Some public officers are holding back the Territory’s development and residents must stop blaming elected representatives for every failure, a Virgin Gorda resident has argued.
He made the comments during the Ninth District public meeting held on Monday at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Hall on Virgin Gorda.
“I hate that everyone condemns the Government. I hate that everyone condemns the Ninth District Representative, the person that we the people elected,” Flax stated.
“In my personal opinion, it is the civil servants who the Government put in place who are holding this country back.”
He stressed that he was not absolving the 13 elected representatives of responsibility, but argued that some senior public officers consider themselves more powerful than ministers and frustrate the implementation of Government policies and projects.
“We have to stop blaming the Government for everything and blame the civil service. Some of them in positions think they are bigger than the ministers. We need to get rid of those people,” he said.
He also called for the public service to be downsized, claiming that some departments are overstaffed but remain slow and inefficient.
“You go into any office in the BVI, you have 13 people working and the 13 people doing the same job, and you still have to wait three or four weeks to get the same results which could be done in one or two days,” Flax said.
He accused some public officers of wasting working hours playing games instead of serving the public and said the Territory continues to fall behind regional competitors.
“We need to stop this dilly-dallying. It is only people in Government who sit down and play Candy Crush and Solitaire, and they are not doing anything. We are going backwards,” he argued.
The VG resident pointed to St. Kitts and Nevis, claiming that it is now surpassing the BVI in tourism, despite entering the sector after the Territory.
“There are a lot of people in this country in positions who are holding back the Government. Not only the VIP, the NDP had the same thing,” he said.
“If somebody is in a position in Government and you figure they are holding back or selling out the country, get rid of them.”
The issue of accountability within the public service has also featured in the ongoing constitutional negotiations between the Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.
The Virgin Islands is seeking greater control over the public service, responsibility for which currently rests with the Governor. However, concerns have been raised that transferring that authority to the elected Government could expose public officers to political victimisation.
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. Natalio Wheatley previously acknowledged those fears, including concerns that politicians could remove public officers because of their perceived political loyalties.
Wheatley, however, maintained that public officers would not be targeted because of their political views. He argued that accountability should be based on performance and whether officers are carrying out the policies and mandate of the elected Government.
The Premier said action should be taken where public officers deliberately frustrate the implementation of the Government’s agenda, but not simply because they do not support the political party in office.
He made the comments during the Ninth District public meeting held on Monday at the St. Mary’s Episcopal Church Hall on Virgin Gorda.
“I hate that everyone condemns the Government. I hate that everyone condemns the Ninth District Representative, the person that we the people elected,” Flax stated.
“In my personal opinion, it is the civil servants who the Government put in place who are holding this country back.”
He stressed that he was not absolving the 13 elected representatives of responsibility, but argued that some senior public officers consider themselves more powerful than ministers and frustrate the implementation of Government policies and projects.
“We have to stop blaming the Government for everything and blame the civil service. Some of them in positions think they are bigger than the ministers. We need to get rid of those people,” he said.
He also called for the public service to be downsized, claiming that some departments are overstaffed but remain slow and inefficient.
“You go into any office in the BVI, you have 13 people working and the 13 people doing the same job, and you still have to wait three or four weeks to get the same results which could be done in one or two days,” Flax said.
He accused some public officers of wasting working hours playing games instead of serving the public and said the Territory continues to fall behind regional competitors.
“We need to stop this dilly-dallying. It is only people in Government who sit down and play Candy Crush and Solitaire, and they are not doing anything. We are going backwards,” he argued.
The VG resident pointed to St. Kitts and Nevis, claiming that it is now surpassing the BVI in tourism, despite entering the sector after the Territory.
“There are a lot of people in this country in positions who are holding back the Government. Not only the VIP, the NDP had the same thing,” he said.
“If somebody is in a position in Government and you figure they are holding back or selling out the country, get rid of them.”
The issue of accountability within the public service has also featured in the ongoing constitutional negotiations between the Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.
The Virgin Islands is seeking greater control over the public service, responsibility for which currently rests with the Governor. However, concerns have been raised that transferring that authority to the elected Government could expose public officers to political victimisation.
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. Natalio Wheatley previously acknowledged those fears, including concerns that politicians could remove public officers because of their perceived political loyalties.
Wheatley, however, maintained that public officers would not be targeted because of their political views. He argued that accountability should be based on performance and whether officers are carrying out the policies and mandate of the elected Government.
The Premier said action should be taken where public officers deliberately frustrate the implementation of the Government’s agenda, but not simply because they do not support the political party in office.
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