Injustice for gov’t ministers to hire friends as Political Advisors
Premier Andrew Fahie has described it as an injustice if legislators within his government were to hire their friends as Ministerial Political Advisors.
Speaking at a press conference recently, Premier Fahie said: “Any minister or junior minister worth their salt would be doing the people of the Virgin Islands an injustice to fill the job just with someone who is a friend or just a political affiliate but doesn’t have the skills.”
The Premier was at the time responding to questions about criteria used to fill Ministerial Political Advisor posts.
He suggested that legislators did not need to add an extra burden on themselves in their offices in selecting candidates that may be unsuitable for the role of advisor.
“These offices by themselves can consume your entire life. So, the persons have to be competent persons, they have to be persons that also understand the concept of time, the essence of time. A lot of times in our service, that’s lost,” he added.
Premier Fahie said some ministers put out different criteria while others simply shortlisted their preferences for Ministerial Advisors.
Nothing to hide
In the spirit of transparency, the Premier insisted that the Ministerial Advisor hires and the corresponding contracts would be made publicly available once they are registered.
“We don’t have nothing to hide with these advisors, what we want to do is get the work of the people done,” the Premier stated.
“When we register them, you will get them (the contracts). They are public documents. We went through the range of what they’re being paid, we have nothing to hide,” he added.
Premier selects two advisors so far
During the press conference, Premier Fahie revealed that his only Ministerial Political Advisors to date were Trinidad national Sunil Ramjitsingh and local, Kevin ‘OJ’ Smith.
The Premier explained that he needed someone with experience in constitutional law and legislative drafting skills as his third Ministerial Political Advisor.
The Premier said his initiative to hire political advisors will help future governments and would be instrumental in helping ministers to formulate better policies.
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He only hired OJ to see if he could convince him to run against Fraser…….This guy is taking all of us for a**es.
@bull!!!! you hit the nail right on the head. In addition, he done hire Claude and we still waiting to know what advise he provided. Now OJ. What advise has he provided so far? This is one time the public needs to know, at the very least, what subject matter he advised on.
WOW! He should hire you, you read minds.
Wtf. This guy is completely off his rockers. The same that he has done and is doing he is calling it an injustice if other ministers in his government were to do it. AF “Example Set, Example Followed”. You have your family PL on every board, you have many friends and supporters as Advisors and Consultants. You are doing this corrupt, divisive injustice in broad daylight for our naked eyes to see, and you want us to believe its not happening and that you have clean hands? Andrew Fahie you are no angel, and you don’t have clean hands. A plus for you is that you are a pathetic l**r. STFU.
@Bumpy. Please stand up and be counted. Lets stop hiding behind a cloak. This premier is no more than a school boy bully.
Injusticxe you say? Sounds more like cronyism and corruption to me.
The premier has become one!
That Trinidad man was a political advisor to the VIP last election. What does that tell you?
He was
The Premier saw something in his CV or otherwise that was pleasing to him. You people really need to relax. Stop all the hate.
This man is really a piece of work. His new political advisor hire Sunil from Trinidad worked for the VIP during the last election. So now he has been brought on to work at the expense of tax payers rather than at the expense of the VIP themselves. Everybody is not as stupid as you think Albert.
I have really lost all respect for this individual. In my views I have seen lack of Political Ethics; Lack of Efficient Leadership; Lack of moral scrupples and a whole windbag of yippity yap. For Once give the People of the Territory something that they see beneficial to the People and Territory. Stop with the Shinanigans and destroying the VIP’s Manifesto. Look, the other Representatives need to call him out and stop being undermined and threatened by his yippity yap. This is not Cuba, Iraq, North Korea or any other Communist Territory.
Ralph warned the people close to him about the grave mistake this country would make by making this man Premier and his words have come to pass. He is now using the government money to pay a political hitman who worked for the VIP during the last election. We have a COI over our heads and this man has no pause button. I hope the UK just grab him and leave the country alone.
The Premier makes sense. You have to hire competent people to assist the Ministers so the People’s work can get done.
Stop making excuses a competent government would get things done. The decisions they made they full well know what they were doing. Go back to their scripts because evidence there.
Like those placed on Boards?
This site is a waste of time as only the blogs against the government are posted.
I think the premier tries to play both side of the field. He however keep his eye focus on what he wants to achieve for himself. I really feel it for all you BVI landers because a day is coming when things will get worse because none of you are really standing up for our country.
What is the role of the permanent secretary and all those other persons who work in the ministers’offices?
The ministry them full of incompetent people then you all add a incompetent government. All of you all are to blame.
and you would agree the other trini lawyer(hustler) to fightsite vanterpool was a brilliant idea too @ this site / you got the site mixed up in your comment its the other yellow one that you control ?
You yourself do not understand the concept and or essence of time.
You can just hire them to be the Speaker of the house. And add them to all the Boards….
But hiring relatives is encouraged