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Charlotte Amalie
Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesManaging a Monster

Managing a Monster

Dear Source:

So there is consideration of giving $5,000 to keep on teachers, nurses, police officers close to retirement. This is certainly a creative way to fill the critical service gap need we have but why do we always think that throwing money at a problem is what solves it?
I have a better idea than would have people lining up to come to our beautiful Islands to work as nurses, teachers and police officers.
How about changing the long awaited, much-needed, desperately requested way we manage these areas and bring major reform to everyone of our present government systems like hospitals, schools and judicial systems?
This means shaking up the unions who are keeping too much dysfunction in place, as well as minimizing the thick level of bureaucracy who quite simply passes paper work from one desk to the next, eats up all of our funds in unnecessary payroll, leaving nothing left to the services to which they designed to serve! We have created a monster.
We wonder why our schools are moldy, our roads a mess and nothing ever seems to get done?
When will we finally get it; that nothing can possibly change for the better until we "tear down" our top heavy systems of Government and find a more competent way to serve the small 120,000 people population who live in our Virgin Islands?
Shame on the Constitutional Convention Delegates body! They who could have become the Heroes we have prayed for by finally addressing the true issues that keep all of us suffering with these dysfunctions systems. (My personal apologies to those few who tried their best against those who were too immature for the task…)
Add to that the shame of Bill # 6905 which was quite simply a slap in the face to our citizenry. Not to mention the millions of dollars given to retired politicians that have been "politriking" in the back rooms with our tax money, just another "hidden" bill that is not being transparent (again) and open to the public.
As usual, this $5,000.00 gift is another "band-aid" solution over a major bleeding of our monies. The major bleeding we now have is "feeding" the top levels of bureaucracy…not where the grass root problem are.
Find a way to fix this problem by overhauling the way we run all of our government if you truly want to motivate employment in our schools, hospitals and police force. That is the way to both keep and find these necessary workers. A well run organization that truly meets the needs of it's mission statements, with a skilled Team Leader, along with the authority to solve it's problems with worker input, has both satisfied and productive workers who are part of a healthy team orientated organization that both identifies it's problems and has the authority to solve them. This is the formula for successful organizations!
Too many of our present organizations operate on the old mode of "authority and control" which is why they are out of control!
This kind of Management does not in any manner encourage good work, motivation, participation and problem solving from the workers who are the ones who must be the facilitators of change; the ones who will determine whether or not the organization is successful in their mandates.
Sending these issues "to the Bureaucrats" to solve is what has created the hopelessness that so many now feel in our Virgin Islands! We wait for years and years for change and it never seems to come. There seems to be a big black hole out there where all of our issues go…never to be heard from again. Is it any wonder why the people are frustrated? The youth hopeless?
It is the present system of Government that is blocking our progress forward! Each Island needs more autonomy to identify and solve it's own problems; we each need to have our own financial resources to draw from.
I see no hope for forward movement in our beautiful Islands until we address this major issue.
Who has the political courage to address this monster that keeps eating up all of our financial resources instead of using these funds for our schools, youth programs, etc.? Or is self-survival more important than the people of the Virgin Islands?
Bonny Corbeil
St. John

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