Shaw's seven deadly sins

A.J. Nicholson, Contributor

Jamaica's next minister of finance would have received an object lesson in how not to conduct himself in the leadership of the management of the economy, if that individual had been paying close attention to the approach of the present minister, Audley Shaw.

From the time of the incumbency of Sir Harold Allan, that early minister of finance and general purposes in the first Bustamante government, to the present, there has been a clear overriding feature to be grasped and taken seriously to heart - bombast, bluster and a penchant for being quarrelsome will not cut it.

In the broad span of the machinery of government, there is perhaps no other area in which a cool head is required as in the leadership of the management of the economy. That area, above all others, demands an ability to absorb, and to sift, sound advice; to inform and to seek the cooperation of all stakeholders which, in effect, means all persons of goodwill; and to have a full grasp of the extent to which happenings in external economies will impact developments within our own social space.

At the best of times, such qualities must come to the fore: in the storm of troubled financial and economic times, such as now, they assume exponentially greater proportions. After four years at the helm, despite being constantly pointed in that direction by well-placed individuals, persons who should know - the cognoscenti - our minister of finance continues to fail those tests.

And these are indeed troubling economic times, the likes of which the planet has not experienced in some three-quarters of a century. The warning voices have come not only from the parliamentary Opposition, but from others, including the likes of the dogged and plain-talking Ralston Hyman. But the minister, like his leader, has continued to close his ears and to harden his heart against those who they consider meddlesome and bad-minded, as if to say that those individuals do not wish to witness and experience prosperity in our country.

It remains the view of a multitude of persons across Jamaica that Shaw should not have been entrusted with the finance portfolio. It was not too long afterwards that he proceeded to commit the first of his seven deadly sins, and more. Hyman and several others maintain that Shaw's first deadly sin was to brush aside the wide-ranging advice concerning what the onrushing depression tsunami portended for Jamaica's fragile economy.

Foolish-virgin approach

Like other of his ministerial colleagues, Shaw saw something that no finance minister in any other jurisdiction was able to divine: wondrous blessings and benefits coming to our country, flowing from the international crisis. So, while his colleagues across the globe sought to trim their lamps to meet the oncoming night of the depression, the person at the helm of the management of our economy assumed a laid-back posture and encouraged the action of foolish virgins, thereby proceeding to commit an unforgivable sin in the practice of good governance.

And that first deadly sin led inevitably to the commission of the second - an indecisiveness as to whether to enter into a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and, if so, when to make the approach. There was a quaint oddity and illogic inherent in the commission of that sin for, according to the mantra that the new government projected in chorus, the previous administration had left the economy in a parlous state.

Well, if they were convinced of their own preaching, why was there hesitancy in approaching the IMF? Indeed, it was Shaw's early view that there was no need to seek to enter any such arrangement with the lending agency, thereby exhibiting the kind of convoluted thinking that led to a late approach to the agency - a deadly sin that continues to haunt and undermine any forward movement.

In the conduct of affairs on behalf of the people, it is the clear duty of the government to choose the most experienced team to enter into negotiations with an entity such as the IMF. This is ever more apparent and desirable when the leader of the team, the minister, could himself claim no such expertise. There was another gross dereliction of duty on his part, and on the part of the Government, when the most experienced functionary in that area - the then governor of the Bank of Jamaica - was made a peripheral figure, on spurious grounds.

This was Shaw's third deadly sin. For, the meanness of the treatment that was meted out to that long-serving governor of the central bank by the minister and the administration constituted a prime example of the awkward approach that this Government has brought to dealing with persons who serve within the public sector. This Government clearly believes that it conducts business on behalf of itself and not on behalf of the people. And that is why the Government continues, to this day, to expect officials in the public service to be of the same stripe as that of the political directorate, singing from the same hymn sheet.

This is perhaps the most deadly of all sins in the practice of Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. It engenders suspicion on all sides; it breeds attrition in the public service; and it leads to the kind of costly mistakes that Jamaicans have witnessed over these past four years of the present administration.

And it led to the commission of Shaw's fourth deadly sin.

Experience teaches that all wisdom could never reside within the breasts of the political directorate. So that, when the IMF suggested to the Government that the road on which they had embarked in the early negotiations was far too ambitious by international standards, the Government knew better. This Government appears to take advice from no one; they know it all, and they must not be questioned.

Once again, they brushed aside the advice that was offered; their inexperienced team was prepared to listen only to themselves.

Now comes the question as to whether the December 2010 targets had been met by the Government. The minister does not level with the public in the timely fashion that he had adopted when he wished to project that the tests had been passed. He clearly does not consider it part of his duty not to adopt a halfway house in informing the public about the public's business. The public, then, must be prepared to whistle in the dark - a fifth deadly sin.

And what is more, when answers are sought by the Opposition and other well-placed members of society, the minister proceeds to commit a sixth deadly sin by asking: why this hysteria now? The Opposition, according to him, by seeking such answers, has embarked on a "slash-and-burn" journey. Mark you: he did not proceed to address the issue of why other individuals, who clearly do not share the political persuasion of the Opposition, should be seeking the same answers.

Time to chart new course

This pompous, self-assertive attitude of the minister of finance, the leader of the management of our economy, is an ill wind that blows no good; he will have to change course, assuming that he has it within himself to take such a step.

But it is clear that the public, on whose behalf he has sworn to serve, must continue to be vigilant and to insist that he behave and conduct himself as a good servant of the people should. The hurt that is being experienced across the length and breadth of Jamaica cannot have such bluster added to it. There is the requirement of respect, give and take, and a direction towards consensus-building coming from all who are called upon to serve in the public domain. And, in no area is that more desirable and required than in the management of our economy.

Shaw's seventh deadly sin is almost a replica of the first. He chooses to make a public broadcast, feigning an attempt to address issues concerning our relationship with the IMF from December to the present time. But, the question is properly asked: are the issues any clearer as a result of that broadcast? That is not all: immediately preceding that broadcast to the nation, the spectre of further financial and economic challenges loomed large on the landscape of our most important trading partner, our giant neighbour to the north.

In his public broadcast, there is no reference to what that portends for our own fortunes; what our people can expect, and how we should set about trimming our lamps.

Our finance minister does or says nothing to move us away from the foolish-virgin approach. The mistakes and the sins of 2008 continue to be manifest in the approach of 2011.

It cannot be doubted that indiscipline lies at the heart of Jamaica's several challenges. Sadly, here it is that, in the 50th year of our Independence, the inclination of our finance minister is to conduct the affairs which affect the daily living of all our people in that kind of undisciplined manner. Wonder what Sir Harold Allan would have to say about the consequence to the fortunes of our people that is inherent in that kind of approach to economic management?

A.J. Nicholson is opposition spokesman on foreign affairs and foreign trade. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.