EDITORIAL - Lesson on transparency

Christine Lagarde, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), will receive an annual salary, after tax, of US$467,940, which will be adjusted annually by the level of consumer inflation in the Washington metropolitan area.

Additionally, the former French finance minister will receive an annual allowance, net of income tax, of US$83,760 "to enable you to maintain, in the interest of the Fund, a scale of living appropriate to your position as managing director and the Fund's need for representation".

That allowance does not include the "reasonable expenses" for which Ms Lagarde will have for entertainment directly related to the business of the IMF, or her per diem and reimbursables when she travels for the Fund.

We know Ms Lagarde's salary, and other elements of her contract, not because it was leaked or revealed through the particular enterprise of some reporter. It is no scoop.

Rather, her contract is a public document, made available by the IMF through the External Relations Department.

The point is important. It underlines the fact that whatever we may think of the economic ideology of the IMF, the Fund believes itself accountable to its global stakeholders and that the terms of employment of its head should be transparent to them.

Reasons for Jamaica

This is a matter that has relevance to Jamaica where institutions and public officials struggle with the precepts of transparency and accountability, which feeds into national cynicism and the widely held perception, and fact, of public corruption.

Indeed, the IMF's publication of Ms Lagarde's contract contrasts with our own Government's approach to the terms of employment and remuneration of the head of a Jamaican institution that, for the purpose of comparison, is roughly analogous to the Fund. We refer to the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), the contract for whose governor, Mr Brian Wynter, has gained substantial public attention, including that of the Parliament.

Mr Wynter's predecessor, Mr Derick Latibeaudiere, was fired in late 2009, ostensibly because the administration, according to Prime Minister Bruce Golding, found his salary - J$14.5 million in basic pay and a potential J$23 million in allowances - "unacceptable, embarrassing and repugnant". Never mind that the finance minister has conceded that there were other influences on the sacking.

It took several parliamentary questions by the Opposition and persistent follow-ups for the Government to reveal, in dribs and drabs, that Mr Wynter's basic pay will be the same as Mr Latibeaudiere's. Mr Wynter will also earn another $15.3 million in allowances.

The public wants to know

The public, of course, is thankful that this information has been made available. It can judge, over time, whether Mr Wynter, in his job at the central bank, delivers value for money.

However, what the public has of Mr Wynter's contract, as was the case of Mr Latibeaudiere's, is its broad outline, not specific details. It is not posted on the BOJ's website. Nor is it in the finance ministry's.

The contracts of other state officials, paid by taxpayers, are also not in the public domain. This situation is not uniquely Jamaican, even in the case of supranational institutions. For instance, we do not know the terms of employment of the recently installed president of the Caribbean Development Bank.

Jamaica, given our public's growing insistence on transparency, should take the lead on this. CARICOM, which is about to appoint a new secretary general, should also bring transparency to the process.

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.