Exclusive UDP Club

...My disCOURSE on these matters thus far has been 'How Do We Improve Public Governance' and my intentions r 2 conTINUE in this VANE...iHAVE no INTEREST or inclination 2 defend or secondGUESS anybody or any PARTY for misBEHAVIOUR in publicOFFICE whether REAL or IMAGINED!!!

I cannot accept d TENET that 'PPL wah theif' and that this should b an ACCEPTED or deSIRED state of affairs...If anybody STEALs a DIME or a DOLLAR of PUBLIC FUNDs they should b hounded 2 d ENDs of d EARTH!!!...Y???...Because it is MY money$$$!!!

i really thought that BOOTs handled d whole SITn incl d inTERVIEW w JULES quite POORLY...Remembering that this whole matter was precipitated by johnnyBRICENO of DRUG RUNNING fame whom suddenly had a PANG of conSCIENCE i believe BOOTs should have reVERSED d conVERSATION on HIM!!!...Boots should have called him OUT...Boots should hv invited squeakyMAN 2 xPOSE his finnancialAFFAIRS d way BOOTs chose 2 do...In fact HE should have challenged d entire xPUP Cabinet 2 do SAME!!!...It would hv been an inVALUABLE lesson in HOW 2 b accountable in publicOFFICE!!!

E no matta who inna office. All a dem da pepil an then wa tek we money. So u tink de udp no wa tek. U watch de news boots so fool dat e stat to put e money inna the belize bank a bet u e no wa du dat again e wa ask Dean whe him hide fu him money. Boots u have to smatta dan dat ask dean or montero a know dat u new inna dis ya ting but then bway don kwow how fu do it...

...around d UDP is more CONSTRUCTIVE in CREATING & FOSTERING an enabling environment 4 d efficient and effective delivery of publicSERVICE...This would of course mean among other things that MANY of d POSITNs in d publicSERVICE that r POLITICIZED would need 2 b dePOLITICIZED and that d RECRUITMENT 2 such POSITNs would b on d basis of PROFESSIONAL MERITs as opposed 2 partyAFFILIATIONS.

The sidneyCAMPBELL situation is especially TROUBLESOME because those of us whom would have a closer acquaintance with d MACHINATIONs of d publicSERVICE would know that SYDNEY is RALPHs BOY!!!...The real TRAGEDY is that HE was placed in that POSITN 2 specifically NOT do his JOB...HE like many of his ILK r placed in those POSITNs 2 accomodate POLITICAL MISCHIEF...This has been d case with d joeWAIGHTs & d carmenZETINAs & d exCOMPTROLLER of CUSTOMS of this WRLD...It is a necessary coREQUISITE 2 d cronyCAPITALISM & CORRUPTION model that was being RUNNED by RALPH & SAID.

What d UDP would probably want 2 do if they r serious about improved publicSECTOR governance is 2 associate those POSTS that d sydneyCAMPBELLs of this WRLD would occupy with those CRITERIA that would SELECT 4 competence + integrity + industry + patriotism!!!

One strategy 2 deal with POSITNs such as d centralBANK Gov & d finSEC and definitely DPP would b 2 reDEFINE d TORs in d best INTEREST of d PUBLIC and reADVERTISE these...The recruitment process would of course entail d convening of an interviewPANEL with d requisite SKILLs 2 make d best CHOICE/es!!!

puts him smack dab in the middle of just about every single financial scandal our country experienced over the last couple years DFC, SSB etc... No proper appraisals, in most cases the collateral was short in other cases the proper D&D was not done to confirm that the borrowers had clear title. I understand that this is on a bank level, but fuck if you are disbursing on 30 million dollars for Novelo or 7 million for Mahogany Heights then ultimately the eyes of central bank should have passed across these files.

Somebody needs to write a book: "The Rape of Belize" so that we never forget and never allow this again...

...of COMPETENCE that is based on professional MERIT would entail d functions of MONITORING and performanceAPPRAISAL that is transparent, unbiased and known 2 all concerned...As much as ROADY would seem 2 want 2 LASH OUT at sydneyCAMPBELL 4 whatever reason, iBELIEVE that his conDITIONS or SERVICE should have some inBUILT criteria that would allow for an OBJECTIVE and unBIASED evaluation of his PERFORMANCE, if indeed anybody is THINKING about sending him HOME.

Obviously d COSTs of this aproach 2 human resource mgmt could be discomfiting esp in POLITICAL terms, but d REWARDS would be well WORTH d SACRIFICE!!!

The one madafucka who seems to be untouchable is Sydney Campbell, and his head needs to ROLL!!! One of his main functions as the Governor of Central Bank was to provide a layer of security between private business and public funds; he failed miserably at this and he is still around...

Incase you are wondering what his GENERAL duties are:

The central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority, is the entity responsible for the monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states. Its primary responsibility is to maintain the stability of the national currency and money supply, but more active duties include controlling subsidized-loan interest rates, and acting as a "bailout" lender of last resort to the banking sector during times of financial crisis (private banks often being integral to the national financial system). It may also have supervisory powers, to ensure that banks and other financial institutions do not behave recklessly or fraudulently.

YEs, that was a helpful summary. I know the CEOs hand in their resignation at the 'changing of the guard' as it were and often submit themselves/re-apply for resumption of their duties. And everybody knows that Ministers are gods in Belizean politics. To continue with the celestial metaphor, it seems that the CEOs are so many avatars of the Minister or else merely an extension of their being, an arm or leg. In other words they are tools.

The position of permanent secretary would then be helpful in this sense:
1 because they would be selected on the basis of merit and professional competence as you say. and
2. because they would offer that 'permanence' that transcends the 'politics'.

it would not matter, for such Permanent Secretaries, what their particular party allegiance because there would be an 'aura' or air of respectability surrounding the post that would render them immune to all but the most egregious attempts at political coercion (and such attempts would probably be hard to conceal).

IN sum: What i was trying to articulate is simply that there must be some position that possesses stability by virtue of its permanence and competence. And the question i posed was to determine just what position that is today.

...must accept' qualifier is a little troublesome and perhaps misPLACED...U r probably phrasing Ur observations/querries on d basis of some MODEL that is NOT operational in BZE...4 XMPL d PM is only involved conCEPTUALLY with macroPOLICY issues at d CABINET level that would affect d recruitment of CIVIL SERVANTs or indeed that would affect retirementPLANS 4 d publicSERVICE!!!

In terms of d arcHITECTURE of the publicSERVICE in bze, it cannot b seen as a MONOLITIC mass but really a diversity of conFIGURATIONS...4 xmpl there r 3 main STREAMS of publicOFFICER in d SERVICE of d GOB...There r d CORE civilSERVANTS or d permanently ESTABLISHED who theoretically persists from ONE politicalADMINISTRATION 2 another and whose TENURE is confirmed by d governorGENERAL...Then there r the OPEN VOTE workers whom may b subdivided into 2 streams, viz d +/- fulltimePERMANENT STAFF, and d projectIZED whom would include d inFAMOUS ministerDRIVERS and whom MAY come & go with d CHANGING of d politicalGUARDS...The 3RD stream r d CEOs or former permanentSECRETARIES whom U r probably referring 2 as SECRETARIES...The most recent CHANGE in politicalADMINISTRATION has legitimized D practice of CHANGING these WORKERS with a CHANGE of politicalADMINISTRATION

The changing of CEOs is NOT necessarily conSISTENT with what one might consider as BEST PRACTICES for publicSECTOR mgmt...This would obviously need 2 b qualified...I have always maintained that FUNCTIONALLY d posts of CEOs and PSs r NOT one an d SAME...The COEs r really POLITICAL OFFICERs doing d bidding of d MINISTERs...In celestial terms and certainly in Bze these MINISTERs r likened 2 GODs and in that conTEXT d CEOs would definitely fit d bill of being demiGODS or lesser GODs as it were.

The role of the CEOs and really their LACK of PERMANENCE underscores d dichtotomy in their function relative 2 d PSs...The ORIGINAL idea of d PSs in d Bze conTEXT was 4 a seniorMOST Officer in d civilSERVICE whom would transition SMOOTHLY between ALTERNATE politicalADMINISTRATIONS...Perhaps d most distinguishing feature of the PSs relative 2 d CEOs was 4 an OFFOCER whom would b SELECTED-4 or reCRUITED on d basis of PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE and MERIT as opposed 2 PARTY AFFILIATIONs as is d CASE with d CEOs.

Conceptually d TOR of d PSs is 2 generate POLICIES 4 publicGOVERNANCE of d particular SECTOR and 2 advise d MINISTERS appropriately on the INPUT end...and 2 implement POLICIES in tandem with d PRIORITIES of d particular politicalADMINISTRATION.

I do believe that the POSITN of PSs should b reINTRODUCED...This would of course NOT necessarily mean that the idea 4 CEOs would become redundant or conFLICTING...but obviously the ISSUE of affordability AND of course duplicity would need 2 b attended...This is however a TOPIC 4 another DAY!!!

What does policy actually mandate in these cases? How does the civil service selection and appointment operate here in Belize?

It seems to me that the only transparent and logical process for selecting and appointing Civil Servants is with an 'apolitical' Civil Services Commission that selects and reviews candidates on a strictly merit-based system, which the PM must then accept.

There should also be, as in the UK and New Zealand, permanent secretarial posts that, by virtue of their position, ensure and safeguard protocol. If protocol must be recognised then no more shady deals can be committed (if bad deals do occur they will have to be big, bright, in the daylight bad deals unable to hide in the shade of cronyism).

How do people get selected today? What is the independent body that appoints recommends and reviews secretaries and civil servants for appointment by PM?

...response lies somewhere in d MIDDLE...fenP is right, whenever there is a change of politicalADMIN/Gov at whatever level, there is a changing of GUARD, 4 better or 4 WORSE...The problem is in terms of the latter, d country is in such a PRECARIOUS position ECONOMICALLY & SOCIALLY that there really is LITTLE or NO room 4 errors...Thus in a sense WE have 2 put our BEST foot forward everytime...AND although WE have been doing what WE have been doing in terms of ALLOWING d politicalPARTIES 2 bring in their SUPPORTERs into PAID positn on d coaTAILS of their VICTORIES at both the nationalGOV & municipalGOV levels, this is NOT necessarily an OPTIMAL stragety from a resource USE perspective.

There would of course always B those positions that would be political in nature such as a Minister's Driver, but d majority of POSITIONs should be PERMANENT and realized on the basis of PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE...In other words d odd VICTIMIZATION should b d EXCEPTION rather than d RULE!!!

So what, they replaced PUP cronies who where doing simalr things, this happens with ever goverment change world wide, one gov falls and the polictical post switch. Now if you can show where there is corruption, IE gov money going into the pockets of Polticos ya might have something, but then I think it is apparent to all that was what was going on with the PUP administration.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade, pee in it, and serve it to the people that piss you off. And supa-fly koncas has some fries if you want some! (No ideal what he might have done with them though :)