Atmosphere at Registry not same since Gibson-Marks’ resignation – staffer

Six weeks after the abrupt resignation of former registrar of the High Court Tamara Gibson Marks, eight of her former colleagues have been transferred from the High Court and Registry to other government departments.

The transfers however, did not come as a surprise, one of the affected civil servants told SEARCHLIGHT.{{more}}

According to the source, about a week after Gibson-Marks resigned, Attorney General Judith Jones-Morgan had met with the staff of the High Court and Registry and said there would be a reshuffle of the department.

The source however said the impression was that staff would be reassigned within the department.

“She (the Attorney General) had a meeting with us and she did say that there would be a reshuffle of the department, but she didn’t say outside of the department. She was speaking about the Registry and High Court,” the civil servant said.

“There are some duties that are being performed at the High Court now, that she was saying, in her opinion, these officers should be working under the Registry as opposed to the High Court because the High Court should be dealing specifically with court business.”

According to the source, members of the department were told by Jones-Morgan that those who were working directly with the High Court would not be adversely affected.

“However, [from] talks that were going around thereafter; we knew that the intention all along was to get most of us out of the department for whatever reason,” the source said.

The eight persons, transferred effective Wednesday, July 2, are: Wayne Matthews, former Deputy Registrar (Non-Professional), who has been transferred to the Police Department as Assistant Secretary; Anastacia Wickham, Executive Officer, who has been transferred to the Electoral Office; Esau Comas, Temporary Clerk, who has been assigned to the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment; Avalene Clarke, senior clerk has been transferred to the Labour Department. Rosemarie Quamina, Court Clerk is now a senior clerk at the Family Services Division, Joesel Pemberton, Junior Clerk, has been transferred to the Ministry of Transport and Works. Itesha Alexander and Nicole Hamilton, both clerk/typists, are now junior clerks in the Ministry of National Mobilisation.

SEARCHLIGHT understands that initially, nine persons were named to be transferred, but the name of one person, who types judgments, was subsequently removed from the list.

The source said the affected persons learnt of their transfers on the morning of Monday, June 30.

“We were called into the Registrar (acting) office and told we should report to x or y ministry on Wednesday morning.”

According to the source, most of them, if not all, were excited to learn that they were to be transferred.

“To be honest, the atmosphere in the office since the resignation of the Registrar and since the new acting Registrar took over, hasn’t been the same. And we were not comfortable… We were in a jolly mood Monday and yesterday (Tuesday),” the source told SEARCHLIGHT.

Claims that the transferred staffers had become so disruptive on Tuesday, that a police officer had to call for backup, were denied by our source.

“There wasn’t any level of disruption. Persons gathered, the nine of us, and others. We gathered around and we spoke about the ministries we are going, the nature in which we were told that we would be transferred as such.”  

A high level government source told SEARCHLIGHT that for most of the day

on Tuesday, some of the transferred persons were reportedly praying, singing and chatting loudly, and at one point, disrupted proceedings in the court room.

“As I said, we were all in a joyful mood all day. So during our lunch hour, which was one to two, a few of us decided to have lunch together and have a few drinks to celebrate our last day working together,” the source told SEARCHLIGHT.

“We returned to office, shortly after two o’clock. We were there, and speaking and stuff like that.

“Obviously if two or three persons are speaking, we tend to get a bit noisy. It’s nothing out of the norm in the office if persons congregate to speak,” the source however countered.

The source further indicated that at no time, did the acting Registrar or any other senior member of staff tell them to be quiet. The source however admits that at one point, when they were speaking just outside the courtroom, a police officer asked them to be quiet, as court was in progress.