Public servants should resist unlawful instructions

Dear Editor,
The dispatch of a lawyer’s letter to the Registrar General at the GRO, Louis Crawford, in light of questions about unauthorised access to records, emphasises the lines of responsibility and the fact that it is public servants who are being asked, first, to account for certain actions.
This makes it clear that public servants must resist any unlawful instruction from the de facto APNU/AFC coalition Government. There are legal ramifications for public servants – be it the GRO Registrar or any other office holder in the public service – and this is something that must be recognised. Why? Because there has been silence from the de facto APNU/AFC coalition on the issue of unauthorised access to records; it is the Registrar who is being asked to answer. The fervour of the coalition’s agents in touting the death certificate it accessed, under questionable means, is absent in the face of questions about unauthorised access. Public servants are left alone to answer the questions.
Secondly, the de facto APNU/AFC coalition has been a caretaker Government since July 2019 and its actions have been restricted to routine functions.  The ruling of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) on July 12, 2019, said: “By convention, the Government is expected to behave during this interim period as a caretaker and so restrain the exercise of its legal authority.” Also, since the March 2, 2020 General and Regional Elections, the APNU/AFC coalition has moved to being a de facto Government.  Considering the status of the coalition in office, if public servants carry out unlawful instructions, it is not difficult to reason which way a court of law may lean if those unlawful instructions are challenged.
I would like to urge all public servants to resist unlawful instructions or document these unlawful instructions to safeguard themselves.
The future of our country is at stake.  At no cost can the democratic transition of Government be derailed and there is a role of our public servants in ensuring that this does not happen.

Sincerely,
Nalinie Singh