STOP BRINGING IN THESE DUMB POLICE WITH ONLY FIVE BJCS TO RUN IMMIGRATION!
Dear BP,
It seems as if you are the only voice bold enough to address the pink elephant ? in the room.
Two days ago, Director Clarence Russell sent out a circular under captioned, “Director’s Orders” dated 19th January 2021. He proudly announced the appointment of Mr. Stuart P. Curtis, a career Police officer and one of Mr. Russell’s former buddies to the position of Assistant Director of Immigration. Look how the country is being destroyed!
BP, we in the Immigration Department is sick and tired of this demoralizing practice of outsiders being brought into the Immigration department to hold high and prominent positions and who are totally both inept and clueless as to the internal operations of the department.
Just like Mr. Russell, this person comes in from the Royal Bahamas Police Force and have to be taught what Immigration is all about. Is PM Minnis attempting to create a POLICE STATE IN THIS DEMOCRACY?
And get this, to add insult to injury Mr. Russell apparently and presumptuously, as is his modis operandi, usurped the authority of the Public Service Commission by saying in ‘his circular’ that this appointment was done on the orders of the Director…with his bad self. Where are the Administrators of the Country who oversee such appointments? WHAT IS THIS?
BP, the department of Immigration can not be demoralized any further for since the advent of this Director, we have fallen to an all time and unprecedented low. Director Russell, who is a political appointee and is to-date insensible and oblivious to how the Immigration Department operates, seems to be hellbent on packing the leadership of our department with Police officers, who apparently are about to be retired or can not go any further up the rank in the RBPF. The FIVE BJCs crew – IMAGINE THAT!
Since Mr. Russell’s morphing into this department some three years ago, there has been not a single promotional exercise. However, Mr. Russell has to his credit the bringining in of a Deputy Director was from the Ministry of Financial Services to head Citizenship and Permanent Residence Section and again who had to been trained by Immigration staff and now, this officer from the RBPF to head Complaints and Corruption in Immigration. How is it that not a single promotion thus far under Mr. Russell but he is bursting with pride to announce one of his police buddies to the post of Assistant Director?
One can only imagine the morale in the Immigration Department as Mr. Russell singlehandedly has done more to dishearten, cast down, dispirit and depressed the morale of our department than any of his predecessors. We up here on Hawkins Hill are devitalized.
Heaven knows that we in the Immigration Department can not go any lower even if we try. We hope that the same powers who brought Mr. Russell in, will see it befitting to do what’s best in the interest of boosting the morale of this department and cease and desist the blatant and ‘in your face’ parachuting of persons from the RBPF to hold top positions in Immigration.
The Department has been in existence from 1939 and is it to say that we can not run and govern ourselves akin to Bahamas Customs, RBPF or RPDF? Why is Immigration so attractive to bring someone in? WHY IS THE SCAM OR SCHEME to do this?
How is it then that none of these departments ever imported an outsider to sit in their departments’ top post? What kind a CORRUPTION IS THIS? It is always done to the Immigration Department. WHY?!
The Honourable Minister Elsworth Johnson boldly stated about 2 months ago that the top post in Bahamas Immigration will be held from persons within. Well, is it to be said that Mr. Russell made this recent appointment all by himself as stated in his circular “Director’s Orders?”
We hope the powers that be will acceed to our plea and salvage whatever is left of the moral of the Immigration Department before Mr. Russell completely decimate it.
Thank you for airing this urgent cry of us here in the Immigration department. We can do better all by ourselves from within and we shall!
Signed,
A dedicated loyal servant of the Bahamian People!
