A growing political firestorm has erupted in the Bahamas after a top-ranking permanent secretary was photographed wearing partisan political gear on Nomination Day, prompting a former cabinet minister to demand formal disciplinary action and warning of systemic damage to the country’s civil service rules if the government fails to act.
Brensil Rolle, the former Minister of Public Service, is leading the calls for accountability against Melvin Seymour, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The controversy centers on photos published last week showing Seymour in clothing and accessories affiliated with the ruling Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), a move that critics say directly violates the long-standing General Order 949, the regulatory framework that mandates political neutrality for all public servants.
Rolle emphasized that the dispute is far more than a superficial public relations problem: it strikes at the core of equal enforcement of civil service rules. If the government chooses to ignore Seymour’s violation, he argued, the entire regulatory system designed to govern public officer conduct will become unenforceable. Not only would this set a dangerous precedent for future violations, Rolle said, but it would also expose the administration to legal action from public servants who have already been disciplined for identical infractions under the same rules.
“While I believe permanent secretaries have a right to their own political persuasion, as long as they’re holding that post as permanent secretary, they cannot violate any aspect of general order,” Rolle told reporters. “Any clear violation of general orders by a permanent secretary, like any other public officer, that person must be disciplined.”
The timeline of the controversy adds an extra layer of gravity: as recently as February 2, Gina Thompson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Public Services, issued a formal circular to all senior civil servants explicitly reminding them of the requirements of General Order 949. The circular, titled *POLITICAL ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC OFFICERS*, laid out the core principle of civil service neutrality clearly: “The character of any public service depends entirely on its loyalty, integrity, ability and impartiality. It follows therefore that public officers should maintain a code of reserve in all political matters and that the public airing of an officer’s own political views may destroy that impartiality which any Government may expect of its own public service. To ensure, therefore, that standards are upheld, it may be necessary in a case of serious indiscretion, to consider action against the public officer concerned.”
What has amplified public outrage is the revelation that Seymour himself previously disciplined a subordinate foreign affairs officer for the exact same violation. In May 2024, Ivan Thompson, a foreign service officer, received a formal warning letter signed by Seymour for violating General Order 949 over his own public political engagement. After images of Seymour in PLP gear emerged, Thompson publicly shared the warning letter alongside the photos of his superior, calling out the blatant double standard.
“Imagine being called in by your PS, getting a serious tongue lashing, not giving you any opportunity to respond, then issuing you this said letter. Then today, this picture comes across your phone by the very person demonizing you of the very thing!” Thompson wrote in a public Facebook post. Speaking to reporters, Thompson added: “When you consider that the Permanent Secretary runs the ministry — the minister is not responsible for the ministry — the highest official in any government ministry is the permanent secretary, and when you see the highest official in the ministry doing that, you know we have some serious problems.”
Hilbert Collie, the attorney representing Ivan Thompson, noted that the incident raises fundamental questions about whether employment rules and disciplinary procedures are applied equally across all levels of the civil service. Rolle echoed that concern, noting that going forward, the government will have no legal or moral standing to discipline any other public servant for political activity violations unless it acts against Seymour first. Worse, he argued, any public servant who has already been disciplined for similar offenses while Seymour avoids consequences has a legitimate legal right to sue the government for unequal treatment.
“Justice cannot be for some and injustice for everybody else,” Rolle said.
General Order 949 does not ban public servants from holding private membership in a political party, but it does require all officers to maintain a public “code of reserve” to uphold the impartiality of the civil service. For senior civil servants like permanent secretaries, who earn total compensation packages valued at well over $136,000 annually — including a base salary of around $104,000, a $20,000 responsibility allowance, a $12,000 housing allowance, a car allowance, and full pension benefits for Seymour, who is already retired — the requirement for neutrality is considered especially strict.
When contacted for comment on Monday, both Seymour and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell declined to address the controversy. Observers note that the photos surprised many Bahamian political watchers, given the widespread understanding that the rules around this conduct are clear and non-negotiable. Under standard disciplinary protocol for General Order violations, Rolle said, the process would begin with a formal show-cause letter requiring Seymour to explain why disciplinary action should not be pursued against him.