Orville W. TaylorIF THERE are any mistakes in this text, then pardon me because I started typing on my computer during the power cut eight days ago. It has been more than a week but the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) is shedding no light on its cause, even though it is shedding load.
On the anniversary of the patenting of the refrigerator by John Standard in 1891 and the registering of a patent for the clothes line support by J.B. Allen in 1895, it was impossible to use any of theseinventions. Though invented by a black man, all fridges were out of commission and all my dirty laundry was stuck in the washing machine.
NOT SHOCKING
As unpleasant as the sudden loss of electricity was, it was not shocking. After all, we have got accustomed to not being able to see clearly when it comes to national governance or things which affect the public interest. Still, not even the power outage could eclipse the national embarrassment created by the Sandals Whitehouse project. Perhaps it was subject to rapid overflows and outflows but a US$40 million overrun is unforgivable. Unfortunately, for those involved, no amount of white water could wash the Urban Development Corporation's (UDC) recently-discovered soiled laundry.
In his report, the Contractor- General pointed to glaring acts of impropriety, including the awarding of a $18.8 million contract by the UDC to Jentech Consultants, a company belonging to its chairman, Dr. Vin Lawrence. This is a clear breach of procedures outlined by the National Contracts Committee (NCC). In his defence, an excuse so lame it should be on crutches, Lawrence retorted that the NCC was established in 2000 and did not issue guidelines until 2001. By then, the contracts had already been awarded.
Maybe since Lawrence has been a Ph.D. longer than I, his reasoning is far superior. Lawrence should know better because he has been on more boards than a hardware merchant.
FINANCIAL & GOVERNANCE SCANDALS OF THE GOVERNMENT
This debacle, another in a series of financial and governance scandals of the Government, is preventing Opposition Leader Bruce Golding from doing his work. They are doing a good job shooting themselves in the foot. Nevertheless, before the JLP starts licking their lips, they need to just remember the shame of the late 1980s when the rain washed Spring Plains down the drain. Furthermore, there are enough questions of a similar nature being asked about the JLP-dominated parish councils as well.
Nonetheless, with all of this leakage of poor taxpayers' money, how can one justifiably tell hard-working public officers that they can't get substantial increases?
Despite the recent signing of the second memorandum of understanding (MoU) between public sector unions and the Government, doctors, nurses, teachers and the police are militant and demanding hefty salary increases. What is amusing about the signing is that it was completed for the civil servants and local government officers rather quickly. And why not? The first MoU was initiated by their unions to save 15,000 of their jobs.
Furthermore, salaries for members of Parliament (MPs) are indexed to those of civil servants. Again, taking care of their own, eh? What the Government needs is to trim the public sector of its surplus of inefficient officers and, therefore, pay better wages to the scarce patriots who are being lured abroad. Beyond that, there is the need to eliminate, or at least reduce, the wanton waste and unaccountability. This includes reducing the number of parliamentary seats to 59 or even 57.
Still, in a country where underemployment is high and almost no economic growth in almost two decades, it is not good politics to retrench 15,000 of its employees. Furthermore, we have to examine whose fault it might be why the Government is unable to afford reasonable increases for its faithful and skilled workers who choose to stay in "Jamrock."
MAIN REASON FOR GOV'T'S BIND
Well, the main reason that the Government is in a bind is because Omar Davies had to develop FINSAC to rescue the moribund financial sector that was drawing its last breath in 1996. It cost a quarter of the value of all goods and services produced in Jamaica in 1997 to prevent the crisis from completely destroying the economy.
It was a brave and noble act by Davies, who could not have stood idly by, while thousands of poor Jamaicans lost their life savings to an irresponsible and unscrupulous, mostly black, financial sector. By the way, did you notice that with the exception of Paul Chen Young, all of the financial bosses whose banks collapsed were black? And in any event, he is the only one who survived the crisis. Is it that black people don't generally manage money well?
Up to this day, it is difficult to find the persons responsible for the birth of the disaster. Although it occurred three years after Davies took office, is it possibly the result of fiscal policies of the late 1980s? Or is it a case that Omar was so incompetent that he created a total mess in the three short years of his tenure as finance minister?
Whatever the reason, the Government is broke and needs to get lean and mean. Of course, the JLP wants to add "and green." Whatever!
I am all for accountability, transparency and efficiency, where workers and consultants are logically appointed and remunerated. Maybe we can go for performance-based pay for MPs. Hah! Yes! That would save taxpayers a whole lot of money.
Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
