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THE EDITOR, Sir:
I have noted with a mix of irony and disgust the People's National Party (PNP) and the eagerness of its youth arm to mobilise public opposition to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).
The fact is that the PNP's dismal record in matters relating to JPS and the electricity sector makes it easy to conclude that there is more than a whiff of vulgar opportunism at play here. For those who were too young and those with faulty memories (conveniently or otherwise), here are a few reminders:
First, the current licence under which the privately owned JPS operates was issued under the PNP government. The licence was issued by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) after the National Investment Bank of Jamaica and Mirant agreed on the sales price for JPS and the licence's terms and conditions. None other than Dr Vincent Lawrence, former Prime Minster P.J. Patterson's right-hand man, spearheaded the negotiations. The shortcomings in the current licence are, therefore, those negotiated and agreed by the PNP.
it was the pnp ... !
Second, it was the PNP government headed by P.J. Patterson and Robert Pickersgill, as minister with responsibility for JPS, that was found to have directed or agreed with the JPS to overcharge the public to the tune of several billion dollars. This happened while JPS was under government ownership and management and consumers only received compensation after the OUR, under its former director general, Winston Hay, made a scandal out of it.
We ought not to forget, as well, that it was the PNP that sought to impose a charge for street lighting on customers' monthly bills without their knowledge. The issue only came to light once after the much-maligned OUR informed the relevant branch of government that it did not have the authority to impose taxes, and hence could not consider the request.
Don't get me wrong. The current billing issue is a very serious and troubling matter. However, the inabi-lity of the relevant agency of government to properly address the issue expeditiously is, in large part, linked to the deficiencies in the JPS licence for which the former administration is the grand architect. The attempt by those associated with the fiasco that got us in to this predicament to pass themselves off as the great defenders of the public interest is most disingenuous.
FABIAN WILLIAMS
fabian_june2006@yahoo.com
Nassau, Bahamas
I have noted with a mix of irony and disgust the People's National Party (PNP) and the eagerness of its youth arm to mobilise public opposition to the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).
The fact is that the PNP's dismal record in matters relating to JPS and the electricity sector makes it easy to conclude that there is more than a whiff of vulgar opportunism at play here. For those who were too young and those with faulty memories (conveniently or otherwise), here are a few reminders:
First, the current licence under which the privately owned JPS operates was issued under the PNP government. The licence was issued by the Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) after the National Investment Bank of Jamaica and Mirant agreed on the sales price for JPS and the licence's terms and conditions. None other than Dr Vincent Lawrence, former Prime Minster P.J. Patterson's right-hand man, spearheaded the negotiations. The shortcomings in the current licence are, therefore, those negotiated and agreed by the PNP.
it was the pnp ... !
Second, it was the PNP government headed by P.J. Patterson and Robert Pickersgill, as minister with responsibility for JPS, that was found to have directed or agreed with the JPS to overcharge the public to the tune of several billion dollars. This happened while JPS was under government ownership and management and consumers only received compensation after the OUR, under its former director general, Winston Hay, made a scandal out of it.
We ought not to forget, as well, that it was the PNP that sought to impose a charge for street lighting on customers' monthly bills without their knowledge. The issue only came to light once after the much-maligned OUR informed the relevant branch of government that it did not have the authority to impose taxes, and hence could not consider the request.
Don't get me wrong. The current billing issue is a very serious and troubling matter. However, the inabi-lity of the relevant agency of government to properly address the issue expeditiously is, in large part, linked to the deficiencies in the JPS licence for which the former administration is the grand architect. The attempt by those associated with the fiasco that got us in to this predicament to pass themselves off as the great defenders of the public interest is most disingenuous.
FABIAN WILLIAMS
fabian_june2006@yahoo.com
Nassau, Bahamas
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