Good governance now more than ever

THE EDITOR, Sir:

STRIPPING A minister of part of his portfolio responsibilities because it was deemed necessary by the prime minister, but leaving him with other ministerial portfolio responsibilities, is irrational. Such an action is tantamount to a guard being relieved of guarding the portion of the estate that was robbed, while under his watch, and being assigned to guarding only the portion of the estate that wasn’t robbed.

Logic and common sense dictate that if there was dereliction of duty, in one area/instance, there is bound to be dereliction of duty in another area/instance. The right and best remedy was to have fired the minister or demand his resignation. Ministers of government need not feel that their departure, if they resign or are sent packing, means that their retreat ought to necessarily be a permanent one. That is not what I am asking for, and, hopefully, not what most Jamaicans are asking for. What I want is for ministers to be held accountable.

NO CABINET RETURN

So, were Dr Andrew Wheatley to resign, and a reasonable amount of time passed – say, a year or two – I would have no problem with him returning to his Cabinet fold. Lest we forget, a former minister of finance was forced to resign after a major scandal emerged under his watch. However, that same politician returned and, eventually, became leader of his party and prime minister of Jamaica.

Last, Dr Wheatley should have been stripped completely of his ministerial responsibilities for the sake of good governance, and as a mark of strong leadership (by the prime minister), and to signal that the country should always be put before party and politics. PATRICK GALLIMORE pagalley@protonmail.com