Dear Editor,
The more I give thought to these pressing matters of concern, the more they are compounded with unanswered questions – inquiries that need clarity – complete transparency that demands reliability and security, for every single worker within the government apparatus.
For this reason, I started responding to the articles from Members of Parliament Omar Ottley and Lyndon Lewis, with regard to their views on government’s performance at the 1-year mark; but took a pause because of these nagging questions that kept resurfacing in my mind, again and again. The MPs expressed their dissatisfaction across the board, but I will focus on the ministries of General Affairs and Justice.
Throughout this year, these two ministries were plagued with unresolved issues, which led to Prime Minister Luc Mercelina and Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling being bombarded with unlimited criticism. The MPs' grievances include: GEBE, ambulance and fire departments, seniors, the prison, crime and the national decrees. When I look at the common denominator among all of these issues, it boils down to one component, which is personnel.
In light of this observation, and my quest for clarity, I’ve decided to focus my attention on why the responsibility of personnel is broken up over certain ministries. Here are my inquiries: If the Ministry of General Affairs is responsible for personnel within the structure of government, then why would the Justice workers fall directly under the Ministry of Justice and not General Affairs?
As I recalled, before the constitutional change in 2010, the leader of government was in charge of personnel, completely. Currently, the Ministry of General Affairs (the same construct as the previous status) is responsible for personnel, supposedly. The only difference is that the word ministry, replaced department. So again, why would the workers within the Ministry of Justice fall directly under Minister Nathalie Tackling, and not Prime Minister Luc Mercelina?
Did any Minister of Justice change the structure? If so, when was it done and what was the reason behind that change? When I look at the chain of developments that involve the personnel from the Fire and Ambulance Departments and those within Justice, they are all fighting for the same cause – the correct salary scale and retroactive payments. So, why should any justice minister be burdened with this separation of personnel, when the ministry is so huge, and demands so much hands-on attention?
Is it not, that this separation of personnel is the cause for the perceived stagnation of the Justice Ministry, when this should be the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister? When Minister Tackling was in parliament on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, she publicized that there were 4 different payrolls within her ministry. The question is: What would constitute such a system? Who did it benefit the most and at what cost to government?
Here again, the minister had to bring all 4 payrolls into alignment, which took away valuable time from accomplishing other goals that needed to be completed. If Prime Minster Luc Mercelina is responsible for personnel, then all should fall under the Ministry of General Affairs, without exceptions. Here is where the prime minister has failed to bring the entire personnel into one system, so that he could focus on their grievances and collaborate with individual ministers, where necessary.
To conclude, even though the Members of Parliament in question have the right to criticize the ministers on their performance, they too, must take some responsibility for asking repetitive and redundant questions that do not benefit the community, all because they have failed to look beyond what they see.
Joslyn Morton
