Tweet
will be around for a long time
Scandal or diversionary tactics?
Exactly what should we make of the Cuban light bulb affair that Minister Clive Mullings has used to launch himself as the new Minister of Energy and other things? Could it be that in this affair the JLP has at last found a scandal it can take to court? Have they at last found something that, as the enthusiastic young erstwhile defense lawyer in the unaccustomed role of prosecutor has put it, can be taken further?
We will have to await the report of the Auditor General and the Contractor General and no doubt before them both on November 5, the fuller statement from the Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller. What we know from listening to Mullings when he spoke in Parliament and as he availed himself to sympathetic media, is that the bulbs were distributed fairly and extensively, though there are remaining bulbs to be distributed.
We also know that four million bulbs that were a gift of the Cuban Government have reached the end users in their communities at no cost to the end users. The minister did not bother to tell us that in computing the benefits, we must include along with the cost of the bulbs, the carbon credits which are earned by government for converting to energy-efficient light bulbs. The minister has told us that the project has costs amounting to at least J$276 million. He has said enough to convey the impression that he thinks that figure is too expensive.
The minister has also pointed out that in his opinion the correct procedure was not followed. Further, he has suggested that it was quite possible that persons have engorged themselves at the expense of the project.
The following needs to be said in response to the foregoing: The first is that should the worst fears of all well-thinking Jamaicans be confirmed in the reports of the Auditor General, that there was some impropriety and that someone benefited improperly, it would be very disappointing indeed. Kern Spencer has very good antecedents and until I know otherwise, I will continue to believe that he has acted honourably, even if he has not acted competently.
The second thing to be said is that there is an all too familiar ring to this Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) witch-hunt. One gets the feeling that one has heard this before. More than anything else, one gets the distinct impression that the JLP is most comfortable in opposition than it has been in its approach to the job of governing the country, as if it were still trying to make the headlines and get quoted in the press. On the other hand, there could be a far more sinister intent, although that may be to give the JLP more credit than it deserves, and that is, this scandal may be an intended distraction. A picture is emerging of a party ill-prepared for the job of running a country and this may be an attempt to divert attention away from itself. So many things have not got going since the JLP has taken office.
One of the remarkable ironies has been the excuses proffered for the JLP not having lifted a finger since taking office to provide relief for the thousands of victims of Hurricane Dean. Repeatedly their apologists have said seven weeks is a short time. This is ironic because these were the very people who were berating Simpson Miller for what they thoughts were attempts to delay the elections for more than two weeks after the passage of Hurricane Dean. The period of two weeks was enough time for the People’s National Party (PNP) to get Jamaica back on its feet sufficiently to hold elections after Dean; but six weeks is too short a time for the JLP in government to get a single sheet of zinc to a victim of Hurricane Dean.
Worse than its failure to mount a meaningful relief operation for hurricane victims is the failure to come to terms with financial and foreign exchange markets. It is clear that nothing that the JLP has so far done has ensured confidence in the economic management. It has not yet brought the exchange rate under control. It is clear that both interest rates and inflation rates seem bent on continuing an upward momentum. The inflation rate could reach double digit for the fiscal year. This will make wage settlements even more problematic than they already are. One investment banker pointed out to me this week that if the fiscal deficit exceeds six per cent, we will have a very rocky road ahead.
The economic problems are also due to problems on the revenue side of the budget. The growth in the number and the size of the informal financial system of the unregulated investment schemes is depleting taxation revenue. The fact that there is a net outflow of deposits from the formal financial system to the unregulated market means that those earnings are now outside the tax net.
Actions taken by the new administration have served to erode its credibility and moral authority in a number of areas: The JLP does not appear to be mindful of conflict of interest now that it forms the government. This is something that it pointed out consistently in critiquing the PNP when the JLP was in opposition. It even developed clever political spins about conflict of interest. It frequently spoke about the ‘genetically connected’. Yet it had to be pressured into asking Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, Don Wehby, to resign from GraceKennedy. The obvious conflict of interest was lost on the JLP.
Kingsley Cooper, who does business with Air Jamaica, had to decline to take up an appointment to the board of Air Jamaica, citing conflict of interest, something that was lost on the JLP. The big guns of the JLP have come out blazing, shooting abuse at PNP Spokesman on Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, for pointing to the obvious conflict of interest in making John Lynch of the Sandals chain, chairman of the JTB.
The best that one can say about some of the other appointments made by the new political administration is that they have been clumsy: A resting place has been found for Col. Trevor McMillan at the Ministry of Finance, and thanks to an editorial in the Daily Gleaner, which now knows how wonderful it is for Jamaica to have Col. McMillan at the MOF. We would have never guessed that it was such good news if the Gleaner had not told us. The Gleaner also showed us photographs of recent board appointments that left the unmistakable impression that the JLP is a big man, brown man party.
Six weeks have not been too short a period for the JLP to demonstrate that it has not repudiated some of its practices of the early 1980s. One of the worst of those tendencies of the 1980s was political victimisation.
Within two days of the appointment of the new Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) board, it fired a number of senior managers at the company. One of those is Robert Cranston. I hold no brief for either Cranston or the JUTC. It is worthy of note, however, that when the JLP came to office in 1980, Cranston was financial manager of Air Jamaica.
Not long after taking office, then Transport Minister, Pearnel Charles, presided over the exit of Cranston from Air Jamaica. Air Jamaica, thanks to the strong representation of its then president, Noel Hylton, paid Cranston for the remainder of his contract before he departed. Within two days of the appointment of the present JUTC board, Cranston was once again advised to go. And we thought we were growing up as a nation.
The scandals that the JLP can find on the PNP may be good copy, but it had better start paying attention to the job at hand. There is a country to govern. Sound bites and headlines and news of scandals are mere diversionary tactics that will convince only the already converted.
Scandal or diversionary tactics?
Exactly what should we make of the Cuban light bulb affair that Minister Clive Mullings has used to launch himself as the new Minister of Energy and other things? Could it be that in this affair the JLP has at last found a scandal it can take to court? Have they at last found something that, as the enthusiastic young erstwhile defense lawyer in the unaccustomed role of prosecutor has put it, can be taken further?
We will have to await the report of the Auditor General and the Contractor General and no doubt before them both on November 5, the fuller statement from the Leader of the Opposition, Portia Simpson Miller. What we know from listening to Mullings when he spoke in Parliament and as he availed himself to sympathetic media, is that the bulbs were distributed fairly and extensively, though there are remaining bulbs to be distributed.
We also know that four million bulbs that were a gift of the Cuban Government have reached the end users in their communities at no cost to the end users. The minister did not bother to tell us that in computing the benefits, we must include along with the cost of the bulbs, the carbon credits which are earned by government for converting to energy-efficient light bulbs. The minister has told us that the project has costs amounting to at least J$276 million. He has said enough to convey the impression that he thinks that figure is too expensive.
The minister has also pointed out that in his opinion the correct procedure was not followed. Further, he has suggested that it was quite possible that persons have engorged themselves at the expense of the project.
The following needs to be said in response to the foregoing: The first is that should the worst fears of all well-thinking Jamaicans be confirmed in the reports of the Auditor General, that there was some impropriety and that someone benefited improperly, it would be very disappointing indeed. Kern Spencer has very good antecedents and until I know otherwise, I will continue to believe that he has acted honourably, even if he has not acted competently.
The second thing to be said is that there is an all too familiar ring to this Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) witch-hunt. One gets the feeling that one has heard this before. More than anything else, one gets the distinct impression that the JLP is most comfortable in opposition than it has been in its approach to the job of governing the country, as if it were still trying to make the headlines and get quoted in the press. On the other hand, there could be a far more sinister intent, although that may be to give the JLP more credit than it deserves, and that is, this scandal may be an intended distraction. A picture is emerging of a party ill-prepared for the job of running a country and this may be an attempt to divert attention away from itself. So many things have not got going since the JLP has taken office.
One of the remarkable ironies has been the excuses proffered for the JLP not having lifted a finger since taking office to provide relief for the thousands of victims of Hurricane Dean. Repeatedly their apologists have said seven weeks is a short time. This is ironic because these were the very people who were berating Simpson Miller for what they thoughts were attempts to delay the elections for more than two weeks after the passage of Hurricane Dean. The period of two weeks was enough time for the People’s National Party (PNP) to get Jamaica back on its feet sufficiently to hold elections after Dean; but six weeks is too short a time for the JLP in government to get a single sheet of zinc to a victim of Hurricane Dean.
Worse than its failure to mount a meaningful relief operation for hurricane victims is the failure to come to terms with financial and foreign exchange markets. It is clear that nothing that the JLP has so far done has ensured confidence in the economic management. It has not yet brought the exchange rate under control. It is clear that both interest rates and inflation rates seem bent on continuing an upward momentum. The inflation rate could reach double digit for the fiscal year. This will make wage settlements even more problematic than they already are. One investment banker pointed out to me this week that if the fiscal deficit exceeds six per cent, we will have a very rocky road ahead.
The economic problems are also due to problems on the revenue side of the budget. The growth in the number and the size of the informal financial system of the unregulated investment schemes is depleting taxation revenue. The fact that there is a net outflow of deposits from the formal financial system to the unregulated market means that those earnings are now outside the tax net.
Actions taken by the new administration have served to erode its credibility and moral authority in a number of areas: The JLP does not appear to be mindful of conflict of interest now that it forms the government. This is something that it pointed out consistently in critiquing the PNP when the JLP was in opposition. It even developed clever political spins about conflict of interest. It frequently spoke about the ‘genetically connected’. Yet it had to be pressured into asking Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance, Don Wehby, to resign from GraceKennedy. The obvious conflict of interest was lost on the JLP.
Kingsley Cooper, who does business with Air Jamaica, had to decline to take up an appointment to the board of Air Jamaica, citing conflict of interest, something that was lost on the JLP. The big guns of the JLP have come out blazing, shooting abuse at PNP Spokesman on Tourism, Dr. Wykeham McNeill, for pointing to the obvious conflict of interest in making John Lynch of the Sandals chain, chairman of the JTB.
The best that one can say about some of the other appointments made by the new political administration is that they have been clumsy: A resting place has been found for Col. Trevor McMillan at the Ministry of Finance, and thanks to an editorial in the Daily Gleaner, which now knows how wonderful it is for Jamaica to have Col. McMillan at the MOF. We would have never guessed that it was such good news if the Gleaner had not told us. The Gleaner also showed us photographs of recent board appointments that left the unmistakable impression that the JLP is a big man, brown man party.
Six weeks have not been too short a period for the JLP to demonstrate that it has not repudiated some of its practices of the early 1980s. One of the worst of those tendencies of the 1980s was political victimisation.
Within two days of the appointment of the new Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) board, it fired a number of senior managers at the company. One of those is Robert Cranston. I hold no brief for either Cranston or the JUTC. It is worthy of note, however, that when the JLP came to office in 1980, Cranston was financial manager of Air Jamaica.
Not long after taking office, then Transport Minister, Pearnel Charles, presided over the exit of Cranston from Air Jamaica. Air Jamaica, thanks to the strong representation of its then president, Noel Hylton, paid Cranston for the remainder of his contract before he departed. Within two days of the appointment of the present JUTC board, Cranston was once again advised to go. And we thought we were growing up as a nation.
The scandals that the JLP can find on the PNP may be good copy, but it had better start paying attention to the job at hand. There is a country to govern. Sound bites and headlines and news of scandals are mere diversionary tactics that will convince only the already converted.
) from time to time on this Forum.
Comment