Last night, we told you about that scathing press release from the Public Service Union, which called out the Office of the Prime Minister for failing to appoint a chairman and members of the Public Service Commission.
The PSU says it has been overwhelmed by calls from public officers who are waiting to be appointed or confirmed, or those who have pending disciplinary cases before the Commission. Additionally, they have been receiving desperation calls from retired public officers who have exhausted their salary advance considerations with the Treasury Department. As a result, they are without an income and cannot receive their retirement benefits from the Government.
This morning, President Dean Flowers gave a virtual press briefing cataloguing the union's frustration:
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
"It is very unfortunate that even after the current administration came into power, which was back in November of 2020, I believe it was no later than perhaps January or February of 2022 when the Government called for the resignation of the then chairman and all the commissioners who were appointed under the past administration. So, one would have believed then that this administration would have already had people identified - and suitable people to replace those former commissioners. But now, we know that the call for the investigation had little to do, perhaps, with the manner in which they were functioning and more to do with politics. Here we are two years after, and this current administration is struggling to identify a Belizean Citizen who is of high standing and has the integrity, knowledge, and experience in public service to be able to do a good job in carrying out the roles and functions of the Public Service Commission. Mr. Gibson's term expired in June, and subsequently, several other members' term expires. Others expired before. Here we are in October, and effectively, what the government is saying is that they can't find somebody suitable enough."
