June 24, 2020 Kingston, Jamaica: The Patriots is citing Staff Orders for the Public Service 2004, section 4.2.6 Political Activity, wherein it states inter alia;
- “Officers are expressly forbidden to engage in any type of partisan political activity in any elections at any level;
- In exercise of official duties, no service, or benefit should be denied or provided to anyone on the basis of partisan political affiliation;”, and,
HEART Trust/NTA Conduct and Disciplinary Policy HRA-03-03 Revised February 2016 Implemented March 08, 2016 section 6.07 Engagement in Political Activities which notes;
- “Employees shall not participate actively on behalf of any political party or candidate in parliamentary elections, or any municipal/parish council during working hours in accordance with the Staff Orders.”
It is against this background that The Patriots is calling on the newly minted Minister of Education, Youth and Information to address concerns in the public domain that a director of HEART Trust/ NTA has been actively campaigning for the Jamaica Labor Party in Central Manchester, and has been photographed on numerous occasions wearing clothing with branding and imagery of the Jamaica Labor Party.
The Patriots state that these types of flagrant flouting of the established rules that govern the civil service without redress supports the theory that this government has no care for the rule of law and good governance.
The Patriots insist that to allow this behavior and blatant disregard for the Staff orders to go unchecked translates into barefaced contempt for the law and is an insult to the Jamaican people who are meeting their daily struggles and do not break the laws and regulations of the land.
The Patriots notes that if the Minister of Education fails to act swiftly and decisively, it would be in the best interest of the country for the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education to tender their immediate resignations for allowing such a travesty to occur under both their leaderships.
The Patriots further informs the Minister of Education and Prime Minister of Jamaica that if they are having difficulty in identifying the individual, we are in possession of numerous pieces of evidence of the person committing these breaches.
-END-
Omar Newell
President
The Patriots