The government continues to politicize the public service- appointment of Marcia Forbes

It should not surprise anyone that the ruling JLP has now engineered the appointment of Marcia Forbes as the Permanent Secretary of the the new Ministry of Telecommunications & Mining. As the Gleaner points out in its editorial of September 08, 2008, Mrs. Forbes' competence is not in issue; its her allegiance to the JLP. It is no secret that Mrs. Forbes was a leading member of the JLP's communications and advertising team in the last general elections.



Despite Mrs. Forbes' qualifications, it is difficult to resist the inference that Mrs. Forbes's appointment is more about rewarding her political loyalty than her competence. The Opposition PNP has said as much. According to Mrs. Forbes, she simply "heard" about the vacancy. There is no evidence (so far) that the position was advertised or that other candidates were short-listed. Mrs. Forbes appointment reinforces the status of the Public Service Commission as an extension of Jamaica House. A pliant eunuch no less. The Gleaner editorial rightly notes that a connection has been made between the Forbes' appointment and the Vasciannie/PSC imbroglio. The Gleaner also reminds us of the JLP's campaign promise of transparent governance, which evidently has gone the way of all flesh, given other partisan appointments such as Joan Gordon-Webley and Sherene Golding. In terms of public service appointments, the JLP government's methodology of appointment is fundamentally no different than that of the notorious Pickersgill Committee of the 1970s.

Curiously, the Gleaner seems to think that despite Mrs. Forbes' political baggage, she will be a 'natural fit' and that she "will do a good non-partisan job." What a non-sequitur! While there is no quarrel about Mrs. Forbes' competence, it certainly cannot follow that competence equals non-partisanship, or indeed the appearance of it! The notion of appearance of non-partisanship being as important as the actual non-partisanship still hasn't caught on in Jamaica.


The Gleaner lamely concludes that the

The issue, though, has to move beyond this specific appointment and Mrs Forbes to a full and frank debate about the structure of government and the constitutional framework within which the country manages its affairs. We start on the basis of the Constitution being as it is now and has to be respected, but that does not mean we have to be ossified.


The Jamaican press, including the Gleaner, has consistently let governments off the hook when it comes to governance. We don't need any debate about the structure of government, blah blah. We've already had many such debates. What is required is for the government to be held to account for contaminating the rule of law and the constitution that governs us. Why doesn't the Gleaner start there?