Click to view full size

THE Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by public servant Farzia Mohammed, ruling that her reassignment within the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries was a lawful administrative posting and not a transfer requiring review by the Public Service Commission.

In a majority decision delivered by Justice of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, the court held that Mohammed’s move from the Regional Administration North Engineering Unit to the St George West County Office – Lands Unit fell within management’s authority to deploy staff within the same division and ministry. As a result, regulations governing transfers and commission review did not apply.

Mohammed, an acting Agricultural Assistant III whose substantive post is Agricultural Assistant II, was reassigned effective July 1, 2022, to fill a supervisory vacancy. She challenged the decision, arguing it amounted to a transfer under the Public Service Commission Regulations and that her constitutional rights were breached when the matter was not referred to the commission for review.