21 Square points out the hollowness of Senator Grouchy’s complaints that the Department of Immigration is wickedly understaffed, as the current wave of applications was caused by PLP policy that was set in 2001. They had time to ramp up the department, but did not. The wounds are self-inflicted.
This is typical of the PLP government, which adores big statements and big projects, but has not performed well on the day-to-day of managing the public sector. That’s why both the Government budget and headcount are totally out of control.
The Bermuda Sun reports another example: the brand new points system for traffic offenses is “in disarray” and “because the points are being calculated and tracked in an antiquated paper chain.”
The law is in place, but unless the technology and support is behind it, that law is impotent. It’s no secret that the court system is antiquated. Administrating the points system has proved a nightmare. The points were meant to be calculated automatically, but by all accounts it’s being done manually, and the system really can’t keep up … To throw hundreds or thousands of extra fines into that mix would be next to pointless. It would be unenforceable.
In other words, the PLP made the big statement … they had the press conference … but never addressed the nitty gritty of management. We can buy big dollar tracking systems for cars and trucks … and we can buy fancy camera systems that have apparently been sitting unused on the island for years … but they are worthless unless you work like a manager.
