Finally, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar came to the conclusion that she and the Government could not ride this one out and took "responsibility" for the absolutely unacceptable manner in which they went about selecting the unsuitable Reshmi Ramnarine as director, temporary or not, of the Strategic Services Agency. But is it sufficient? In addition to accepting responsibility, the "apology" to the Parliament was also an attempt to achieve the original objective of having the media "move on" from its probing for more information on the background to the decision and why it was given such free passage through the Ministry of National Security, the National Security Council and the Cabinet without as much as a query on the suitability of the young woman for the post. Having accepted responsibility for the appointment, the Prime Minister could do nothing less but promise to establish a process for selecting someone to head the intelligence agency in which "merit will trump political affiliation."
The media, the Opposition and the entire polity must continue to contribute to ensuring that the new process will be rigorous, transparent and capable of landing an individual in the job who will be thoroughly capable of leading the work of this vital security organisation in the interest of the national community as opposed to doing a job for the party that happens to be in government at the moment of appointment. The example of Egypt and a Middle East waking up from decades of slumber, during which an elite used family lineage and religion to pacify the masses while it controlled the resources of the countries and entrenched its rule is before us for examination and learning. In 1986, after 30 long years of domination and segregation of the population into its ethnic and religious enclaves, the electorate rose up with a vengeance against the PNM. In the period since then, voters have demonstrated their political savvy by removing ruling parties after a trial period in office. Last time out, Manning's regime, which developed the tendency and ambition to become a Middle-Eastern dynasty, was unceremoniously dismissed.
The population/electorate/ polity must hold fast to the position of guarding against the entrenchment of such ambitions/ tendencies, which starts with having parties move away from making policies based on explosive criteria such as race, religion, nepotism, sexism and clique loyalties. The media in general and a few reporters in specific must be commended for taking the bit between their teeth and refusing to be cowed into submission by the Prime Minister and her ministers, including a big bad National Security Minister whose scolding amounted to an attempt to intimidate. What is more, the media, based on reporting and editorial opinion on the weekend, are indicating that the story is far from finished; they have now set themselves the task of finding the information on how come this junior technician could have avoided all investigation to be appointed to such a post. So much of what was fed to the public did not make sense: How could a deputy director of the SIA select a junior technician to vault her over herself and other senior officers within the organisation and from a survey of the talent that was available from elsewhere? How come? Does that not defy simple logic?
Why did such a recommendation escape scrutiny of the Ministry of National Security, the path through which it should have travelled? And if the recommendation did not go through the ministry and the minister, as logic and good practice dictated that it should have, how come? How come the National Security Council, through which we were told the recommendation passed with the Minister of National Security saying that he was part of the process, did not vet and investigate the recommendation? How come the Cabinet, entrusted with making the final decision with the Prime Minister now saying that "the buck stops with me," allowed this recommendation free reign? The whole thing is illogical and, as observed in other parts of the media, not a "misstep" but rather the result of deliberate inadvertence. The media know their job is not done.
The other element of the debacle which has been disgusting and unpalatable, because it takes the national community for party fanatics and fools, has been the pathetic attempt by so many to spin untruths upon untruths.
Gary Griffith's attempts were perhaps the most laughable but most insulting. First he attempted to have us believe that some public servant was responsible for interfering with the details of the resume, and then he blamed it on someone in the SSA/SIA unit for not investigating the claims made in the resume. The objective of attempt at spin was to free all in Government of the responsibility to have had the resume investigated.
It could not escape the attention of any bright teenager that there was at least embellishment of the claims of the resume from someone so junior. We therefore come back to the essential question: Why did the recommendation not trigger suspicion from the relevant agencies and individuals? In a similar attempt at disingenuity and to deny the population of its right to information, Commissioner of Police Dwayne Gibbs continues to insist that the "matter is closed" and the public does not have the right to know the findings of the report into the incident between chairman of the Police Service Commission, Nizam Mohammed, and two ordinary constables.
However, in his last attempt to duck the media on the question, the Commissioner was evasive, unconvincing and had to be assisted out of a tight spot of reporter questioning by a fellow officer. Reporters must continue to do their jobs at every turn that he makes. He must either come clean or stay completely out of sight and reach of the media; there must be no sheltered space for Gibbs. In this regard it is encouraging too to see that the Law Association has taken up the matter with him. Reform of the fundamental tenets of the Republican Constitution and the institution of mechanisms to, among other things, make appointments to vital positions are vital areas of governance which have to be transformed.