Tweet
Transparency and the divestment of Air Jamaica.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dr Raulston Nembhard
The Trinidad Minister of Works, Mr Colm Imbert, ostensibly speaking for the Trinidadian government, has declared that Trinidad is not interested in acquiring Air Jamaica or of merging the airline with Caribbean Airlines. The country is interested only in the profitable routes operated by Air Jamaica. This is not good news for the Jamaican people, since the Jamaican government has led us to believe that the Trinidadians would be acquiring the airline.
We are not in a position to comment on the sagacity of the Trinidadian revelation. The truth is that we do not know much about the terms by which the airline is being divested to Trinidad. We have been told that the government wants to conclude a deal by April 12 but this was before the revelations from Trinidad. Now that the Trinidadians have poured cold water on any idea of a full-scale acquisition, what is really the true position? The Trinidadian minister derided any thought that they would want to enter into the insanity of a full takeover of Air Jamaica. His attitude as he briefly addressed the matter smacked of contempt which suggests to me that we seem to be literally begging the Trinidadians to take from around our necks the albatross that Air Jamaica has become.
To be sure, Jamaica does not have any wiggle room when it comes to the divestment of Air Jamaica. The airline is broke and bankrupt. It has been kept flying only because of patriotic sentimentality, but we have fast run out of that too. Instead of patriotism we are being made a laughing stock as we are forced to go cap in hand to a would-be benefactor for relief from our burdens. And the Trinidadians know this, which is why they could flippantly tell us that it is only the profitable routes (not all routes), that they would be interested in. They want to take the best part of the butchered cow and throw the worthless carcass to whatever wolves may be willing to fight over it.
Given the lack of transparency surrounding the divestment of the airline, a further question to be asked is what are the Trinidadians getting that could not be given to the Jamaican Airline Pilots' Association (JALPA)? What are the goodies that were proffered to Trinidad that they can now hold us in the contempt suggested by the minister of works? And if these goodies were good for them, why can't they be good for our own people, patriotism aside? It is perhaps a lack of answers to these questions why you cannot get any of the executives at Air Jamaica to speak to the Trinidadian revelation. I do not believe that they have any convincing answers to give us, or if they do they perhaps feel deep in their guts that the Jamaican people will not buy the spin that they may want to sell us.
The bottomline is that things are not looking good at Air Jamaica. They have not looked good for a long time. It brings again into sharp focus a pet peeve that I have had with this administration and the one before it: the blatant lack of transparency in their dealings with the Jamaican people. One does not get even the impression that the politicians get it that when they are selling any national asset they are selling the asset of the people of Jamaica and not their own. In fact, they would not treat their own assets with the flippancy and recklessness with which they are wont to treat the people's assets. They often come across as striking deals in a smoke-filled, Chicago board room with the necessary libations. Their egos are often of more importance to them than the interests of the people of Jamaica which they swore to uphold and protect.
One cannot understand what a politician has to lose by being open and frank with the Jamaican people. We are not asking that we be told every "nitty-gritty" of a divestment process. We understand that there are sensitive things to be agreed and delicate points in a negotiation when confidentiality has to be upheld. But it cannot be that the people must know what has been concluded only after the ink has dried on the contract. There ought to be a law that ensures timely information to the people about what is being done with their assets and that they be privy to any decision to be taken prior to the decision being made. This will allow for robust debate which can only benefit those who are negotiating on behalf of the people. The populace obviously cannot make the decision.
Those they elect to represent them in the Parliament of the land must do so. But if we are going to encourage a participatory, sustainable democracy, their business must be conducted in the full glare of the sunlight. If this were done, we would have avoided the many mistakes that have been made with the divestment of important assets such as the Air Jamaica slots at Heathrow airport in England, the Jamaica Public Service Company to Mirant, the sugar estates to Infinity Bio-Energy which mercifully was aborted but which is still being bedevilled by a lack of transparency, and now the fiasco surrounding the deal with American Airlines.
One cannot understand what a politician has to lose by being open and frank with the Jamaican people. We are not asking that we be told every "nitty-gritty" of a divestment process. We understand that there are sensitive things to be agreed and delicate points in a negotiation when confidentiality has to be upheld. But it cannot be that the people must know what has been concluded only after the ink has dried on the contract. There ought to be a law that ensures timely information to the people about what is being done with their assets and that they be privy to any decision to be taken prior to the decision being made. This will allow for robust debate which can only benefit those who are negotiating on behalf of the people. The populace obviously cannot make the decision.
Those they elect to represent them in the Parliament of the land must do so. But if we are going to encourage a participatory, sustainable democracy, their business must be conducted in the full glare of the sunlight. If this were done, we would have avoided the many mistakes that have been made with the divestment of important assets such as the Air Jamaica slots at Heathrow airport in England, the Jamaica Public Service Company to Mirant, the sugar estates to Infinity Bio-Energy which mercifully was aborted but which is still being bedevilled by a lack of transparency, and now the fiasco surrounding the deal with American Airlines.
By the way, I believe that Mr Bartlett, the minister of tourism, meant well in this transaction and his actions do not merit his resignation at this time. But the process did not benefit from public scrutiny. Again you get the impression of a few who think they know more than others, making decisions which may or may not redound to the benefit of the nation. I know this is hard for politicians to grasp, and worse, execute, but I will try again and say to them, you are representing the people's interests in everything you do in office. Take them into your confidence and share with them. You can only win by being open with them.
stead6655@aol.com
www.drraulsrton.com
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...arency_7476134
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Dr Raulston Nembhard
The Trinidad Minister of Works, Mr Colm Imbert, ostensibly speaking for the Trinidadian government, has declared that Trinidad is not interested in acquiring Air Jamaica or of merging the airline with Caribbean Airlines. The country is interested only in the profitable routes operated by Air Jamaica. This is not good news for the Jamaican people, since the Jamaican government has led us to believe that the Trinidadians would be acquiring the airline.
We are not in a position to comment on the sagacity of the Trinidadian revelation. The truth is that we do not know much about the terms by which the airline is being divested to Trinidad. We have been told that the government wants to conclude a deal by April 12 but this was before the revelations from Trinidad. Now that the Trinidadians have poured cold water on any idea of a full-scale acquisition, what is really the true position? The Trinidadian minister derided any thought that they would want to enter into the insanity of a full takeover of Air Jamaica. His attitude as he briefly addressed the matter smacked of contempt which suggests to me that we seem to be literally begging the Trinidadians to take from around our necks the albatross that Air Jamaica has become.
To be sure, Jamaica does not have any wiggle room when it comes to the divestment of Air Jamaica. The airline is broke and bankrupt. It has been kept flying only because of patriotic sentimentality, but we have fast run out of that too. Instead of patriotism we are being made a laughing stock as we are forced to go cap in hand to a would-be benefactor for relief from our burdens. And the Trinidadians know this, which is why they could flippantly tell us that it is only the profitable routes (not all routes), that they would be interested in. They want to take the best part of the butchered cow and throw the worthless carcass to whatever wolves may be willing to fight over it.
Given the lack of transparency surrounding the divestment of the airline, a further question to be asked is what are the Trinidadians getting that could not be given to the Jamaican Airline Pilots' Association (JALPA)? What are the goodies that were proffered to Trinidad that they can now hold us in the contempt suggested by the minister of works? And if these goodies were good for them, why can't they be good for our own people, patriotism aside? It is perhaps a lack of answers to these questions why you cannot get any of the executives at Air Jamaica to speak to the Trinidadian revelation. I do not believe that they have any convincing answers to give us, or if they do they perhaps feel deep in their guts that the Jamaican people will not buy the spin that they may want to sell us.
The bottomline is that things are not looking good at Air Jamaica. They have not looked good for a long time. It brings again into sharp focus a pet peeve that I have had with this administration and the one before it: the blatant lack of transparency in their dealings with the Jamaican people. One does not get even the impression that the politicians get it that when they are selling any national asset they are selling the asset of the people of Jamaica and not their own. In fact, they would not treat their own assets with the flippancy and recklessness with which they are wont to treat the people's assets. They often come across as striking deals in a smoke-filled, Chicago board room with the necessary libations. Their egos are often of more importance to them than the interests of the people of Jamaica which they swore to uphold and protect.
One cannot understand what a politician has to lose by being open and frank with the Jamaican people. We are not asking that we be told every "nitty-gritty" of a divestment process. We understand that there are sensitive things to be agreed and delicate points in a negotiation when confidentiality has to be upheld. But it cannot be that the people must know what has been concluded only after the ink has dried on the contract. There ought to be a law that ensures timely information to the people about what is being done with their assets and that they be privy to any decision to be taken prior to the decision being made. This will allow for robust debate which can only benefit those who are negotiating on behalf of the people. The populace obviously cannot make the decision.
Those they elect to represent them in the Parliament of the land must do so. But if we are going to encourage a participatory, sustainable democracy, their business must be conducted in the full glare of the sunlight. If this were done, we would have avoided the many mistakes that have been made with the divestment of important assets such as the Air Jamaica slots at Heathrow airport in England, the Jamaica Public Service Company to Mirant, the sugar estates to Infinity Bio-Energy which mercifully was aborted but which is still being bedevilled by a lack of transparency, and now the fiasco surrounding the deal with American Airlines.
One cannot understand what a politician has to lose by being open and frank with the Jamaican people. We are not asking that we be told every "nitty-gritty" of a divestment process. We understand that there are sensitive things to be agreed and delicate points in a negotiation when confidentiality has to be upheld. But it cannot be that the people must know what has been concluded only after the ink has dried on the contract. There ought to be a law that ensures timely information to the people about what is being done with their assets and that they be privy to any decision to be taken prior to the decision being made. This will allow for robust debate which can only benefit those who are negotiating on behalf of the people. The populace obviously cannot make the decision.
Those they elect to represent them in the Parliament of the land must do so. But if we are going to encourage a participatory, sustainable democracy, their business must be conducted in the full glare of the sunlight. If this were done, we would have avoided the many mistakes that have been made with the divestment of important assets such as the Air Jamaica slots at Heathrow airport in England, the Jamaica Public Service Company to Mirant, the sugar estates to Infinity Bio-Energy which mercifully was aborted but which is still being bedevilled by a lack of transparency, and now the fiasco surrounding the deal with American Airlines.
By the way, I believe that Mr Bartlett, the minister of tourism, meant well in this transaction and his actions do not merit his resignation at this time. But the process did not benefit from public scrutiny. Again you get the impression of a few who think they know more than others, making decisions which may or may not redound to the benefit of the nation. I know this is hard for politicians to grasp, and worse, execute, but I will try again and say to them, you are representing the people's interests in everything you do in office. Take them into your confidence and share with them. You can only win by being open with them.
stead6655@aol.com
www.drraulsrton.com
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...arency_7476134
Comment