Jagdeo is wrong yet again

May 18, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – Bharrat Jagdeo is hopeless when it comes to understanding the conventions associated with the relationship between permanent secretaries and political parties. In his last press conference he sought to assert that permanent secretaries have a right to become members of political parties.

He is palpably wrong. Staborek News which had called attention to the presence of a permanent secretary at the PPP congress, at which she was decked out in a jersey that was the colour of the party, had correctly pointed out that a permanent secretary cannot be aligned to a political party.

It is ironic that at its 32^nd Congress, the PPP announced it was ditching Marxism- Leninism, yet it failed to appreciate that the economic ideology it now embraces is one that promotes the concept of a neutral public service.

Neo-liberalism implicitly supports the idea of a neutral public service. This is because a politically neutral public service aligns with neo-liberal values of efficiency, professionalism, and meritocracy, free from political interference.

Guyana inherited certain administrative conventions from the British. These conventions were intended to ensure the impartiality of the civil service.

But this tradition was perverted under the doctrine of the paramountcy of the party.  When Burnham forced permanent secretaries and heads of government corporations to attend his party’s Congresses, it was the PPP which had railed against the politicization of the public.

If Jagdeo during his long tenure as a Minister of the government, then as President for 12 years and now as a Vice President, had taken time to familiarize himself with the conventions associated with the British civil service, he would not have made the sort of comments he made at his last press conference.

The British Civil Service maintains strict conventions to ensure the political neutrality of public servants. These conventions are designed to uphold the impartiality and integrity of the civil service. The underlying basis for these conventions is to ensure that public servants can serve governments of any political persuasion without bias.

Civil servants are required to maintain political neutrality. This means they must perform their duties impartially, regardless of their own political beliefs, and must not allow their political views to influence their work.

In the run up to the United Kingdom’s general elections in 2019, an advisory was issued to the civil service. That advisory reminded civil servants that the basic principle for civil servants is not to undertake any activity that could call into question their political impartiality. This principle applies to all staff working in departments.

When it comes to affiliations with political parties, senior public servants – and this extends to heads of government corporations – are debarred from involvement in any partisan political activity period. If a senior functionary within a Ministry, department, agency or public corporation wants to be involved in political events and activities, they can exercise that right but have to resign from their positions.

One of the justifications which the PPP gave for not retaining the services of the former Head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was that he was a member of the AFC top brass and was present on a political platform. If these facts are true then the person effectively disqualifies himself from holding such a top government job. If you climb onto a political platform, you should descend from holding senior public office.

But we know that this rule was conveniently ignored by the PPP. One of its candidates and one of its former Central Committee members were permanent secretaries. The PPP has no consistent position therefore on the need for impartiality by senior public officials.

If the PPP had been consistent when it comes to respecting conventions concerning the public service it would have known that senior civil servants are completely barred from engaging in any national political activity. This includes standing for election, publicly expressing support for a political party, and holding office in a political party.

While junior civil servants are allowed to be members of political parties, senior civil servants and those in sensitive roles are generally discouraged or prohibited from such memberships to prevent any conflicts of interest or perceptions of bias.

Civil servants who wish to stand for election must resign from the civil service. This rule applies to all levels to ensure that the civil service remains neutral and does not influence electoral processes.

Civil servants, particularly those in senior or sensitive roles, must be cautious about expressing political views publicly, including on social media. Such expressions can undermine the perceived neutrality of the civil service.

The purpose of the conventions is not to trench on the personal freedoms of senior public servants. These conventions aim to balance the personal freedoms of civil servants with the need to maintain a politically neutral and effective public service.

The right to belong to a political party is indeed an aspect of the broader right to freedom of association, which is a fundamental human right. However, certain restrictions can be justified, particularly in the context of public service, to ensure the impartiality and effectiveness of governance.

While public servants retain their personal rights, their professional responsibilities may necessitate certain limitations. This balance is aimed at upholding the broader public interest, ensuring that civil servants can carry out their duties without undue political influence or bias.

The integrity and impartiality of the civil service are considered paramount to maintaining public trust and ensuring that government policies are implemented fairly and efficiently, regardless of which political party is in power.

But to tell Jagdeo this is to speak in a foreign tongue. To him it is simply unfathomable.

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• Bharrat Jagdeo, Congress, party, permanent, PPP, Secretary

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