Dear Editor,
Jamaica is mired in an abyss of corruption that is fuelled by the lack of transparency which our politicians, and by extension many of our public officials, have perfected as an art. These days announcements of government projects have to be greeted with cynicism because of the depths of this corruption. Board announcements cannot escape this response because of the role they play in deciding how scarce resources are used.
This past week we witnessed the announcement of the appointment of new boards for the beleaguered National Housing Trust (NHT) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). Both institutions have been sucking up the available airtime and newspaper space for different levels of ignominy.
The recent revelations by the auditor general of the questionable use of billions of dollars of contributors' funds at the NHT is jarring to say the least; the result of decisions voted on by its board at that time.
In the case of the NSWMA, we did not need the auditor general, as the incompetence of this agency to deliver was bared for the entire nation and the world in a fire that waged for more than two weeks at its Riverton dump site. This conflagration dumped immeasurable amounts of toxic smoke and ashes on the city, and provided the best example in our 53 years of nationhood of the extent to which government fails every Jamaican in its delivery of public policy.
It is for these reasons the announcement of both boards should be greeted with scepticism. After the demonstrations from these two agencies, Jamaicans have every right to ask questions and to demand explanations of the decisions that governed the selections made.
We must come together as adults and ventilate our positions on issues that are of national significance, and we must be more encouraging of the widest of participation and the broadest of inputs. Somewhere in our deliberations, hopefully the truth will come out. For there is a saying, "when people show you who they are, you should pay attention".
Littering public boards with people sporting tons of letters behind their names is one thing, but what counts in my book is integrity and performance; some of the most inane and socially unconscious people I know have a folder of titles following their names.
We should never be afraid to ask the hard questions.
Richard Hugh Blackford|
Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
The boards have it!
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Jamaica is mired in an abyss of corruption that is fuelled by the lack of transparency which our politicians, and by extension many of our public officials, have perfected as an art. These days announcements of government projects have to be greeted with cynicism because of the depths of this corruption. Board announcements cannot escape this response because of the role they play in deciding how scarce resources are used.
This past week we witnessed the announcement of the appointment of new boards for the beleaguered National Housing Trust (NHT) and the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA). Both institutions have been sucking up the available airtime and newspaper space for different levels of ignominy.
The recent revelations by the auditor general of the questionable use of billions of dollars of contributors' funds at the NHT is jarring to say the least; the result of decisions voted on by its board at that time.
In the case of the NSWMA, we did not need the auditor general, as the incompetence of this agency to deliver was bared for the entire nation and the world in a fire that waged for more than two weeks at its Riverton dump site. This conflagration dumped immeasurable amounts of toxic smoke and ashes on the city, and provided the best example in our 53 years of nationhood of the extent to which government fails every Jamaican in its delivery of public policy.
It is for these reasons the announcement of both boards should be greeted with scepticism. After the demonstrations from these two agencies, Jamaicans have every right to ask questions and to demand explanations of the decisions that governed the selections made.
We must come together as adults and ventilate our positions on issues that are of national significance, and we must be more encouraging of the widest of participation and the broadest of inputs. Somewhere in our deliberations, hopefully the truth will come out. For there is a saying, "when people show you who they are, you should pay attention".
Littering public boards with people sporting tons of letters behind their names is one thing, but what counts in my book is integrity and performance; some of the most inane and socially unconscious people I know have a folder of titles following their names.
We should never be afraid to ask the hard questions.
Richard Hugh Blackford|
Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
The boards have it!
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