Prepare people for board jobs

THE EDITOR: It’s amazing and strikingly alarming that after 59 years of independence and 45 years as a republic, our administrative and management systems are not sufficiently developed for us to adequately govern ourselves without rancour, chaos and bureaucratic bungling.

In small multi-racial societies where politics dictates how power and resources are shared, favoured cliques truncate the pool of professionals available to contribute to the development process.

The theatrics and dramatic exposé that continuously dictate the selection of a commissioner of police diminishes the work of our founding fathers who built this country’s management and governance structures. It is time that we find our way out of this debacle and eliminate the comedy of errors.

The confusion created in the process of appointing a police commissioner emanates from the small clandestine pool of human personnel that is targeted to serve in positions of power. The country runs on half throttle based on who holds the reins of power.

Boards of directors are appointed without being properly oriented to understand the organisation’s operations, modern governance practices and the demarcations between governance, policy development and management.

Board appointments are usually doled out as political patronage. Governments must be mindful of the fact that a large percentage of the country’s development initiatives are managed by boards that require a diverse range of experienced and qualified personnel. A new approach to prepare boards to effectively serve must be developed and implemented in the national interest.

We cannot ignore the plight of many management professionals whose careers were stymied and/or disrupted by errant and exuberant boards, in pursuit of power and authority that do not reside within their remit.

The recent debacle involving the board of the Police Service Commission necessitates convening a truth and reconciliation committee to hear and review cases of professionals whose careers were unjustly disrupted by boards.

The national interest will be well served if a quick resolution to the current imbroglio could be reached. The negative energies created by these infractions only serve to heighten citizens’ mistrust in our governance systems.

RICHARD TROTMAN

via e-mail