In his first actions as President, Danny Faure has betrayed the people who work in our public service and parastatal companies. With the appointments of political activists to senior leadership positions in these organizations, he has shown that the competence and commitment of professionals mean nothing. When it comes to promotion, it is those who have earned political favours who get the top jobs.
The appointments have put a whole crew of former Parti Lepep MNAs and failed National Assembly candidates in top positions of Principal Secretary or Director-General in the public service and as Chief Executives in state-owned companies.
The people who staff these organisations have made them their careers. The organizational charts of the organizations should show a clear career path to the top jobs so that people can see their way up the ladder. Promotion must be on merit.
The only acceptable way for appointment to the top jobs is through promotion within the ranks, or when vacancies occur that cannot be filled internally, through open recruitment. The vacancies should have been advertised for anyone to apply. Political cronyism is the wrong path to leadership.
In these actions, Mr. Faure has broken the principles to which he has just given his commitment. One of them is the separation of party and state interests. With the appointments, these organizations have been stuffed with political activists who will make them even more political. The objective of de-politicising the Public Service is out the window.
Even the appointments of three former ministerial candidates to the position of Secretary of State is wrong because that position has up to now been filled from public service ranks. They have come to be seen as administrative and not political positions.
One of the commitments which Mr. Faure has expressed is for the creation of a Public Service Commission which would regulate such matters as promotion. This has been endorsed precisely to make the point that appointments and promotions cannot be at the President’s pleasure. What is now the point?
Also damaged is the objective of national unity. It is clear we cannot build unity on political partisanship. After expressing the wish for national unity, Mr. Faure has turned the other way.
For LDS, Mr. Faure has also broken the spirit of dialogue which he said he wanted to promote. Of particular significance are the appointments in state-owned organizations because such appointments were raised in the first meeting to promote dialogue. The state-owned organizations are meant to have their own Boards, which should be composed of members who can be independent. It is these Boards who should determine the appointment of Executive Officers.
The decisions on these appointments are enough to cast doubt on the sincerity of the declarations that Mr. Faure has made as President. As we have come to appreciate time and again, actions speak louder than words.
Roger Mancienne
