The Public Service Commission (PSC) would no doubt have solid reasons to name Mrs Arlene Harrison Henry as the next public defender. And we do not question her selection.

After all, Mrs Harrison Henry is an experienced attorney who, for many years, has been a strong advocate of human rights in Jamaica.

We don’t know if those were the factors that influenced the PSC’s decision to give Mrs Harrison Henry the post over Mr Matondo Mukulu, who has been acting in the post since the retirement of Mr Earl Witter in April last year.

However, we agree with the view expressed by Mr Oneil Grant, the Jamaica Civil Service Association president, that the PSC needs to assure the public that its selection process for civil service positions is grounded in the ideals of experience, ability, and merit, and not merely age, especially given the growing public perception in the current case.

For if age is the only determining factor in securing senior public sector posts, Jamaica will be telling its bright, young professionals that it makes no sense staying here and trying to serve their country.

While we do not discount the value of age and, indeed, experience, we are painfully aware of the fact that the public service has too many individuals whose thinking and mode of operation are long past.

They are basically unable to keep pace with modern trends, are resistant to change, are not equipped to deal with a public that is growing in sophistication and which increasingly expects service that is delivered with speed and efficiency.

In the current brouhaha over the public defender appointment, the PSC may do itself a world of good to walk the country through the selection process and do so for future appointments.

That way it will avoid public anger being fuelled by unfortunate statements.

While we are not here holding any brief for Mr Mukulu, we are aware that he, in the time he was acting, earned himself some admirers among the Jamaican populace for his calm, steadfast approach to the job. On the other side of the coin, there are those who believe that his approach seemed tame and halting.

At the same time, we find the public comments about Mr Mukulu by his predecessor, Mr Earl Witter, to be somewhat unbecoming. If anything, it is the refusal of Mr Mukulu to comment publicly on the issue that is showing the kind of maturity that experience is supposed to bring.

Mr Witter admitted to making a mistake in selecting Mr Mukulu to act as public defender when he demitted office earlier this year. If he is as bad as Mr Witter is now suggesting, then what must one say about his own judgement in making the selection? If he was that much off the mark, one must question what was his state of mind at the time he made the selection?

In the circumstances, the PSC’s lack of detail on its own selection is untenable.