The Government's decision to push ahead with the privatisation of many of its loss-making enterprises, as was reiterated by Prime Minister Golding, deserves strong backing.

For, as Mr. Golding pointed out during the budget debate last week, these enterprises represent a huge drain on Jamaican taxpayers, siphoning away cash that might otherwise be invested in critical social and economic infrastructure.

A few examples suffice to prove the point. The state-owned Sugar Company of Jamaica loses more than $1 billion a year and now has accumulated losses of around $18 billion.

But, perhaps, the most egregious case is Air Jamaica, which, for the last three years, has been back in government ownership after a decade of private-sector control and management after an ostensibly majority private ownership. However, Air Jamaica's losses were largely subsidised. And they were, and continue to be, huge.

Indeed, over the past decade, the airline has accumulated over US$1 billion in losses, more in real terms than the Government's on-budget capital spending. Additionally, it gets an annual subsidy of around US$30 million and its US$500-million debt is a contingent liability of the state, with all the implications of this.

No real public accountability

These, and the many other bad examples of public-sector ineptitude, policy failures, or just a rude waste of state resources, did not just happen. Nor did they creep upon a distracted and obeisant state.

Policymakers were always aware of what was in the making. It is just that we, the public, those who have to pay the bills, were not being told.

We had some idea that things were not good, or even bad. But we got information in dribs and drabs. By which time things were already a mess.

In other words, there is no real public accountability - and from a sector that owes the greatest level of transparency. After all, the state is like a giant enterprise in which the citizens are shareholders. The people deserve to be continuously informed about the status of their business - and its subsidiaries.

Publish reports

It is, therefore, not sufficient for Mr Golding, or whomever else, to come to Parliament occasionally, usually long after the fact, to give the people snippets of information about this or that state enterprise; as if it were a family-owned or privately held business that provides information on a need-to-know basis.

Publicly listed firms do far better. Any company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange is required to publish quarterly accounts within a specific period after each quarter. Similarly, it has to publish annual financial statements. If it fails to do so, it could be suspended and, ultimately, delisted.

The information provided allows shareholders to make judgements about the soundness of management decisions and places the onus on managers to sharpen their skills and return value. Shareholders get to know early if the firm is heading into trouble.

We believe that similar requirements should be placed on state enterprises - that they are forced to publish quarterly and annual reports within specific time periods - and the citizen should have a right to legal action if they fail to comply.

If this were the case, state enterprises would likely find themselves in less of a mess than they are now - with less burden on taxpayers.