Dear Editor,
Humility is her steering wheel and integrity manages her destiny! Before 10-10-10, this word seemed rather strange to many, but it soon became familiar, as the person in charge of this entity made it her duty, to dedicate her office to the St. Martin people. It is crystal clear, that it was never her intention to treat the organization as her personal space, nor to be consumed by the influence that comes with the position. For this reason, the individual is able to execute her function from a place of compassion, knowledge and openness.
This culture of transparency was designed mainly to reshuffle the mind-set of the population. The focus was to lessen the fear to be critical of government, but in a principled way. In return, government would be forced to be more responsible and accountable to the people, who are in fact the shareholders, as she so eloquently puts it. Which other section of government views the population as investors – financiers, who have the civil liberties to be treated fairly, and the rights to be informed of the various transactions that are affecting the business?
This firm, yet gentle woman of principle, has broken many barriers to achieve this enormous success. Her beliefs in education and information-sharing have propelled her to travel extensively; in order to gain the knowledge that was needed to operate the bureau. Did she keep this knowledge all to herself? No way! The shareholders have always been the centre of her focus and so she consistently seizes the opportunity to educate the public of new developments within the organization.
How did she accomplish her task without blemish or adverse suspicions? It is very simple: Her unchanging character is her anchor – it is the striking feature that defines her and sets her far apart from several others, who are in a similar position of leadership. Could she have done it alone? Absolutely not! Because this natural leader started out from the premise of providing a special service, she repeatedly selects the best team for the job – a staff that is not based on political association, but on competence, possession of similar character traits and one that has the same vision.
To understand the depth of her thoughts, she has recently contracted an independent consultancy firm, to evaluate the process and progress of her organization. Who does this kind of evaluation and why would she be so interested in knowing more about the status of her office, when she is estimated to leave the function within another 6 months? Definitely, this can only reflect the conduct of someone who acts from a position of selflessness and one who has graciously prepared to pass the torch to her successor.
This is a situation contrary to the norm, as many successors of similar positions became victims, simply because their predecessors have failed to provide them with the necessary information to continue the process. Not so with this woman of integrity, who has a different outlook on this transition of influence. She believes that the process of alteration should be fair-minded and smooth, in order to maintain that cordial relationship between the entity and the people.
As her tenure draws near, the thought of her departure is mixed with feelings deep admiration, sprinkled with a bit of uncertainty of the future. No matter what, the evidence is in the production. Bravo to our adorable and honourable Ombudsman Nilda Lynch-Arduin, who has mirrored how to serve her community with dignity and integrity!
Joslyn Morton
