everybody thief syndrome” and its general mismanagement and lack of moral and spiritual values, is the fact that it boastfully took care of its own and who didn’t like it could get to hell out — as many of the ignored did.

The country ended up being saddled with square pegs in round (and wrong) holes. Even in America change of government goes hand in hand with the changing of the bureaucratic guards. Indira Gandhi knew the Sikhs were her enemy yet she insisted on keeping her Sikh guards and we all know what happened to her in her failure to understand that in politics even the right hand can’t trust the left hand, and which is what influenced the Mahatma to unreservedly settle for the clasped hand in greeting instead of the shaking of hands.

Whilst there have been accusations of this Government subscribing to the political patronage philosophy (of the PNM) the rank and file supporters of the PPG complain that there is not a government agency that is not staffed and over-staffed with persons who were hand-picked by the PNM.

Further to those rumours is the other one that whispers in your ears that Manning and company could and still do call upon their “planted” servants to do their bidding, still wielding greater influence over ministerial staff than what the current ministers have.

If there has been a shake-up of staff at the Consulate in Manhattan is it possible that the one responsible for it had finally decided to take the bull by the horns; understanding that being nice just for the PR reason is often regarded as weak, impractical and self-indulgent.

And that accepting that one has to do what one has to do might be the best way to do it?



L Siddhartha Orie

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