Is the Public Service Commission being Politicized?

Dean Flowers

According to Flowers, the protracted delay continues to threaten the financial stability of families whose breadwinners were public officers who gave of themselves and their service to the Government of Belize for over thirty years.

On the Phone: Dean Flowers, President, P.S.U.

“Now the impact of this politicization of the commission has now reached a boiling point whereby it is negatively affecting, not only public officers but more so, as we stated in our release, retirees.  It is unacceptable that an individual would labor in excess of fifteen to thirty years for the Government of Belize and the people of Belize and thereafter has to wait for a year or two years and to continue waiting because the government has not seen it as a priority to ensure the continuation of the services rendered by the commission.  The Public Service Union and myself, individually, continue to receive calls, as we speak, from public officers, retired public officers who are in a state of desperation.  There are people out there who are on the brink of losing their homes and other assets that are serving as collaterals for loans or mortgages that they might have with the banks and lending institutions.  There’s also the issue of people’s livelihoods being threatened where their utility bills are concerned.  I think it is important for us to look at this entire process of how we compensate retirees their super annuity benefits to ensure that no retiree has to wait for a year or two because of the incompetence of the line ministries who fail in coordination with the public officer to ensure that their file is in order by the time it reaches the Treasury Department.  And also, of course, we cannot forget the main issue here which is we must ensure that the commission functions at all times.”