How many more persons working for our government are sent home on leave with full pay?

We have numerous persons working at immigration, customs, health services and environmental health all at home, none are working but all are being paid. Have I missed a department?

Now added to the list is the National Roads Authority (NRA).

The person has not been named but all media houses are reporting it is someone in top management re- potential misuse of NRA equipment.

The Marl Road has even named the person.

When will someone in government wake up and be open about what is going on?

The ‘rumour has it’ syndrome will go on and on and in a small place like Cayman this type of rumour is often right.

Any inquiry whilst these persons are on a full paid continuing holiday will take almost as long as King Canute took to stop the waves from the incoming tide to come ashore.

It is not just that. The Cones of Silence come down around the other governmental heads except for the standard “we can make no comment whilst an enquiry is continuing”. And whilst this continues the waves continue to come ashore.

It doesn’t matter to any government official. There is no urgency in the enquiry. It can go on as long as those waves come ashore. It doesn’t cost anyone in government. All these persons are paid by US!

And by these persons I don’t just mean the persons on leave. I mean everyone connected to the enquiry. The persons who placed these persons on leave. The persons who decide who is going to conduct the inquiry. The persons who actually do conduct the enquiry. The person who types up the findings from the inquiry and the person and persons who read the findings. Then there are the persons who have to meet and make a decision.

And there is the rub.

How many actual persons in government actually enjoy making a decision.

Any FINAL decision has to be made public.

Oh dear.

And that decision might come back and haunt the person who made it.

That’s why it is always better to have a board made up of lots of other people who usually know absolutely nothing about how good or how bad the person is in his job and normally based on his family and if they have ever played a round of golf with him or her or seen him/her at one of their club meetings.

If it really takes up a long time the person on leave might have now found another job with more pay and resigns.

Phew. What a relief if that happens.

Enquiry closed and he/she has retired without a stain on his/her character. All charges (if it ever got to that) dropped.

And down the marl road we will travel again. If we are on paid leave we can go along that route ad nauseum.