“When you create a culture where people believe they are entitled to a salary without regard to effort, productivity, or discipline, you institutionalize inefficiency and waste.”- Dr. Morgan Job, Whom the Gods Would Destroy (1997)
There are two things which made the news this week that got me interested. The first was the Minister of Social Development announcing the allocation of millions of dollars for outstanding commitments by the Children’s Authority. The second was the Prime Minister’s warning to public servants that those who do not perform the jobs they are employed to do could be removed. This was followed by her Facebook post referring to what the late Dr Morgan Job called a “swine culture”, which she argued, has been holding back the development of T&T.
I feel these matters are connected. They raise an important question about the culture we have developed in T&T where poor performance, inefficiency and a lack of accountability have been tolerated for years. Dr Morgan Job used the term “swine culture” to criticise what he saw as the deterioration of standards, attitudes and behaviour in our society. He argued that institutional protections allowed some public servants to draw salaries regardless of their performance and that state resources and employment were sometimes used to reward political loyalty rather than merit or competence. In his view, the result was a waste of taxpayers’ money and unresponsive public services. While Job was often criticised for his choice of strong language, his comments raised important questions about the values, attitudes and behaviours that shape our society.
You see, we have developed this attitude of poor performance and general ineffectiveness over generations. We say “is we culture” and accept it as the norm. This is where the problem lies. Don’t get me wrong – there are many hardworking public servants who take their jobs seriously and are the driving force behind ministries. But too often the good workers are rewarded with additional responsibilities while poorly performing workers face few consequences. How many times have we walked into a government ministry to conduct a transaction, only to find employees having conversations and acting as though attending to us is an inconvenience? While the public service has come a long way, services are still sometimes disrupted because one worker is absent or cashiers are on lunch.
So yes, we have to acknowledge that we have a problem, one that developed over generations. Getting rid of this mentality is now the biggest challenge. The consequences of this culture go beyond the frustration of having to wait for a service or return to a government office several times to complete a simple transaction. Poor performance in public institutions can have serious consequences for the people who depend on them. When institutions responsible for children’s welfare, education, health and social services fail to function effectively, it is often the most vulnerable citizens who suffer.
This brings me back to the Children’s Authority. While the government allocates millions to services, we must ask whether these resources are being used effectively. Over the years, I have had reason to interact with the Authority on several occasions and my experiences have been disappointing. I have also spoken with parents and caregivers who reported serious concerns about children and felt there was little urgency in addressing their complaints. This raises questions about how effectively the institution is fulfilling its mandate despite all the millions being spent. The same applies to the Student Support Services Division of the Ministry of Education.
But we also need to ask why this culture has been allowed to continue for so long. How do employees continue to perform poorly without being held accountable? What responsibility do supervisors and managers have when they allow inefficiency to continue? And why are hardworking employees often expected to compensate for those who are not fulfilling their responsibilities? Most importantly, how do we break this cycle? Getting out of this mentality is undoubtedly our biggest challenge because it requires dismantling decades of political patronage and administrative complacency.
Indeed, true reform requires fundamental changes in how we manage our public service. We need transparent performance assessments alongside a willingness to recognise and reward hardworking employees while holding those who consistently fail to perform accountable. But accountability must begin at the top. We cannot demand efficiency from ordinary workers while allowing poor management and ineffective leadership to continue.
It is a start that the Prime Minister has recognised this problem but changing a culture that has developed over generations will not be easy. It requires changes in attitudes and institutional practice. For too long, we have used “is we culture” to explain away things that should never have been acceptable but we need to remember that culture is not static; it is shaped by the standards we enforce. Therefore, if we are serious about the development of T&T, then we must be equally serious about changing the attitudes and practices that have been holding us back.
