Sep 24 - Government Hits Back At GSD Over Bullying Investigation And Bizzy Bee Claims
The Government has hit back at the GSD on two fronts following heated exchanges yesterday.
On the first topic – the Hernandez bullying investigation – the Government argues that it is “complete nonsense” for the Opposition to claim that the allegations of bullying against Ms Joanna Hernandez have been swept under the carpet.
Number Six says the GSD continue to behave as if they have never been in Government before and do not have a clue how the internal administrative machinery of the Government actually works. This may well be, says the Government, “because their elected members are dropping like flies” and they now have to resort to others who are unfamiliar with the processes in question.
A statement continued: “The Opposition should know by now that the matter was referred to the Chief Secretary for an investigation to be carried out under the rules and procedures of the civil service. The Government has already indicated that this is an internal matter for the civil service in which the political Government will not get involved.
“The Opposition are clearly trying to politicise something that should not be politicised. These employment issues are a matter for the employer and the employee. The political views of the person in question are completely irrelevant.
“Given that Ministers are not involved in the investigation, the Opposition can only be questioning the integrity and independence of those who have carried it out. This is a disgraceful slur on the character and professionalism of the Civil Service.
“The GSD are free to change the existing rules if they ever return to Government in order to allow their Ministers to interfere in these matters as they please and to create a public circus of every internal investigation. The Government, however, will continue with the long established practice of an investigation by the independent and impartial civil service, based on the evidence presented, as required by the internal nature of the issues at stake.
“What is obvious is that the GSD have continued from the opposition benches the same campaign of harassment and victimisation against the person in question that they started in Government.”
BIZZY BEE
Replying to the GSD’s claim that Bizzy Bee had engaged in “wasteful” works at public expense in Varyl Begg, Number Six says that “a large part of the statement issued by the Opposition on the works at Varyl Begg Estate is an exact replica almost word for word of a press release that they issued in January which made some of the same arguments on the same subject.”
A statement continued: “It is obvious that, not having anything new to say, the GSD are simply digging up what they can from past statements and issuing them again a few months later in the hope that nobody will notice.
“The Government explained to them at the time that these works were allocated to the lowest quote under the Approved Contractor Scheme on the terms and conditions that were introduced by the GSD themselves.
“It is beyond belief that the Opposition should complain that some lampposts are being replaced after the works have been completed. They spent years digging up the same roads again and again because of a lack of coordination. This has now improved considerably. The Opposition should be the last ones to point fingers given their dismal record in Government.
“The issue is essentially that following encroachments into some public areas of Varyl Begg, which the GSD acquiesced to when they were in office, there were lamp posts which were too close to these structures and which obstructed persons with mobility problems because the pavement was too narrow. The Government has listened to the concerns of those members of the public and acted on them by moving the lampposts in question.”
{fcomment}
