By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Senior Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
THREE Chief Superintendents of the Royal Bahamas Police Force have been promoted to the rank of Assistant Commissioner, sparking criticism from a lawyer representing three other ACPs who have been transferred against their will.
Commissioner of Police Paul Rolle signed a RBPF force order yesterday noting that Loretta Mackey, Craig Stubbs and Solomon Cash have been promoted to the ACP rank while Kirkwood Andrews has been promoted to Acting Assistant Commissioner.
This brings the total number of Assistant Commissioners to at least eight - more than the police manpower audit ordered by the Minnis administration recommended in 2018.
When that audit was conducted there were ten ACPs. The auditors suggested there only needed to be six.
“The Bahamas when compared to other law enforcement agencies within the region has an obvious oversubscription in the ranks of the senior command, particularly at the rank of ACPs, Superintendents, Chief Superintendents and Assistant Superintendents,” the audit said.
The new promotions come after the Minnis administration directed eight senior officers last year to take vacation leave as part of a move to restructure the force. Three of those officers have since retired.
In justifying that action, National Security Minister Marvin Dames pointed to the manpower audit’s assertion that the police force is too top-heavy.
“We would have done these audits for a reason, “ he said in a previous interview with reporters, “we have to come to a place where when we do the work, when we do the empirical study at the end of the day we need to look at those recommendations coming out of those studies and see what is important to apply to improve the level of efficiency and professionalism to ready these agencies for the future because at the end of the day, it is service to the Bahamian people.”
Wayne Munroe, lawyer for three senior officers who have since returned from vacation leave, said the new promotions prove his clients were sidelined for disingenuous reasons.
“If six is your optimal number of Assistant Commissioners and you can’t dismiss the three persons who are there, how then do you justify appointing anything more than an additional two ACPs?” he said yesterday. “Not to mention It would seem like a waste of resources at a time when public resources are scarce.”
When they returned from forced vacation leave, his clients ACP Kendal Strachan and ACP Clayton Fernander were directed to head security teams at juvenile schools and the Ministry of Health respectively.
Meanwhile, ACP Leamond Deleveaux has been assigned to “to assist with the overall security concerns” at the Ministry of Education.
Mr Munroe, who said his clients are still years away from retirement, said the rationale for assigning them to various government bodies has been made out to be a “farce” by the new promotion exercise.
“(Clayton) Fernander is still waiting to get details of what they need from him from Dr Duane Sands,” he said.
“Deleveaux is still waiting to get the same thing from Jeff Lloyd. We’re in court for Ken Strachan and the lawyer said he has had problems getting instructions, blaming COVID-19. There does not seem to be genuineness in the process and sincerity and to use the prime minister’s word, humanity. How humanely have they acted towards our three ACPs bearing in mind what they said? The more they talk the more they are shown to be duplicitous.”
He continued: “I also do not know who the Police Service Commission is. We should know because it’s a matter that should be gazetted.”
The commissioner’s force order said the new promotions were made after consulting the Police Service Commission.
Comments
Well_mudda_take_sic 4 years, 7 months ago
This is another shining example of the height of lunacy throughout the entire Minnis-led FNM government. It's bad enough Minnis has yet to cut the pay of government employees, but it's absolutely shockingly pathetic that he has failed to order the temporary cessation of any and all promotions at all levels of the civil workforce. What Commissioner Rolle has done here shows a a complete lack of common sense and zero sensitivity on his part to the economic woes of our country and its people at this time. Rolle is obviously no different than his brain-dead predecessor Ferguson, and both of them were hand picked by Minnis which speaks volumes about his own lack of sound judgement. How on earth could these promotions possible be justified at a time when when so many Bahamians in the private sector have been laid-off and may well not be re-employed?! This is truly cruel on the part of Rolle!! And if Minnis does not quickly act to rescind these two promotions, then he too is most cruel.
tetelestai 4 years, 7 months ago
Mudda, I am almost in agreement with you. IF (caps for emphasis) these civil servants have earned these promotions, then they should receive them. I do not agree that the promotions should be rescinded. However, I do agree with you that the promotions should not take effect now. Perhaps mid-2021, which, by that time, hopefully, the economy will return to the "new" normal.
birdiestrachan 4 years, 7 months ago
These FNM Fellows are drunk with power.
May the good Lord help us all
Trump the VIRIUS and doc all at the same time.
thephoenix562 4 years, 7 months ago
Trust me their isnt much difference in pay between Chief Supt & ACP.Now if you are talking about cutting Civil service pay then cutting the top tier even !0% is a huge savings.No need to beat up on Commissioner Rolle.
TigerB 4 years, 7 months ago
I have a problem with one of those promotions, the pay master. This officers has spent his entire career in the pay office of the police force. While I know all of them personally, I simply cannot see him making any type of contribution, he will still have to be led even in that high ranking position. Now we are back up to 8 A.C.P's, a sermon Marvin preach against the former administration regarding the amount of officers in that position. All the best in this one, it will not go away easily.
DDK 4 years, 7 months ago
This is insanely ridiculous, just plain stupid on all fronts ☹️
DDK 4 years, 7 months ago
What the Government SHOULD do is hire a couple of talented script writers to turn the day to day running of the country into situation comedy shows. One department or ministry per episode. There would be no further need for tax. The show would out run The Mousetrap!
sheeprunner12 4 years, 7 months ago
4 ACPs semi retired ……… 4 rookie ACPs …………. All getting fat and enjoying life.
When we really only need 2. Jesus take the wheel ……… Insanity 2.0
moncurcool 4 years, 7 months ago
This can't be seriously happening. You cannot make up this lack of knowledge. People are being laid off and the Commissioner of Police talking about promotions? Adding more money to the already bloated civil servants salary already killing our country? I believe in the independence of the police commissioner from political interference. However, this is one time I will support the PM stepping in to rescind this immediately.
BONEFISH 4 years, 7 months ago
This promotion exercise is simply the FNM promoting their supporters.There are three ACPs who have been basically transferred out of the police force to make space for those promotions. This is just a cynical display of power.Previous prime ministers like Sir Lynden Pindling and Hubert Ingraham did it more smoothly.
sheeprunner12 4 years, 7 months ago
Paging the Police Service Commission ………. Sorry, its AWOL.
An impartial branch of law enforcement has been totally hi-jacked by Christie and Minnis.
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