The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

STATE Public Service Minister Pia Glover-Rolle said the Minnis administration approved the hiring of 233 people two months before the general election and gave some official letters of employment without telling them where to report.

Her statement Friday came after former Minister of Public Service Brensil Rolle said her recent comments that the Minnis administration hired people up to the day of the September election were false.

Mr Rolle said her threat that some of those hired will be disengaged is a “disgraceful act of victimisation.”

Mrs Glover-Rolle said in a statement issued Friday: "Firstly, if Mr Rolle wishes to 'fire back' at me, a good place to start is to provide a plausible explanation for the displacement of more than 2,500 public servants within six months of the FNM coming to office in 2017 -- according to the Department of Statistics."

“Two hundred and thirty-three persons were approved by the former government for employment in July 2021, just two months before the 16th September general elections. Of that amount, 85 remain un-posted because upon assuming office, an immediate hold was placed on those hires pending a status review.”

“Sixty-eight persons hired just prior to the General Elections, mostly in the Family Islands, were already placed on the government's payroll, however, they are under review due to gross attendance irregularities.”

“I note that the persons mentioned above exclude those unposted for reasons of (lack of) vaccination. Further, the matter of contract extensions executed in the days and weeks prior to the general elections is a separate matter.

Mrs Glover-Rolle said it is "egregious" and "disgraceful" to give people official letters of employment without telling them where to report to, "or to have them report to agencies that in turn send them back to the Public Service."

"Mr Rolle must answer for this," she said.

“Responsible hiring practices call for the placement of individuals in posts that are needed, complete with established and approved job descriptions and not rushed hiring of individuals for posts that are unavailable.

“Additionally, responsible leadership in public administration demands that the engagement of skilled workers in critical areas that lead to defined career paths should be the standard practice if we are committed to building organisational capacity to consistently improve on the delivery of public goods and services.

"Regrettably, all indications are that the hiring decisions by the former minister in the lead up to the general elections smacked of electioneering, heavily influenced by political considerations and nothing Mr Rolle said to the media in his defence remotely addressed or refuted the facts as presented above.

“We, however, remain committed to addressing these issues in an efficient and objective manner and will provide further updates to the public as soon as practicable.”