By Harold Lovell
Irecently had the opportunity to listen to a recording of the Prime Minister as he explained the reasons for poor road infrastructure in Antigua and Barbuda.
In his explanation, he placed the blame squarely at the feet of the Director of Public Works, Mr Aldin Crump. In doing so, he made some startling allegations which have far-reaching implications for the state of governance in the country.
Among other things, this was what he said:
“I said to him, you either ship up or ship out. I am telling you all, if within the next 60 days going into January and we do not see any significant improvement in those patch works, the Director will be removed….
“And I don’t normally threaten people’s jobs. We’re not necessarily saying we are firing him but I’m holding him personally responsible.” …
“Y’all are so concerned about the little gifts. I’m not going to call it bobol, but you know how things work. And I don’t envy them – don’t get me wrong – but they are more concerned about the little gifts they get from contractors than the government work….
“They say way di horse tie, there they feed….
“I’ve said to him, if you don’t step up and increase the productivity at Public Works, you’re going home.”
As I listened to these words, I was both shocked and saddened as an Antiguan.
Based on the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda, we operate within a Ministerial system of government. The Governor General, acting on the advice of the Prime Minister, assigns to a Minister, responsibility for the administration of the Ministry. (Section 71(1))
The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the supervision of the Ministry, subject to the direction and control of the Minister. (Section 78(1))
Public dissatisfaction with road infrastructure is well known and taxpayers are entitled to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Funds for road infrastructure and other public works are provided by the taxes paid by the residents of this country at the port, in supermarkets, on property and other sources of government revenue. Government therefore has a fiduciary responsibility to utilize these funds in a responsible manner and it is for the Minister to go to Parliament and give a clear, credible explanation to satisfy people’s justifiable concerns.
The accusations made against the Director of Public Works amount to two serious charges. First, unsatisfactory performance of his duties and secondly, misconduct by taking improper gifts in the course of his employment. To just throw these accusations into the public domain without producing any evidence is damaging not only to Mr Crump but to the reputation of Antigua and Barbuda.
Regarding unsatisfactory performance, the Director is a qualified professional who was hired based on his qualifications and his experience. If his lack of performance has been an ongoing matter, the Permanent Secretary, in consultation with the Minister, ought to have referred the matter to the Public Service Commission. The Commission should then act on the complaint by having a qualified engineer investigate the matter to see whether there is any merit to the complaint. If the complaint has substance, then the appropriate action should have been taken.
It is highly improper for the Prime Minister to be casting doubt on the competence of the Director.
The other accusation is even more troubling. To openly accuse a senior civil servant of misconduct of the most serious kind is scandalous. In the practice of modern statecraft, it is unheard of for a Prime Minister to impute such improper motives without some prior finding of guilt or criminal conviction.
This is even more egregious knowing that Mr Crump, as a public servant, cannot defend himself in a similar forum. If the allegations are false, then Mr Crump should take legal action against the Prime Minister for defaming his character. He literally called Mr Crump a corrupt, incompetent manager.
Further, the Prime Minister is also the Minister of Corporate Governance. Presumably, this Ministry was established to promote good governance including accountability and transparency. Yet, he felt comfortable to say without any sense of embarrassment that he wasn’t envious of Mr Crump receiving “gifts” from contractors. Under the Prevention of Corruption Act (2004), if a public official accepts gifts in the manner described by the Prime Minister it is a criminal offence. How does the question of envy even arise?
The Prime Minister threatened to fire Mr Crump if there is no improvement within 60 days. It should be noted that the power to appoint, transfer and discipline civil servants is vested in the Public Service Commission under Section 99 of the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda.
As was clearly established in the case of Elloy deFreitas v the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture and The Attorney General, a civil servant is not the employee of the Prime Minister. They are both employees of the State.
Mr Crump is a civil servant as defined by the Civil Service Act and any disciplinary action against him can be taken only by the Public Service Commission.
Section 99 (11) of the Constitution is very clear. It states, “The Commission shall, in the exercise of its functions under this Constitution, not be subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.”
That includes the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda.
The case of Ira Davis and others v The Attorney General(The Teachers’ Case) established that the Public Service Commission has a duty to act fairly and impartially. However, by the Prime Minister’s stated intention to get rid of Mr Crump, any process to discipline Mr Crump has already been tainted. Any purported dismissal, suspension or transfer by the Public Service Commission can be challenged as being punitive and in breach of its duty to act impartially.
On 1stt November 2024, we celebrated our 43rd Anniversary of political independence. We sang our National Anthem, we raised our flag and raised it boldly. As we answer now to duty’s call, let us strive to build a modern constitutional democracy founded on the principles of good governance.
In the bad old days, the Colonial Governor controlled the legislative and the Executive arms of the Government. He could hire and fire as he pleased. He talked as he liked, how he liked, to whom he liked.
Forty-three years after we threw off the colonial shackles, it seems like the ghosts of the past still haunt the way we do business in Antigua and Barbuda.
Thoughts and views expressed in Observations do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Observer Newsco, its management or staff.
Is an election coming? I thought that’s when they fix the roads. Poor PM knows he’s responsible for the bad roads. Diverting funding for his own projects. Only the good Lord knows what they are. Maybe another secret runway. Free concerts for his constituates? With Ascot gone may he rest well who’s going to buy the people? the Turkeys. I feel bad for Mr. Crump he’s been doing that balancing act for many years and now he’s a scape goat? Who’s the PM looking to promote? Just remember America we did it first.