The Tribune

LAST week PLP chairman Fred Mitchell lost his way in the murky world of “right and wrong” when he turned his anger on a government minister who was doing his job by letting certain government employees know that their days of cheating the taxpayers of this country are over.

Last week, Education Minister Jeff Lloyd was “happy to report” that the “discipling process” at the Ministry of Education was underway. There have been some terminations, and “there will be more”, he said, and “there will be further disciplining of those who we think warrant it”.

He said action had to be taken when it was discovered that about 200 employees “exhibited delinquent behaviour by not going to work or failing to perform when they do go”. Some persons in his Ministry, he said, “have missed work for 40, 50, 70 and 100 consecutive days, all while receiving pay”.

If this is what is happening in this Ministry then we too — as will many Bahamians who are paying for this nonsense — are also satisfied with the action Mr Lloyd has taken. There would be something wrong with Mr Mitchell if these were his personal employees who were cheating him of the time for which he was paying them, if he also did not fire them for cause. For Mr Mitchell to have attacked Mr Lloyd for doing his job by trying to raise the standards of this Ministry, we can only speculate that this was Mr Mitchell’s excuse to keep himself politically relevant before the public. Unfortunately he has chosen the wrong subject.

We recall an incident that happened many years ago when it was reported that a security officer at one of the Ministry’s schools also had a fish stall at Potters Cay dock. He reported for work at his stall, but was paid by the Ministry of Education, where he was seldom seen.

We remember hearing young people talking of how they wanted to join the civil service, where one didn’t have to work hard. and no matter what one did — short of stealing – you couldn’t be fired. This has been going on for years. At last we have a Minister who not only knows about it, but, is himself an educator, and, unlike his predecessors, is willing to do something about it.

“It is the intention of our ministry,” said Mr Lloyd, “to engage as many persons who are suitably qualified and are interested and are capable and who wish to be a part of this revolution in education that is now presently underway, but there are obligations that they have to fulfil,” he said.

“First of all.” he said, “they’ve got to come to work and when they do come to work they must come to work on time and they must do their jobs. I think that is only fair. That’s what the Bahamian people expect. That’s what the Bahamian people deserve, that’s what the Bahamian people demand and we are going to ensure that the Bahamian people get value for their money and that’s the only thing that we are doing. So the exercise that is underway now is an exercise of fairness and equality so that we, for the sake of those persons and for the sake of our country, get what they justly deserve.”

Mr Lloyd said that the delinquent workers are not limited to a single department in the ministry. “These are contract workers in the Security Department, General Services Department and elsewhere. If not fired, workers could be disciplined, with this involving them receiving letters of warning or suspensions,” Mr Lloyd said. “It could also require that they submit to certain behavioural corrections and it may also require some people we see have talents and abilities may deserve one more chance and additional training and so on.”

The next cry we expect to hear from the “corner of four” is that only PLPs are being fired. We have no idea of the politics of any of those who are losing their jobs. However, we would be surprised if the majority leaving were not PLP, bearing in mind that the PLP government burdened many ministries with their constituents, who knew how to vote, but not necessarily how to do the job for which they were employed.

It is about time that not only education, but the civil service in general be brought up to standard. If not, The Bahamas will remain a debt-ridden country of mediocrity.