Dear Editor,
It would appear as if the People's National Party's gift of the "Out-A-Money" attraction, courtesy of the last National Housing Trust (NHT) board is a gift that was unwittingly designed to "keep on giving" headaches.
This comes as a result of the announcement earlier this week from the newly appointed NHT Board Chairman Dr Carlton Davis that they now plan to dispose of the problematic property as quickly as possible, whether through leasing or outright sale, as he felt that itwas highly unlikely that the property could be used as an attraction. In addition, Davis revealed that: "This is not an approach that I would have taken in dealing with this matter as it is not an area within the NHT's core competence."
Many of us have been saying this from the moment this acquisition became public knowledge. It did not help that the auditor general's report a few months ago categorically stated that the property's purchase was an outright buyout of a bad debt by the NHT's board, and only those blinded by political loyalty, or who may have been parties to the proceeds from the transaction could contemplate arguing to the contrary. It is political cronyism practised at a level at which Jamaicans may never dare question to get the whole story.
Perhaps we should thank God for people like Dr Davis, a career servant of Jamaicans who, despite the fact he may well be a party loyalist, is not blinded by such a loyalty that he cannot call a spade a spade. Decisions such as made by the previous board and sanctioned by the Government's silence makes a mockery of any attempt by the Administration to ask civil servants to hold strain and to accept a seven per cent pay adjustment over two to three years, while they live "high off the hog".
Dr Davis's announcement speaks as well to the importance of ensuring that boards appointed by Government are transparent in the execution of their mandate, and that those charged with the responsibility for the funds of subscribers have the proven fiduciary competence to execute the NHT's mandate. Contributors may want to consider lobbying the Trust for a public review of acquisitions it made over the last three to five years, especially those that are still yet to redound to the benefit of either the Trust or its contributors. That should be worth watching out for.
Richard Hugh Blackford
Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
'Out-a-Money': The gift that keeps on giving headaches
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It would appear as if the People's National Party's gift of the "Out-A-Money" attraction, courtesy of the last National Housing Trust (NHT) board is a gift that was unwittingly designed to "keep on giving" headaches.
This comes as a result of the announcement earlier this week from the newly appointed NHT Board Chairman Dr Carlton Davis that they now plan to dispose of the problematic property as quickly as possible, whether through leasing or outright sale, as he felt that itwas highly unlikely that the property could be used as an attraction. In addition, Davis revealed that: "This is not an approach that I would have taken in dealing with this matter as it is not an area within the NHT's core competence."
Many of us have been saying this from the moment this acquisition became public knowledge. It did not help that the auditor general's report a few months ago categorically stated that the property's purchase was an outright buyout of a bad debt by the NHT's board, and only those blinded by political loyalty, or who may have been parties to the proceeds from the transaction could contemplate arguing to the contrary. It is political cronyism practised at a level at which Jamaicans may never dare question to get the whole story.
Perhaps we should thank God for people like Dr Davis, a career servant of Jamaicans who, despite the fact he may well be a party loyalist, is not blinded by such a loyalty that he cannot call a spade a spade. Decisions such as made by the previous board and sanctioned by the Government's silence makes a mockery of any attempt by the Administration to ask civil servants to hold strain and to accept a seven per cent pay adjustment over two to three years, while they live "high off the hog".
Dr Davis's announcement speaks as well to the importance of ensuring that boards appointed by Government are transparent in the execution of their mandate, and that those charged with the responsibility for the funds of subscribers have the proven fiduciary competence to execute the NHT's mandate. Contributors may want to consider lobbying the Trust for a public review of acquisitions it made over the last three to five years, especially those that are still yet to redound to the benefit of either the Trust or its contributors. That should be worth watching out for.
Richard Hugh Blackford
Florida, USA
richardhblackford@gmail.com
'Out-a-Money': The gift that keeps on giving headaches
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