PSC silent on Bernard’s reinstitution
Published:Thursday | June 22, 2023 | 1:57 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
THERE HAS been radio silence from the Public Service Commission (PSC) on the court-ordered reinstitution of Dean-Roy Bernard days before the three-month deadline is set to expire.
Bernard, the permanent secretary in the education ministry, was “unconditionally” transferred from the post on the recommendation of Prime Minister Andrew Holness to Governor General Sir Patrick Allen in February 2019.
Bernard was informed that he would serve as director general in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service through a letter from the commission, documents submitted in the Supreme Court revealed.
“I am waiting patiently on communication from my employers, the Public Service Commission,” Bernard said when contacted by The Gleaner yesterday.
He declined to comment further.
A well-placed Gleaner source confirmed that candidates were interviewed a week ago for permanent secretary positions as at least two are set to retire.
The matter was raised during yesterday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House, where Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Information, Robert Morgan, declined to comment on Bernard’s reinstitution, noting that the matter was the remit of the PSC.
“That’s a matter for the Public Service Commission. I don’t think that’s a matter for the Cabinet. I couldn’t respond. I don’t know,” said Morgan.
Section 126 (1) of the Jamaican Constitution gives the governor general the authority, on the recommendation of the PSC, to appoint permanent secretaries.
However, Section 126 (2) states that before the governor general acts on the recommendation, he “shall” consult the prime minister, who may “once” require that the recommendation be referred back to the PSC for reconsideration.
Chairman of the PSC, Alvin McIntosh, declined comment when contacted, referring The Gleaner to Jacqueline Mendez, senior deputy chief personnel officer.
But Mendez said that she was “not able” to comment.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment handed down on March 27, ordered that Bernard be reinstituted 90 days from the date.
The court said Bernard’s reassignment to the position of director general was unconstitutional.
Further, the court noted that the post was created in February 2020 and gazetted 10 months later in December 2020 – more than a year after Bernard was assigned to the position.
The court noted that the governor general, on the advice of the prime minister, can transfer a permanent secretary from one ministry to another.
However, it said that Bernard had not been reassigned as a permanent secretary.
It said that the director general position was a newly created one that did not have a defined job description.
The court said that the reassignment of Bernard did not allow him to assume the duties and responsibilities of a ministry as mandated by the Constitution.
Maureen Dwyer currently acts as PS in the ministry for Dr Grace McLean, who acted in the position since Bernard’s transfer up to January last year.
At that time, McLean was interdicted and has been barred from returning to work until it has been decided whether she will have to pay back some of the $124 million at the ministry that allegedly cannot be accounted for.