By EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune Staff Reporter

ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

A “large” number of letters of promotion are expected to be issued in the coming week for Bahamas Department of Correctional Services workers as well as Department of Immigration officers, according to a government minister.

Service-wide promotions that were “held back” since 2017 will be issued shortly, The Tribune was told.

Pia Glover-Rolle, state minister for public service, made the revelation when speaking with this newspaper yesterday.

“A large amount of letters are expected to go out in the coming week for the Bahamas Department of Corrections (and) Immigration,” she said, responding to questions from The Tribune.

“This will be the first batch with more to be released thereafter. Additionally, letters for service-wide promotions that were held back from 2017 will be coming out shortly,” she said.

Earlier this month, Mrs Glover-Rolle said that the government was still reviewing all public sector promotion and hiring exercises carried out in the lead up to the general election.

While communicating with this newspaper, Mrs Glover-Rolle added that officials continue to conduct reviews of hirings, reclassifications and promotions conducted, in particular, within the eight weeks prior to election.

 “It is to ensure that these exercises were handled on merit and within policy as we’ve been receiving much information that some may not fall into those circumstances,” she said yesterday. “Where matters were inappropriately handled, or possibly unjustifiably advanced, we will seek to correct.

 “I’ve had meetings with six trade unions to date and many complaints were levied in regard to some handlings of matters in the lead up to the general election and the lack of cooperation and communication in ameliorating other longstanding matters.”

 Former Public Service Minister Brensil Rolle previously defended public sector promotions granted in the weeks before the general election, insisting the previous government was simply acting on years’ old recommendations that were in some cases left behind by the Christie administration.