The Honourable Deputy Governor, Mr. Perin Bradley, last week announced the reassignment of permanent secretaries within the Anguilla Public Service (APS), effective 20th July, 2020. The reassigned portfolios were set out on page 3 of last week’s Anguillian. His announcement came on the heels of the election of the new Anguilla Progressive Movement on 29th June 2020 – and the recent assignment of ministerial portfolios to the new ministers.
The reassignment of permanent secretaries has come in for some comment from members of the public. The timing, as well as the placement of some permanent secretaries, has caused some persons to wonder about the motivation behind the changes. Deputy Governor Bradley, in a correspondence to public officers, which has come to the attention of The Anguillian, made the following observations in respect of the reassignment of permanent secretaries.
“These moves have the benefit of improving productivity and working relationships across the APS, building new competencies, transferring knowledge, spreading talent, and channeling new perspectives and ideas in order to solve problems and develop sound policies in key areas.”
“The reshuffle should afford the affected ministries and departments the opportunity to benefit from the strengths of the individual Permanent Secretaries while providing the Permanent Secretaries themselves the opportunity to further grow and develop as strategic thinkers, leaders, and managers.”
Despite the expressed sentiments of the Deputy Governor, it is felt by some that the new APM administration could have benefited from the institutional knowledge of the permanent secretaries who would have managed certain ministerial portfolios for at least the past three years. One can imagine that the swiftness of the reassignment has left the permanent secretaries with little opportunity to brief their successors, before assuming their new roles. The reassigned permanent secretaries are likely to be so consumed with acquainting themselves with their new roles, and the relevant policies and laws, that there will be little opportunity to offer substantive or timely guidance to their successors.
The new APM administration must now manage the COVID-19 pandemic and its detrimental effects on the island’s economy and the Government’s finances, while ministers and in many instances their permanent secretaries navigate a steep learning curve. Does this afford the best opportunity to adequately address the various issues plaguing Anguilla at this time? Will economic issues be addressed at the pace desired and with the required insight? Will the roll out of the numerous education infrastructure projects be adversely affected? These are just some of the questions being raised by members of the public.
An additional concern is the suitability of some persons for the portfolio to which they have been assigned. It is unquestionable that the APS is blessed with a highly qualified and experienced cadre of permanent secretaries. Their specific qualifications, experience and active areas of interest, however, tend to make them more suitable for certain portfolio areas than others.
Doesn’t the structure of the APS allow the permanent secretaries, under the guidance of the Deputy Governor, to contribute and develop, as set out in his correspondence to public officers, without a reassignment of portfolios at this crucial time? Is there something the Deputy Governor has not shared that would better explain the timing and nature of the reassignment of the permanent secretaries? The dots do not appear to be all connecting.
One expects that the decision to reassign the permanent secretaries has been probed and tested by the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the Premier. The constitution provides, in section 66, for the Governor to consult with the PSC in respect to the appointments of public officers, which would include permanent secretaries. The section specifically provides that in the case of appointing any person to the office of permanent secretary, or head of a department, the Governor must also consult with the Premier. While consultation does not require that the Governor or the Deputy Governor, to whom responsibility for the public service has been delegated, act in accordance with the preferred position of the PSC or the Premier, we expect that the PSC and the Premier would make cogent arguments in support of any contrary position they might have, and that the Governor/ Deputy Governor would give active consideration to their views. It might, therefore, be that the reassignment was subjected to the scrutiny of the relevant authorities and a determination made that the reassignment, at this time, serves Anguilla’s best interests.
We have not been privy to any deliberations between the Governor/Deputy Governor, the PSC and the Premier, so we can only speculate. The permanent secretaries must, however, be urged to work quickly to ready themselves to manage their new portfolios as local, regional and international happenings will not pause while they acquaint themselves with their portfolios. What has been done is done. The timing cannot be undone. How permanent secretaries and their support staff react to the reassignment of the permanent secretaries is within their control. We hope to see a mature and responsible reaction that will minimise the likely negative effects of the reassignments.
