EDITORIAL – Jan 28, 2011
It has been for more than a year, in fact just under two years February this year, that the talk of cutting/reducing the Public Service employees. Chief Minister Reuben Meade, repeatedly and even before he took the reins of government had said that would not happen, but he always did have the proviso, that only if it had to be done. Who was listening? He had hinted that performance could be a factor.
Today it is already understood, or believed, that the ‘cut’ is imminent. While no one admits to the exact truth of this, it is believed the number will be about 100. That is only one third of what we hear about in Anguilla, but then we have smaller numbers, while everything remains relative. In December, there was the threat of late or no salary payments and again this week. But, that should have nothing to do with cuts.
We do not understand and we can empathise with Anguilla, especially if the cuts the UK government is demanding that they do is directly related to the people’s jobs. Three to five years ago the British set about telling their people they had to reduce the dole they received. They then told the recipients that they will set up opportunities for them to acquire a skill and get even part time employment where possible. The financial situation no doubt exacerbated the plan. It was part of the reason no doubt the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the new government was able to say, they were finishing or tidying up what the previous government had begun.
Of course either we are too gullible or just downright bad-minded not to understand what they were trying to achieve with the $15 million tourism project funding back in 2008. So, the Challenge Fund of $3 million was practically a lost cause for most. And, please don’t tell us about the ‘sad’ story of persons or companies or businesses misusing… Straight up, that was designed, and all part of the ‘bad mindedness’.
By the way, the Chief Minister publicly did promise, if not all, to inform the reasons to those persons who failed to win favour with the assessors that caused only $300,000 of the second tranche of the grant funds to be approved.
Back to the cuts. While it may be that the public service is overloaded, Miss Wardell hinted that feeling back in February 2009 when she suggested, that even as a public servant herself, she said at the end of the day the ‘government must do what it has to do.’
Obviously the problem must be in any such scenario of cuts, what happens to any number of person who lose their job for any other reason besides being fired? They get added to a high list of unemployed in a dead economy where jobs are not available.
The further difficulty about that is that there are absolutely no efforts being made by government, or the private sector for that matter to improve the job availability outside of government.
Those outside are hoping that the people who get cut from the public service are the ones who were positioned to carry out the mandate of government from 1998 for the government to be the catalyst of jump starting the economy. Adequate ports (starting with the airport) were supposed to be part of the plan.
Of course we have suggested other ways to deal with the problem, other than sending home large numbers of people. They will always be able to find people who are either not honest enough, or underperforming.
News from outside promising public service cuts, such as Cuba and Barbados, they talk about preparing the private sector to absorb the unfortunate. What is being done in Montserrat where jobs have been high priority now for years? What is worse is that businesses are continually being stifled and not supported with business to continue to exist! People will get tired of the talk! And if the going gets rough there is worse to come as they begin to, or if you like, continue to leave.
