Robinson-James Appointed Permanent Secretary
Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Derrick Binns today [Feb 6] announced the appointment of Valerie Robinson-James as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education.
Mrs. Robinson-James has acted as Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Education since May 2014.
Previously, Mrs. Robinson-James taught at the Berkeley Institute and served as the Chief Statistician and Director of the Department of Statistics.
“Mrs. Robinson-James has more than 30 years of dedicated public service in a variety of disciplines,” said Dr. Binns. “Throughout her career in the public sector, Mrs. Robinson-James has served as Acting Permanent Secretary for a number of Ministries including Culture and Social Rehabilitation, and Health.”
Dr. Binns continued: “Mrs. Robinson-James will bring her lifetime of public service and forward-looking vision to bear on one of the most important Ministries of the Bermuda Government. Her exceptional leadership skills and strategic thinking, gained at very senior levels of management, will serve Bermuda and the Government well.”
Mrs. Robinson-James holds a Master’s degree in Economics [MA] from George Washington University, a Bachelor of Arts [BA] from Mount Saint Vincent University and a Bachelor of Education [BEd] from the University of Toronto.
Dr. Binns said he was very pleased with Mrs. Robinson-James’ appointment. He added: “We all wish her well in her new post.”
Mrs. Robinson-James’ appointment was effective from February 2nd, 2015.
It is my understanding that after the issues with furlough days that there is a freeze on hiring in the Civil Service. What does a Permanent Secretary do? I am not being facetious, I do not know what their job description consists of. Why do we need such high paying positions to supervise the supervisor, I am assuming. Is Dr Binns the PS’ supervisor? What does this say to all the civil servants who demonstrated not to have as continuation of furlough days. Surely this is economic nonsense and furthermore, I would think a PS salary is equal to four Civil servants salaries. Mr. Richards, I thought all new hirings were to be brought to the Ministry of Finance for approval. It boggles the mind.
Dr. Binns has a vested interest in keep the civil service large and powerful. I will never forget that town hall meeting about Mutualization that Bob Richards held at Pier 6. The crowd, 99% of which were effectively Dr. Binn’s employees as he is head of the civil service never got up one to ask the crowd to calm down and/or to be respectful. He just sat there in the front row doing nothing. So am I surprised he’s not towing the line in reduces Government expenses, No, has doesn’t want anyone touching his huge salary or cushy benefits.
Another person enjoying guaranteed employment, 14 weeks sick leave, 33 days vacation a year, gold plated pension benefits. Makes you feel all warm inside doesn’t it.
She was already in the civil service at the high end of the PS scale so to be honest, this appointment won’t make much difference as far as that’s concerned.
And behind her a whole line of people will get upgraded.
That’s how they get around the mythical “pay freeze”. They all get “upgraded” every year, so they “qualify” for a higher salary.
Stop exaggerating. Sure, some get “upgraded” but it’s a stretch to say “all.”
Let’s agree it’s “almost all”. That’s the truth of it.
If we have an education commisiner then why the hell would we. Need another hi paid permanent secretary
All permanent secretary post should be illuminated then we can save some money dam it is that simple bob
Makes me feel good to know that people such as Creamy are the backbone of this society , pay up Creamy she depends on your valued support . She’d be lost without you .
Dr. Binns continued: “Mrs. Robinson-James will bring her lifetime of public service” ……. another ‘lifer’ appointee, how will this over bloated department ever change.
If we are serious about addressing the deficiencies within our education system we need competent professionals who can work to improve our system. Mrs. Robinson-James is smart, capable and experienced. As a parent with children in the school system, I wish her well.
Poor choice, sorry.
Congratulations, it will be pretty hard for a moral person to expose immorality in that position.
Not so sure this is a very good appointment…Please correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t this the person who was in charge of our botched up Census in 2010? The only Census we ever had where all the people weren’t interview in the homes, went on several months after it was supposed to be completed by and in the end I think they just made things up to finally finish it….
This is why I expressed the opinion I did earlier.
I agree with you 100%. A relative of mine was an interviewer, and her boss was riding them to finish the census. Who knows how accurate it is, and now we’re putting her in charge of our children’s education? Heaven help us!
And boy, was that botched up. I’ll never forget it. I do wish this lady well though and hope she can make a positive difference.
If this is true we have an example of the Peter Principle at its finest where by one is promoted to their level of incompetence & then they are transfered from one department to another rather than being demoted to their level of competence or fired.
Time will tell.
Isn’t that the norm in the CS though? I can recall at least three other cases whereby persons, who were either a disaster in his/her department and/or did something wrong,were rewarded rather than punished. They were simply transferred to higher paying positions in other departments. It seems to be that if one knows something unethical about a previous case, one uses that to one’s benefit, rather than getting the axe.
I used to work under her and if anyone can turn that dept around it would be her. I respected her to the fullest but she is a ballbuster!
Great news! We need some of those no-nonsense people in the civil service to shake things up. Well done Ms. Robinson-James…why was she not picked at the onset?
Congrats Val!
If she has been doing the job for almost a year who has been doing her old job? If nobody has been doing her old job will that position be refilled?
What does the Cabinet Secretary do all day BTW? Is that really a fulltime job?
Why does just about every goverment department need a permanent secretary
This is on area were goverment can cut
Congratulations Mrs. Robinson James. A well – deserved appointment. I wish you well. You are head and shoulders above many. Glad that it was noticed by others…. Character, commitment, courage,competence etc. are hard to come by. You ,at least, possess these!
Congratulations Val indeed!! I agree with with Full Moon in Paradise’s comments and will add integrity, honesty, fairness and possesses great leadership skills. I’ve know Valerie since the days of the Sixth Form Centre and more recently had the pleasure of working within Statistics for a short time. I witnessed first hand how that department is managed and her interaction with every staff member. Valerie truly treated and viewed staff as valuable assets.
Congrats again and you have been blessed!!
She’s certainly been “blessed” with 33 days vacation, 14 weeks sick leave, guaranteed employment, gold plated pension.
And we’re all paying for it using borrowed money.
How wonderful.
Congratulations Mrs Robinson-James! I agree with the statements made by Dangell. It was a pleasure working under your tenure at the department of Statistics I felt blessed to have such a professional femal example as my boss! Guidance and many more Blessings to you in your new post!
Well done Val. Don’t think it’s possible to have too many women in high office.
How many Permanent Secretaries do we have now? Ther are supposed to be one per Ministry but I’m sure there are way more. Can we get a count?
What we need is fewer ministries, smaller parliament, elected senate.
Most comments here are * and moaners.
All coming from those that are jealous of the class culture.
Shalom.
boggles the mind in a time when we should be thinking about deconstructing the civil service, we have promotions!
tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the sinking Titanic.