And while Flowers had kind words for his union colleagues who are being transferred, he maintained his union's hardline position against Financial Secretary Joseph Waight.
You'll remember that memo from the Fin Sec to remind public servants that they aren't supposed to be talking to the media, and neither are they supposed to be leaking internal government documents. The union thinks that it is an attempt to muzzle public officers who can help hold the political directorate accountable. Here's what the PSU President had to say about the Fin Sec when we asked about his memo from last week:
Dean Flowers - 1st VP, Public Service Union
"I believe our press release was clear in terms of our disappointment with the audacity of the Financial Secretary to put out a reminder of the public service regulation where public officers are prohibited from essential whistleblowing, especially where there are questionable acts or irregularities."
"The Public Service Union continues to engage and continue to encourage its members to be alert, to be respectful, and where necessary, to report to this union the wrongdoings."
"Why is it that you failed to obey the fiscal transparency and accountability regulations that mandate and demand that you report to this nation every 6 months on the finances of this country?"
"The financial secretary needs to be taken to court to answer. And I will say for the record that we are having preliminary discussions surrounding getting a legal opinion on holding the financial secretary accountable."
A short while ago, we contacted the Financial Secretary via WhatsApp for a response to Flowers' comments, but he has not yet responded. We keep trying to reach him for comment tomorrow.
