Ennis Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
Outgoing Member of Parliament for Portland Western, Errol Ennis, yesterday harshly criticised state agencies, which he said had too much power. Such agencies, he said, were stifling the country's economic growth and social development.
The state agencies he fingered were the Office of the Contractor General, the Auditor General's office and the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA).
Mr. Ennis made the criticism of the state agencies while making his last contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.
He argued that the administration of Jamaica has become far too complex with every problem faced by the country resulting in a new law, accompanied by a new agency.
Bottlenecks
"The establishment of the Contractor General's office and NEPA are two examples of what I am speaking about," he said. "The bottlenecks created by these two institutions surely were not what was intended when they were created."
He said the Auditor General's office was an example of how to usethe "awesome powers of the state".
"He (the Auditor General), calmly and effectively exercises his powers ... so as to engender a culture of self-regulation and self-control within ministries and agencies," he asserted. "And I do not think that every single contract over $250,000 was intended to be examined by an agency before you can move on; it just don't make any sense!"
Mr. Ennis argued that if this is the case, the law should be amended to prevent the bottleneck. His criticism of NEPA was just as harsh.
"Same thing with NEPA." He continued: "I don't think that they intended to lock down everything to make a decision. But you must have a way that you exercise these powers in such a way so as not to disrupt the powers and the working of the country."
In recent times, both the Auditor General and the Contractor General, in their annual reports to Parliament, have highlighted flagrant breaches totalling billions of dollars, incurred by state agencies.
dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com
