JLP gov't to clamp down on politically driven civil servants

Legal and Constitutional Affairs Minister Marlene Malahoo Forte says if the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is returned to government, a review will be done of how civil servants carry out their jobs in relation to which political party is in power.

Addressing the JLP’s Area Council Four meeting at the Anchovy High School in St James on Sunday night, Malahoo Forte pointed to reports of public servants being partisan in the execution of their duties, an issue that was previously raised in 2015.

“We are going to have to look at our civil service and our public service, because we find that at the extremes, we have two sets of people. One set says, ‘Boy it’s not my party in power, so mi nah really do nothing to make them look good,’ and they don’t serve you well, and some of you will say they sabotage the government,” said Malahoo Forte.

“But then we have another set, and in that set, they say, ‘Well, my party is in power, I don’t have to do nothing, because nobody can fire me,’ and on both sides, the people are not served,” Malahoo Forte added. “When we go into the next term, I want to put everyone on notice, all of you, that we are going to be working to ensure that the internal clients of government are well served, and the public and civil servants will better serve the people.”

In 2015, some Members of Parliament complained about public servants were allegedly using political affiliations as an excuse not to carry out garbage collection and other expected duties in their respective divisions.

- Christopher Thomas

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