Shirley Tyndall, outgoing Financial Secretary, signs a document at the Ministry of Finance offices along National Heroes Circle, Kingston, on April 15. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The following is the second instalment of an interview with outgoing Financial Secretary, Shirley Tyndall. The first part was published in yesterday's Sunday Gleaner.
Gleaner: What are the qualities essential for holding this office?
ST: You have to know what has to be done on a day-to-day basis. You have to plan it and then implement.
Something can happen that will get you into trouble so you have to focus and just implement the task at hand. That is a quality that whoever sits at this desk is going to need.
And some of the things may look insignificant, but you have to pay attention to them. There are no shortcuts with this job.
Gleaner: Are you satisfied with the job you have done?
ST: I think I have given it my best. There are some things which I think I could have done better. But that is with hindsight.
Gleaner: How has this job changed you?
ST: I am stronger. When I started working in the public sector just out of university, I was a naive country girl. But working at this level, I am not quite as naive as I was. I learned a lot about people and about human relationships.
Gleaner: What does it take to make people pay their taxes?
ST: Jamaicans don't like paying taxes. There are a few people who make tax returns and make payments. But there are some who you have to be always policing them, threatening them with court action. You need a much tighter, more focused enforcement capability than say a few years ago. Then again the economy was not as large or as diverse as it is now.
Gleaner: Has the Government changed to accommodate Jamaica's new economic realities?
ST: The change is rapid. A few years ago you did not have the informal sector that you have now. The economy was production-based up to a few years ago. The service sector now looms large and just taxing the service sector (is difficult). It is not like going to D&G where you count the bottles coming off the production line and you know what they have to pay.
You now have a lot of hustlers in the system whose ethics might not be what it ought to be so it makes the job a lot more difficult.
You also have people who are prepared to bribe the tax officials to look the other way. So there are other things coming into the system.
Gleaner: Do you think people going into business put sufficient effort into trying to understand the system?
ST: If you go to register a company and there are certain procedures, it would suit you to learn them before you go in to start the business. Find out what you need a permit for and what is the documentation you have to send in to support an activity. I don't know how many businesses inform themselves about the Companies Act.
Gleaner: How do you think Jamaican businesses could function more effectively?
ST: I think we have to look at the difference between their equity and loans. They have to find what are the best practices for their niche and ensure they have these best practices in their businesses.
There was a time when some businesses were established with very little capital and they lived off loans. A loan is a cost. My basic training tells me you try to reduce your cost. So the mix between debt and equity is something you have to pay attention to.
Gleaner: So what's next for you?
ST: I have to rest first. I have no plans except to retire. One thing I know is that I am not looking for a job.
Gleaner: But a job might be looking for you?
ST: It would have to come very good to tempt me.
Gleaner: Is it going to be an active retirement for you?
ST: It depends. I am not running after money. I have never done it. I think I can manage on my pension.
