A governance failure

On February 25, 2022, the Chief Administrator in the Tobago House of Assembly (THA), Bernadette Solomon-Koroma, proceeded on pre-retirement leave after serving in the post since 2019.

Her replacement, Ethlyn John proceeded on pre-retirement leave in May. Since then, the role has been vacant.

The THA's chief administrator is the equivalent of a permanent secretary in the Central Government and is appointed by the Public Service Commission after the Prime Minister and the THA Chief Secretary have consulted on the selection.

The role is not political. It is an administrative job with accounting responsibilities, effectively the CEO of the THA's operations, responsible for implementing the policies and strategies of the assembly.

As with any senior management position, a clear succession plan would have outlined suitable nominees for consideration.

That did not happen. Instead, the nation has been treated to a flame war of accusations and counter-accusations of falsehoods between the Chief Secretary and the Prime Minister, culminating in the Dr Rowley's heated promise in Parliament on Wednesday to resign if his version of the events that led to the vacant role is proven wrong.

According to the Prime Minister, there is no THA chief administrator because the nominee was subject to allegations of misconduct. This week he said an acting chief administrator is to be appointed.

The exchange of sharp words since the issue went public has needlessly politicised the appointment process, leading retired head of the public service, Reginald Dumas, to express a concern that whoever ends up in the job will be regarded as political appointee, not the impartial public servant expected to fill the role.

Having no chief administrator also effectively hamstrings the THA. It's questionable whether the assembly can properly govern Tobago with no appointee in that key position.

The assembly's representatives are politicians who define policy and strategy, but without public service leadership in place to move those directives into action, the Chief Secretary, and indeed the entire assembly, runs the risk of interfering in the operations of the public service.

It's surprising that the Chief Secretary did not signal the need to address this process earlier, given the difficulties that having no chief administrator would bring to his administration.

Instead of inspiring decisive collaborative action, the issue has become a flashpoint for political rhetoric. The accusations of deceit and political brinkmanship offer the nation the unsettling sight of a prime minister and chief secretary squabbling.

Beyond that, seeing the Prime Minister, a senior and experienced politician, punching down to address a routine procedural issue with a relative political novice sends a poor signal generally.

It fell to Dr Denise Tsoiafatt Angus of Tobago's Innovative Democratic Alliance to point out metaphorically that "when elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled."

This political war of words does not serve the interests of Tobago.