Leadership and management are the two defining skill sets critical to improving the national economic, political and social outlook. However, rather than positively reinforcing actions, we see continued examples which demonstrate their absence in thought, word and deed at an alarming rate.
The Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions are constitutional pillars of the justice system. The Chief Justice is also chairman of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission which is responsible for the appointment of judges and legal officers without whom the justice system would fail. The Chief Justice has in the past bemoaned the sizeable case backlog and the inability to bring cases before the court in a timely manner. Many factors, antiquated systems, inadequate personnel numbers and other capacity issues, have combined to bring about this impasse.
Rumblings of judicial discontent have periodically spilt over into the public domain. Angry correspondence between the CJ and the DPP has also reached the front pages of the press indicating that disruptive interpersonal relationships have affected both the working and tone of the justice system. Whilst it is understood that occasional personality differences may sometimes complicate an organisation’s performance, the smooth running of the nation’s business must be always paramount.
It is simply unacceptable that the justice system should be threatened by staff shortages which the JLSC seems either incapable or unwilling to fill nine years after the positions were first agreed upon. It would be unconscionable to even contemplate the possibility that personality differences might be a factor in this regard. If this possibility were not sufficiently frightening, the prime minister compounded the imbroglio by saying that the DPP’s office had chosen not to occupy designated rental space thus costing the Government millions.
Since buildings do not prosecute cases, the Prime Minister has not addressed the substantive staffing issues in the DPP’s office. Therefore, his comments can only be considered as an attempt to undermine the credibility of the DPP. But, to what purpose? How did the prime minister’s invective advance crime fighting? Furthermore, the DPP’s office is a constitutional position above the political fray, not a political opponent.
Not content with the public relations disaster of the missing file and his clumsy attempt to avoid responsibility for the obvious system weaknesses implied by the many default judgments by departments under his control, the attorney general made a bad situation worse. By publicly summoning the DPP, the Attorney General implied a rebuke, a senior to his junior. The DPP staff responded by widening the issue.
As if these events were not sufficient cause for concern, the newly appointed Police Commissioner added to the rot. Perhaps the enormity of the COP’s promise to reduce the crime rate by June had registered, and she now invoked divine intervention to reduce the murder rate. Whilst we would expect God to be on her side, we also expect that she would take appropriate action.
The nation faces difficult challenges requiring a mature, considered approach from officeholders to achieve successful outcomes. The country cannot afford either a justice system compromised by petty personal differences, or a political directorate that forgets the limit of its authority. Intelligent leadership and diligent competent management are required if the ship of state is to stay afloat and on course for a brighter shore.
