By any objective measure, one could safely say that the Public Service has the highest percentage of a Turks and Caicos Islander workforce of any major employer in the TCI, as it should well be. The employment question of the public service has been asked several times in the House of Assembly, to which the Attorney General or her designate, if I’m not mistaken, would produce a figure in the low 90’s. Without close examination, it may look as if TCIG is leading the way for Turks and Caicos Islander employment. But with a closer look, the statistics may reveal an unsettling story.
Let’s look at the Civil Service and Statuary Bodies as separate entities, together making up the Public Service. In the case of the Civil Service, what is the percentage of local to foreign middle to upper management or technical posts? I’m sure it’s not the 9 locals to 1 foreigner in the overall body. Just an eyeball test would indicate it’s likely that for every 5 locals you have 3 foreigners in those posts, if not a straight up one to one ratio. This is largely due to the hiring trends during and after the interim administration. Why is this important? Simply, we are talking about the better paying jobs in the country which would offer a getter livelihood for Turks and Caicos Islanders, plus we are talking about who will dictate the pace of the public services and to whom their loyalties will be. As a contract worker today, I would be more likely to toe the UK agenda and keep my job via contract renewal over carrying out the agenda of a duly elected government seven days a week and twice of Tuesdays. This is especially important because those two agendas rarely agree. Also of note is that our local Permanent Secretaries would all fall in this category as well.
In the case of Statuary Bodies, organisations such as NIB, NHIB, and Ports Authority do not follow the normal pattern. They have a significant amount of locals in senior management, but they are the exception and not the rule. They don’t appear to be restricted by the Public Service and take on hiring practices closer to that of the Private Sector and not the Civil Service. Case in point, I saw an advertisement for a Head of Statistics unit in the Financial Service Commission requiring the post holder to have a PhD. What? The current Managing Director of the FSC doesn’t have a PhD. As my father often says, “there is something that stinks in Denmark and it’s not the Cheese!”
So what’s the solution? Introduce a Policy that requires each department or equivalent and Statuary Body to have at least the Head or its Deputy as a local at all times. And in the case of Deputy being local, they must be actively understudying the head such that if it is deemed that the Deputy is not ready at the conclusion of the Contract, the Head is automatically terminated for not properly preparing the Deputy. A greater percentage of local employees can be appointed to the middle management and technical posts within the organisations. Under the current Public Service Ordinance there isn’t any protection for even our PS’s or Deputy PS’s to be local. While it has long been the practice, it is not Law. I can only think of the Deputy Governor and Director of Immigration having to be local via the TCI Constitution and Immigration Ordinance respectively. Don’t be surprised that if in our life time we see a non-local PS if something isn’t done. In this area the Public Service must lead, otherwise the Private Sector will continue to take their cues from them.
– Jamell Robinson
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