Dem man scratching dem head at Freedumb House

Sep 13, 2025 Dem Boys Seh, Features / Columnists

Kaieteur News – De President start roll out Permanent Secretaries like how de lil man at de corner shop does sell sweetie—one, two at a time. He seh he appoint four, but one was already a Permanent Secretary. But with three new appointees, it could mean that three incumbents gan lose dem wuk. Unless we creating more ministries.

Dem boys seh if yuh got ten Permanent Secretaries to appoint, why yuh don’t just call one big press conference, tek a deep breath, and name de whole set one time? Instead, we getting piecemeal delivery.

And is de timing that really sweet. Imagine appointing Permanent Secretaries before yuh even know who de Ministers gon be. Is like hiring de driver before yuh buy de car. Or like picking out de in-laws before yuh even decide who yuh gon marry. Ministers gon walk in and find Permanent Secretaries already warming de chair, sipping coffee, and waiting to tell dem how tings gon run.

Back in de old days, Permanent Secretary used to be a proper career civil servant, gray hair, stiff back, and plenty years in de system. Nowadays, is contract this and political dat. Some Permanent Secretaries looking more like “Temporary Secretaries.” Dem boys seh some of dem contracts shorter than a box-hand. And when political breeze change, Permanent Secretaries does disappear faster than ice in a hot sun.

But de piecemeal approach tell we something: big people still scratching dem head, can’t decide who to put where. Yuh could just imagine wah happening at Freedumb House. Is like a card game going on in there. “Put dis one in Health? Nah, he fraid hospital. Put she in Finance? Nah, she still struggling to balance she cheque book.”

Dem boys seh in de TV series Yes, Prime Minister, Sir Humphrey once explain de role of a Permanent Secretary: “He’s the man who really runs the Department.” If that is true, then we appointing de people who gon run de show before we even cast de actors. And den we wonder why de play does turn into pure comedy.

Talk half. Leff half.

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Dem Boys Seh, Freedumb House

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