There are numerous cases over the years that have made me ponder whether some senior civil servants lack common sense.

This seemingly loss in their mental abilities has cost us, the public a lot of money and time from their insanity leaving me frustrated and scratching my poor head.

The latest is over the mixed results the video link between Northward Prison and the Cayman Courts has produced.

The idea was that straightforward cases would give prisoners at Northward the option to adopt this system. It would save them from the long drive from the prison in an uncomfortable van to the court in George Town.

However, lawyers acting for the defenders have said very few cases are straightforward and the video link robs them from speaking with their clients either before or after the hearings.

So why on earth would any civil servant offer a female prisoner held at Fairbanks in George Town, and only a few minutes drive away from the court, this option?

I have no idea but someone in authority did and the prisoner was transported all the way from George Town to Northward to do this and then back again. It was an utter failure and the prisoner will now have to appear in person for next week’s Grand Court mention list.

And now we have the even more insane story involving the Cayman Islands Immigration Department. Someone there refused to allow a Filipino, who had worked here in 2005/6 for almost 2 years, and had passed a local driving test for a Group 3 licence (the hardest), to retake his English test. See iNews Cayman story under iNews Briefs published July 13 2014 “Filipino fails Cayman English test now suing immigration department for refusal to take test again” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/inews-briefs-154/.

The Filipino was tired when he arrived at Owen Roberts Airport from the very long trip from the Philippines that took four days, but took the test anyway and only achieved a score of 65% instead of the required pass rate of 75%. He was offered a retake of the test the very next day and he not unsurprisingly refused. He was expecting to be able to take the test again at a later date when he had recovered and adjusted himself back to life here.

No. It was not to be. Immigration said they had given him the chance to retake it and that was the one and only chance he would have. However, according to theFilipino  they had not explained that was a one time only offer.

So now he has sued the Immigration Department.

Even if common sense had failed the senior immigration official who had made the decision the first time around not to allow him to retake the test I would have thought a notice of petition in court against that decision would have resulted in prompt action.

By prompt action, I mean by saying come along in dear sir and retake the test. Sorry about the misunderstanding.

How long would that have taken immigration to organise it and at what cost? Considerably less than going to court.

That is common sense.

If he didn’t get the 75% grade that would have been the end of the matter.

But no. That is too simple. What seems common sense to us doesn’t enter into the heads of our Immigration Department. Why should it? Let the good people of the Cayman Islands pay for us (immigration] to engage government counsel from the Attorney General’s Chambers and fight it.We’ll show him.

But wouldn’t someone learned from the Attorney General’s Chambers have said to Immigration, let the man take the damned test again? It’s simpler, quicker and a lot cheaper.

However, whoever said, being learned gives you common sense? I don’t think anyone has – not out loud.

Now we have a judge involved who couldn’t after hearing the evidence make the decision there and then. Not surprising when you now see  the complexities of the case due to the application filed against the immigration department that also includes an ex Cayman immigration officer appearing on behalf of  the Filipino.

The application states:

IN THE MATTER OF THE IMMIGRATION LAW (2011 REVISION)

AND: IN THE MATTER of an Application by MANOLO DELAPENA VALLO against the refusal by the Chief Immigration Officer to permit the re-taldng of the mandatory English Test

AND: IN THE MATTER THE CAYMAN ISLANDS CONSTITUTION ORDER 2009 pursuant to an Application by MANOLO VALLO prohibiting expulsion

AND IN THE MATTER OF AN APPLICATION by MANOLO VALLO application for Judicial Review pursuant to Order 53 of the Grand Court Rules.

Blimey! All that because someone at Immigration wouldn’t let him retake his English test!

And common sense would and should have stopped all this!

Common sense, however, is not in the job manifesto as a requirement to work for government.

At least to me it doesn’t.

Definition of “common sense” according to Webster’s: “the ability to think and behave in a reasonable way and to make good decisions”.

There’s my answer. Silly me.