Robinson

It serves Derick Latibeaudiere right! How dare he negotiate a contractual compensation higher than a white American Federal Reserve chairman? How dare he? How dare he value himself so highly? How dare he insist on a compensation package that renders him unconcerned with the needs and indifferent to the approvals of tribal leaders in order to function?

How dare he outperform all former governors of the Bank of Jamaica, and ask for comparable compensation? Why can't he be satisfied with the identical earning potential limits of fellow board members? Why must he earn more than they? Oh, Derick, you naughty boy, how dare you?

It serves you right. You had the financial and contractual security and the personal strength of character to tell successive ministers of finance "no" when you considered it in the national interest to do so. You insisted on a monetary policy as independent as possible of the urgencies of governments' harebrained fiscal policies.You brought a scholarship and economic competence to the job never before seen or experienced in Jamaica. You erased the memory of Jacques Brussieres. As the son of ordinary Jamaicans, you made excellence and success your life goals and tried to ensure that your personal bank book reflected these values.

Dangerous paths

These are dangerous paths to tread in Jamaica. If you can convince a minister of finance of the high value of your services and the minister, according to and in full compliance with the law passed by Parliament on the subject, signs off on it, you are immediately the subject of red eye, envy and grudgefulness.

How dare you?

But, wait a minute: Why now? Why not in September 2007 when the terms of his contract were identical? Why in the middle of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) obviously hitting one fiscal/monetary dichotomy hitch after another? And why has this Government found it necessary to fire so many in so short a time? Are so many of our non-political public servants "repugnant" and "unacceptable"?

Let's see how quickly your successor bows to demands to lower interest rates precipitously and, if this happens thus reducing Government debt, how much prettier will the overall picture presented to the IMF look. Don't worry about the potential effects on inflation or the currency, that's OUR problem not THEIRS.

It also serves Hardley Lewin right!

How dare he favour philosophy over force as commish? Doesn't he know that the organisation he leads is the Jamaica Constabulary FORCE? How dare he begin at the beginning by building a professional police force (weeding out many corrupt cops) before promising to manage an unmanageable crime rate? How dare he suggest that crime can't be tamed overnight, or by roughneck policing alone?

How dare he reduce the number and size of the guns carried by policemen? Doesn't he know that it is 'Gunfight at OK Corral' time? It's kill or be killed? Where does he get off behaving as if violence begets violence and there's a better way? Who does he think he is - Jesus?

Made no 'friends'

Only a crime-fighting dunce like Hardley Lewin could believe that violent crime can be reduced other than by the good old 'shoot-em-up' Braeton-style methods. Why is he like this? Maybe because he didn't come from the rank and file; thus, made no 'friends' on the way up; and owes nobody any favours.

How dare he?

Like Derick, 'Hardley-likely-to-suck-up' Lewin was a lunatic to believe that he could survive any length of time working for politicians whose values begin and end during vote counts. Listen for it, folks. Listen for the Police Federation's loud and unanimous support for the next commissioner, especially if he comes from 'within'. Let's see how quickly we return to business as usual. Look for the new cowboy division with a cute new acronym like Eradication Squad or ACID.

Watch for swiftly enacted, Cabinet-approved erosion of our civil rights all in the name of crime reduction. And, since Government can no longer delay issuing an Order to Proceed in that famous extradition matter (if it ever wants to see a dollar of IMF money), let's see if the new commissioner will be able to locate the gentleman requested.

Or whether, like an infamous predecessor, he will continue to reside in Jamaica for years, carrying on legitimate businesses; receiving government contracts through corporations controlled by him, until he one day wanders from his safety zone risking accidental recognition by some lowly constable unaware of the 'runnings'.

Independently minded technocrats In Jamaica? Puh-leeeeeze. It serves them right!

Peace and love.

Gordon Robinson is an attorney-at-law. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.