Five months into the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration, frustration is emerging from within its own support base, with vocal supporter Arion Smart, who is also a former political leader of the United Progressive Party (UPP), publicly criticising the government for what he describes as poor prioritisation and a failure to adequately reform the public service.
Smart is accusing the administration of placing too much emphasis on constitutional amendments relating to Commonwealth citizenship, while overlooking what he considers a more pressing issue — the continued presence of senior civil servants he claims are aligned with the former Unity Labour Party (ULP) government.
He argued that several Permanent Secretaries and Senior Assistant Secretaries who served under the previous administration are still occupying key positions and are not fully supportive of the current government’s agenda.
According to Smart, this situation is affecting the efficiency of government operations and slowing down policy implementation, with some ministries, in his view, continuing to function much as they did under the previous administration.
He further alleged that the issue is contributing to growing frustration at the grassroots level, with party supporters expressing concern about limited access to ministers and what they describe as entrenched bureaucratic resistance within certain government offices.
Smart also pointed to increasing dissatisfaction among supporters in several communities, saying some are becoming openly disillusioned with the pace of change under the new administration.
In a strongly worded warning to the leadership, Smart cautioned that failure to address the structure of the public service could erode public confidence in the government over time.
He urged the NDP to take firmer control of the civil service if it hopes to maintain political support ahead of the next general election cycle, warning that continued frustration among supporters could translate into voter backlash if the current situation persists.
