NASSAU, Bahamas – Declaring that it “seems to us that the tail is wagging the dog,” former Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs Fred Mitchell said current Minister of Foreign Affairs Darren A. Henfield owes the public an explanation in the aftermath of the abrupt withdrawal of what was described as an “unauthorized” Foreign Service jobs recruitment advertisement.
In a statement released on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Mr. Mitchell, chairman of opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), told Minister Henfield that the explanation should not come “from your human resources department…but from the political level.”
“This is what we pay you to do,” Mr. Mitchell said, adding: “The Foreign Minister must take control of his ministry and his Ambassador or the Prime Minister must take control of him.”
The Ambassador Mr. Mitchell was referring to is Bahamas Ambassador to Brussels Maria O’Brien, who advertised certain senior positions at the Bahamas Brussels Mission in the local media.
“Not two days have passed since the Ambassador to Brussels published an ad in the press against the rules of the foreign service,” Mr. Mitchell said in his statement. “In a letter dated 28 June 2021, signed by the Human Resources Department and incredibly, the Ministry said that it was unauthorized and ordered the jobs ad withdrawn. The letter said that it ‘will be withdrawn’.
“The Ministry’s letter said that the Ambassador was informed about the proper procedures for the recruitment of staff.”
Mr. Mitchell then added: Well surprise, surprise — apparently, the Ambassador either did not receive or bother to read the memo.
“In a public statement in response, one imagines, or in defence of her actions, there is a full-throated statement in today’s press in the Ambassador’s name saying that the embassy needs staff, whether from inside or outside the public service.
“The inference drawn is: if you don’t like it, lump it.
“The PLP therefore wants to know who authorized this morning’s (June 30) Op Ed in the press by the Ambassador? Further, was the Ambassador acting this time within the rules of recruitment of staff in this morning’s Op Ed piece?
“It seems to us that the tail is wagging the dog. Minister of Foreign Affairs: the public is owed an explanation, and not from your human resources department either but from the political level. This is what we pay you to do.”
In an earlier statement on June 28 after the ad was published, Mr. Mitchell note that the “phone has been ringing off the hook this morning from unhappy foreign service officers who have seen the full-page ad in the press today advertising for senior positions in the Brussels Mission: Minister/ Counsellor, Communications and Public Relations Officer and Second Secretary.”
“The Ministry that refuses to post nonpolitically appointed officers overseas on the grounds that the Ministry has no money is now advertising positions that can be filled by competent staff either within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and/or within the wider Public Service,” Mr. Mitchell said.
He added: “The Ministry did not advertise the jobs within the ministry, so the staff at Foreign Affairs were taken completely by surprise — as they should be.
“The Ministry currently has a cadre of qualified officers with the language skills and educational backgrounds that exceed the qualifications for the jobs advertised. Other Ministries such as the Ministry of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration have competent staff as well.”
Mr. Mitchell said that since “its opening in November 2019, the Brussels Embassy has been a disaster to put it mildly.”
“The embassy’s original intent was to ‘deepen relations with the EU and strengthen the country’s position in the global economy’, but to date it has done nothing of the sort,” Mr. Mitchell said. “Have Bahamian investors gained better access to the EU market? Has the Mission improved diplomatic relations with the EU? No and no.”
Claiming that the Embassy “has developed a reputation for cost over runs,” Mr. Mitchell added: “At one point the public officials flagged expenditure on a 20,000 euros sofa.
“Public servants seem to have issues surviving there. The Foreign Ministry is often kept completely out of the loop, with processes managed through the Kilarney Constituency office or directly from the Office of the Prime Minister.
“The Brussels Embassy currently has a Deputy Chief of Mission who is now at the rank of Minister/Counsellor and a Communications Officer who was brought in from Nassau on ‘special terms’. Why on God’s green earth is there a need to hire new or additional people, and especially without making the postings available to foreign service officers already in the service?
“We have been keeping a special eye on the Brussels mission and pledge upon coming to office to embark on a full investigation into how and why the circumstances have unfolded in Brussels the way that they have.
“The PLP is committed to promoting trade and investment with the EU in keeping with the CARIFORUM EU EPA signed under the PLP.
“Strengthening diplomatic and trade relations with the EU requires professional diplomats, period.”
Mr. Mitchell, who is Opposition spokesman on foreign affairs, served as Bahamas Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2002 to 2007 and 2012 to 2017 when the PLP was the government.
