The Tribune

By AVA TURNQUEST

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

MICAL MP Miriam Emmanuel’s parliamentary mishap last week has unearthed deeper concerns over her competency at the helm of the Education Loan Authority (ELA) and the effectiveness of political appointees.

Several employees at the ELA told The Tribune the senior pastor’s tenure has been rife with internal blunders and a continued refusal to accept help. Yesterday, Mrs Emmanuel said she was not aware of any issues concerning her leadership at the authority; however, she only spoke briefly with The Tribune due to a family commitment.

The employees spoke on the condition of anonymity as public mockery over a clip of Mrs Emmanuel stumbling over her words when she attempted to read a number from prepared remarks went viral.

She was making her contribution to the budget debate in the House of Assembly last Thursday .

“When you work in places like this, you get what you get,” said a tenured employee at the agency. 

“You don’t get to pick the skill level or the talent these people come in with; the winning side decides who is who and it’s often people who aren’t qualified or care to learn the area they are in.”

The employee claimed that while staff have tried to establish a good relationship with Mrs Emmanuel, her closed off nature has led many to “work around her and her foolishness”.

“When we speak about what is going on there people act shocked, but the truth is the truth and the reality is we often find ourselves working around her,” the employee said.

Another employee took issue with Mrs Emmanuel’s alleged unorthodox office rules, telling The Tribune: “When she first came in, it was more of ‘don’t come up until after 9am’ or whatever. That went into us not being able to go up unless she summoned us.”

Coupled with Mrs Emmanuel’s alleged efforts to have her “personal staff” hired by the agency, the employee claimed the MICAL MP’s blunder in the House of Assembly was only a “glimpse into our reality”.

While grievances varied between canvassed employees, an overarching theme was the alleged rapid decline in morale at the ELA since Mrs Emmanuel took over the post from Golden Gates MP Michael Foulkes in January.

The MICAL MP was contacted for comment but did not return calls up to press time yesterday. She also did not respond to a text message seeking comment for this article. 

“With Mr (Michael) Foulkes, he was competent and knew what he was doing,” another employee said. 

“This lady refuses to learn how things work and all she does is block everyone out. It’s sad because we have gone from a striving unit to a sinking ship. We’ve complained to every person we can, but there is no willingness to make a change.”

The employee continued: “This lady has come in and done whatever she wanted without the input of the staff that has been doing this. You can’t say nothing to her, she figures she knows it all and doesn’t give anyone, beyond her assistant, the space and time to speak up.

“She brought in her assistant, who became her left and right hand. That entire thing has brought morale down to the ground.”

The Tribune understands several workers have written to the Office of the Prime Minister; however, none of the employees interviewed were willing to share the letter with The Tribune. 

When asked why the letter was drafted, an employee said: “It was our only choice.”

“Let’s be real, You can have a good person, it doesn’t make them good at their job. Bahamians need to get that.  

“Maybe (the government) should consider appointing qualified people who have some connection to the area they are being appointed to. It can’t just be, ‘we win, we putting our people in’. We are running a country here. The ELA plays an important role in our country, the person that leads that should have something to offer to it,” the employee added.

Meanwhile several of the MICAL MP’s parliamentary colleagues, including Cabinet minister Dr Duane Sands, have come to her defence in written statements posted to social media over the weekend as public ridicule reached a fever pitch after her House of Assembly blunder. 

During her budget presentation Thursday, Mrs Emmanuel struggled for quite sometime to enunciate a number written into her presentation.

The blunder, which saw the MICAL MP attempt to state the number as many as six times, was broadcast across the country over the Parliamentary Channel and later went viral on various social media platforms.

It’s not the first time parliamentary comments by Mrs Emmanuel have elicited widespread public rebuke.

She was criticised for her “ill-advised” statement of support for disciplinary action taken by Speaker Halson Moultrie, who last year named and suspended Englerston MP Glenys Hanna Martin. 

Her suggestion there is nothing wrong if a woman is “manhandled” by her husband, in which she further detailed the man might also decide to “slap,” “shake,” or “punch” her in the mouth as punishment for challenging him - led to widespread calls for her resignation.

Hours later, Mrs Emmanuel “sincerely apologised” for the comments and insisted she did not condone domestic violence of any kind. At the time, she said her remarks were taken out of context and misunderstood.

In a Facebook post last week, Bain and Grants Town MP Travis Robinson insisted Mrs Emmanuel was doing her best to help her constituents. 

“Oftentimes politicians are used as billboards for mockery,” Mr Robinson’s post read, “while they fight for the age builder of the billboard to have rights, freedoms and privileges that protects them from laws that would hinder their very freedom of expression to lambaste the very fighter for their rights.”

For his part, Free National Movement Chairman Carl Culmer told The Tribune he could not speak of Mrs Emmanuel’s performance at the ELA, but noted the MP had his full support. 

“I will support Miriam,” Mr Culmer said. “And that’s the most I’m going to say on it. I’m standing by Miriam. As a chairman I will stand by her. I will not speak one way or another (about her performance).”