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Assassination
2008-06-28 Written by: No Author 
Douglas Chambers
Some Jamaicans are comparing the cold-blooded murder of Douglas Chambers, chairman of Jamaica’s public bus company, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, last Friday, to the assassination of permanent secretary Ted Ogilvie during in the bloody 1970s.
Like Ogilvie, Chambers, a chartered accountant, was given the task last October to clean up a public entity, the JUTC. He was on the job when he was gunned down cold-bloodedly at the entrance of the bus company in Spanish Town, about 15 minutes drive from Kingston.
Based on reports, Chambers was on a break from a top level meeting with unions and management to tie up the latest redundancy plan for the termination of a final batch of workers that would shave 1,100 jobs off the JUTC’s more than 2,700 workforce when he took ove there. Two or more armed thugs with high-powered weapons pounced on him in the presence of scores of onlookers, as he stood smoking a cigarette at the company’s main gate. The back of the chairman’s head was shattered from the impact of high velocity bullets.
Investigators picked up 15 spent shells comprising three different calibre bullets at the death scene. Two members of the company’s management staff who were standing with Chambers were not hurt, indicating that he was targeted.
There is hardly any doubt that Chambers’ killing was related to the controversial exercise he was executing at the mass transportation company, which racked up losses of $2.9 billion during the financial year April 2007 to March 2008.
Chambers was tasked by the government to cut losses and waste and run a lean and efficient public transportation. Among his major tasks, which turned out to be contentious, was the trimming the workforce from close to 3,000 workers.
The firing of workers - mostly women - from poor inner-city communities took on a political tone, as the trade unions took issue with the manner in which the redundancies were executed, and the political opposition taking the government to task over its election promises to provide jobs. At times the negotiations turned ugly, with workers going on wildcat strikes and at times being abusive.
Manipulating
Chambers’ personality, some say, aggravated the situation, as he was sometimes contemptuous and seemingly lacking concern for the welfare of the workers.
It was well known that his style ruffled feathers among his colleagues on the board and even in some government circles, including ministers.
And it is being said that some party hacks were upset that he was not prepared to take instructions on who should be employed. But his task to tame the public transportation sector with unruly operators and a company sinking in debt was not easy.
There were clear acts of sabotage. Buses were vandalised and at Spanish Town four buses were burnt mysteriously. Chambers, at one of the last round of meetings last month, was physically attacked and death threats were issued.
Cutting the workforce was not the only issue. Chambers in several interviews with the Sunday Herald, argued that steps taken to revitalise the company although painful was necessary. However, the exercise, which involved changing the operations of the company, meant blocking holes which were bleeding the company, and apparently a number of persons were displeased.
For example, Chambers had told the Sunday Herald he found a “system where workers were manipulating overtime work by taking advantage of sick leave.”
Explaining how its works, Chambers said some workers either stopped from work or called in sick in order for their colleagues to work overtime. This system was used on a rotating basis. Statistically, conductors at the Portmore, Spanish Town and Rockfort depots did not report for work for 5,704 hours between January and April 2008. During the same period they reported sick for 16,298 hours or a total of 22,000 hours.
Drivers at these facilities either did not report for duty or called in sick for a total of 32,656 hours over the corresponding period. The result of this level of absenteeism was that the company between April and October 2007 paid $140,721,222 for overtime salaries. Average monthly cost was running at over $20 million. Chambers, with his mandate reduced that to $37,940,647 between November 2007 and March 2008. Monthly costs plummeted to just over $7 million. That was good for the books but it triggered bitterness and hatred among some workers.
Cantankerous twists
The introduction of the cashless system and the driver only operated buses also blocked another area where the company was losing money. The old system was open to abuse as $15 tickets were sold as $50 tickets and since passengers on most occasions, don’t ask for tickets, this assisted in compromising the system.
For example, the company found that actual concessionary passengers were 44 per cent of total passenger load for April 2008 compared to budgeted concession passengers of 31 per cent. This, the company said, happened because more concessionary tickets were issued inappropriately to adult passengers. At the Rockfort depot, concessionary tickets accounted for 50 per cent of the total passengers carried.
Fuel was being stolen and management put locks on the gas tanks on buses and they were broken off. The system used to purchase fuel was changed and this too cut off a source of income for unscrupulous persons.
The granting of sub-licences was another sour point. At a meeting of the board in April, Chambers disclosed that he met with the management of the National Transport Cooperative Society and members of the Attorney General’s department and Transport & Works Minister Mike Henry. The meeting discussed the renewal of JUTC consent to NTCS to operate within its exclusive zone. At that meeting it was decided that a cheque for $7 million sent by NTCS president Ezroy Millwood to the Transport Authority would be returned while a temporary licence for the month of April would be issued.
At that meeting the former chairman said the terms and conditions of previous contract would not continue. He said the intent was “not if at all to grant more than a one year contract in line with all other sub-licenses.” It was proposed to increase the NTCS fees from $90,000 per bus to $380,000, a 300 per cent increase. This drew fire from Millwood. A decision was taken to grant 120 days for negotiations to continue and if at the end of that period an agreement was not in place the minister would extend the period.
Up to the time of his death that matter, while under discussion, had taken a cantankerous twist with Millwood charging that the government was planning not to renew its licences — a charge, which was denied by the government.
Blocking leaks
Blocking leaks in the inventory system was another task. The absence of any accountable system prior to Chambers’ tenure made it easy for pilfering to strive. This was the subject of lengthy discussions at the April board meeting, as directors tossed around ideas about how to put a proper system in place.
Former chairman Chambers informed the meeting that “leakages in the inventory system had halted.” And that he would be meeting with the director in charge to “review all proposals in respect of the system.”
While it appeared that Chambers, for a one dollar per year remuneration, was working towards achieving the objectives of his mandate, it was clear that unscrupulous persons thought he had gone too far in ridding the company of rackets and corruption, hence he was murdered.
2008-06-28 Written by: No Author Douglas Chambers
Some Jamaicans are comparing the cold-blooded murder of Douglas Chambers, chairman of Jamaica’s public bus company, the Jamaica Urban Transit Company, last Friday, to the assassination of permanent secretary Ted Ogilvie during in the bloody 1970s.
Like Ogilvie, Chambers, a chartered accountant, was given the task last October to clean up a public entity, the JUTC. He was on the job when he was gunned down cold-bloodedly at the entrance of the bus company in Spanish Town, about 15 minutes drive from Kingston.
Based on reports, Chambers was on a break from a top level meeting with unions and management to tie up the latest redundancy plan for the termination of a final batch of workers that would shave 1,100 jobs off the JUTC’s more than 2,700 workforce when he took ove there. Two or more armed thugs with high-powered weapons pounced on him in the presence of scores of onlookers, as he stood smoking a cigarette at the company’s main gate. The back of the chairman’s head was shattered from the impact of high velocity bullets.
Investigators picked up 15 spent shells comprising three different calibre bullets at the death scene. Two members of the company’s management staff who were standing with Chambers were not hurt, indicating that he was targeted.
There is hardly any doubt that Chambers’ killing was related to the controversial exercise he was executing at the mass transportation company, which racked up losses of $2.9 billion during the financial year April 2007 to March 2008.
Chambers was tasked by the government to cut losses and waste and run a lean and efficient public transportation. Among his major tasks, which turned out to be contentious, was the trimming the workforce from close to 3,000 workers.
The firing of workers - mostly women - from poor inner-city communities took on a political tone, as the trade unions took issue with the manner in which the redundancies were executed, and the political opposition taking the government to task over its election promises to provide jobs. At times the negotiations turned ugly, with workers going on wildcat strikes and at times being abusive.
Manipulating
Chambers’ personality, some say, aggravated the situation, as he was sometimes contemptuous and seemingly lacking concern for the welfare of the workers.
It was well known that his style ruffled feathers among his colleagues on the board and even in some government circles, including ministers.
And it is being said that some party hacks were upset that he was not prepared to take instructions on who should be employed. But his task to tame the public transportation sector with unruly operators and a company sinking in debt was not easy.
There were clear acts of sabotage. Buses were vandalised and at Spanish Town four buses were burnt mysteriously. Chambers, at one of the last round of meetings last month, was physically attacked and death threats were issued.
Cutting the workforce was not the only issue. Chambers in several interviews with the Sunday Herald, argued that steps taken to revitalise the company although painful was necessary. However, the exercise, which involved changing the operations of the company, meant blocking holes which were bleeding the company, and apparently a number of persons were displeased.
For example, Chambers had told the Sunday Herald he found a “system where workers were manipulating overtime work by taking advantage of sick leave.”
Explaining how its works, Chambers said some workers either stopped from work or called in sick in order for their colleagues to work overtime. This system was used on a rotating basis. Statistically, conductors at the Portmore, Spanish Town and Rockfort depots did not report for work for 5,704 hours between January and April 2008. During the same period they reported sick for 16,298 hours or a total of 22,000 hours.
Drivers at these facilities either did not report for duty or called in sick for a total of 32,656 hours over the corresponding period. The result of this level of absenteeism was that the company between April and October 2007 paid $140,721,222 for overtime salaries. Average monthly cost was running at over $20 million. Chambers, with his mandate reduced that to $37,940,647 between November 2007 and March 2008. Monthly costs plummeted to just over $7 million. That was good for the books but it triggered bitterness and hatred among some workers.
Cantankerous twists
The introduction of the cashless system and the driver only operated buses also blocked another area where the company was losing money. The old system was open to abuse as $15 tickets were sold as $50 tickets and since passengers on most occasions, don’t ask for tickets, this assisted in compromising the system.
For example, the company found that actual concessionary passengers were 44 per cent of total passenger load for April 2008 compared to budgeted concession passengers of 31 per cent. This, the company said, happened because more concessionary tickets were issued inappropriately to adult passengers. At the Rockfort depot, concessionary tickets accounted for 50 per cent of the total passengers carried.
Fuel was being stolen and management put locks on the gas tanks on buses and they were broken off. The system used to purchase fuel was changed and this too cut off a source of income for unscrupulous persons.
The granting of sub-licences was another sour point. At a meeting of the board in April, Chambers disclosed that he met with the management of the National Transport Cooperative Society and members of the Attorney General’s department and Transport & Works Minister Mike Henry. The meeting discussed the renewal of JUTC consent to NTCS to operate within its exclusive zone. At that meeting it was decided that a cheque for $7 million sent by NTCS president Ezroy Millwood to the Transport Authority would be returned while a temporary licence for the month of April would be issued.
At that meeting the former chairman said the terms and conditions of previous contract would not continue. He said the intent was “not if at all to grant more than a one year contract in line with all other sub-licenses.” It was proposed to increase the NTCS fees from $90,000 per bus to $380,000, a 300 per cent increase. This drew fire from Millwood. A decision was taken to grant 120 days for negotiations to continue and if at the end of that period an agreement was not in place the minister would extend the period.
Up to the time of his death that matter, while under discussion, had taken a cantankerous twist with Millwood charging that the government was planning not to renew its licences — a charge, which was denied by the government.
Blocking leaks
Blocking leaks in the inventory system was another task. The absence of any accountable system prior to Chambers’ tenure made it easy for pilfering to strive. This was the subject of lengthy discussions at the April board meeting, as directors tossed around ideas about how to put a proper system in place.
Former chairman Chambers informed the meeting that “leakages in the inventory system had halted.” And that he would be meeting with the director in charge to “review all proposals in respect of the system.”
While it appeared that Chambers, for a one dollar per year remuneration, was working towards achieving the objectives of his mandate, it was clear that unscrupulous persons thought he had gone too far in ridding the company of rackets and corruption, hence he was murdered.
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