ForbesNEW PERMANENT secretary in the Ministry of Mining and Telecommunications, Marcia Forbes, has fired back at her detractors who have charged that she was appointed to the post because of her relationship with the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
"I have a Bachelor of Arts degree with first class honours, a Master's and will shortly complete my PhD," Forbes told The Gleaner yesterday.
She was responding to questions from the Opposition People's National Party (PNP) after news broke that she had been appointed the permanent secretary in the recently established ministry headed by Derrick Smith.
applied, interviewed
Among the questions from the PNP were whether the position was advertised, how many persons were shortlisted and when were interviews done?
"I heard of the vacancy, applied, was interviewed by the Public Service Commission and presented my recommendations like any other candidate," Forbes added.
The former Television Jamaica general manager further argued that she has spent several years running her own business and is qualified for the job.
Forbes did not dispute the PNP's claim that she played an active role in the JLP campaign in the lead up to the 2007 general election but rejected the insinuation that this was payback.
"I have been offered jobs that would pay much more than this which I have refused, but this is an area that I like and one where I think I can serve my country," said Forbes, who has also headed the Spectrum Management Authority.
Efforts to get a response from the Public Service Commission were unsuccessful as the chief personnel officer was unavailable.
Government officials could not be reached for comment on the Opposition's claim that the appointment breached the unwritten rules.
key leadership role
"It has never been the practice of successive administrations to appoint known political activists to positions of this nature. Forbes played a key leadership role in managing the media affairs for the JLP during the last general election campaign," the PNP said in a release yesterday.
According to the Opposition, it was disturbed at what it described as a growing trend of this JLP administration to appoint key party supporters to sensitive public sector positions.
The Opposition pointed to the appointments of Sonia Christie as the executive director of the Social Development Commission and Joan Gordon-Webley as the executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority as cases to prove its point.
role in the JLP campaign in the lead-up to the 2007 general election, but rejected the insinuation that this was payback.
"I have been offered jobs that would pay much more than this, which I have refused; but this is an area that I like and one where I think I can serve my country," said Forbes, who has also headed the Spectrum Management Authority.
Efforts to get a response from the Public Service Commission were unsuccessful as the chief personnel officer was unavailable.
Government officials could not be reached for comment on the Opposition's claim that the appointment breached unwritten rules.
"It has never been the practice of successive administrations to appoint known political activists to positions of this nature. Forbes played a key leadership role in managing the media affairs for the JLP during the last general-election campaign," the PNP said in a release yesterday.
According to the Opposition, it was disturbed at what it described as a growing trend of this JLP administration to appoint key party supporters to sensitive public-sector positions.
The Opposition pointed to the appointments of Sonia Christie as the executive director of the Social Development Commission, and Joan Gordon-Webley as the executive director of the National Solid Waste Management Authority as cases to prove its point.
