EDITORIAL - Mr Wong's faux pas

Mike Henry is easier to understand, if not forgiven - given the difficulty of teaching old dogs new tricks and all that.

Patrick Wong, though, is something else. As the chief executive officer of the National Works Agency (NWA), though not a civil servant in the classical sense, he is a public official, expected to behave in a non-partisan manner and attuned to the interests of the constituency he serves - the wider Jamaican public.

Yet, Mr Wong, unintentionally we hope, came across as an old-fashioned politician ready to play hardball with his opponents or, at best, an arrogant public official who believes that demands for accountability are intrusive nonsense.

The Jamaican Government plans to spend, over the next five years, more than US$400 million, or J$39 billion, rehabilitating roads across Jamaica, which we welcome for several reasons.

First, it is a job that needs doing. The country's roads are in a terrible state.

taxpayers' money

Second, as Prime Minister Bruce Golding has noted, the injection of money in the economy will create jobs and, hopefully, expand demand, which should help to stimulate growth. That would be good for an economy that is in its third year of decline and with the official unemployment rate at over 12 per cent.

The money to be invested in this project, though borrowed from the Chinese government, belongs to the Jamaican people. It is the country's taxpayers who will have to pay the debt.So, taxpayers have a legitimate interest in how the money is spent.

The political Opposition claims that the allocation of the road repair is being done on a partisan basis, with the concentration being heavily in constituencies controlled by the governing Jamaica Labour Party. Indeed, the roll-out of the project has the characteristics of the start of an election campaign.

So, Mike Henry may be old-fashioned. He has effectively told Mr Peter Bunting that if he does not like the way the politics of the road rehabilitation project is being played, he should get out of the game.

accountability

At least, Mr Henry can claim that he faced an electorate and is accountable to his constituents and the Parliament. Mr Wong has no such luxury unless he will claim that his only accountability is to his line minister, Mr Henry, and the wider political executive.

Yet, when this newspaper questioned him about the seeming campaign-style roll-out of the project, his response was: "Nonsense!"

OK! But asked about who was paying for each of these parish functions and why his agency was proceeding in this fashion, he said: "That is none of your business ... . Why do you want to know who is paying for it?"

It may not be The Gleaner's business in the narrowest sense. But it is the business of the people, to whom The Gleaner is a conduit in the process of transparency in governance. It includes an expectation that public officers will behave with a sense of decorum, and above the cut and thrust of partisanship.

Finally, we commend to Mr Wong the attitude of one of his subordinates, Mr Stephen Shaw, the NWA's public relations officer who, when asked the same question, responded with civility and with an explanation that the functions were being paid for by the Chinese contractors on the project.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.