EDITORIAL - When drunken sailors hit town

Mike Henry has noticeably tossed Patrick Wong partly under the bus. If only for the alleged specific infraction, he should have put more muscle behind the throw.

But if the intent of Mr Henry, the transport and works minister, was to use Mr Wong as insulation for himself, he must know that he has much more work to do. For if it is true, as Mr Henry claims, that he was unaware that it was money from the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) which was used to renovate the headquarters of the National Works Agency (NWA), it calls into question how well he marshals his portfolio. Or, worse, it betrays a cavalier approach to the management of taxpayers' resources.

Minister Henry, in the circumstance, must seriously consider his own position.

With regard to Mr Wong, we have already said that on the evidence from the audit of JDIP by the Auditor General's Department, his continued leadership of the NWA is untenable. He has displayed scant regard for his fiduciary responsibility.

Partying with public money

Indeed, in her report, the auditor general, Mrs Pamela Monroe Ellis, painted a picture of an agency gone almost wild with taxpayers' money and a government ministry seemingly quite willing to allow them to party. Unless, that is, it was oblivious of the fête next door.

So, the NWA committed to spend without knowing precisely what it was spending on and then didn't bother to check if it was actually getting what it assumed it was paying for. It's the image of the little rich kid in a candy store.

But Jamaica's business is not a juvenile affair. The money being spent was borrowed, including nearly $30 billion from China, which we expect to be carefully husbanded by public officials. Moreover, the controversy surrounding JDIP, including that it was being politicised as a pre-election pork barrel, should have alerted the minister to the need for a higher level of stewardship.

For now, though, we are willing to grant Mr Henry the benefit of the doubt of being unaware of the laxity with which the NWA's staff was proceeding with the technical aspects of the road repair and rehabilitation projects. But the $102 million from the JDIP cash to refurbish the NWA's corporate office, and the absence of competitive tender, is another matter.

Red herring

Mr Henry says had it been brought to his attention, he would not have approved the spending "based on the financial constraints now facing the country". Did he not wonder where that money was coming from, if it was not part of the Government's capital allocation to the NWA? In any event, Mr Henry needs to explain JDIP's definition of 'institutional strengthening'. Most people would assume it to refer to technical upgrading rather than repairing buildings.

Perhaps, Mr Henry's answer will be that he did not notice the work being done. Or, that he knew that the NWA was independently awash with cash. The truth is, Mr Henry's response, on this score, sounds like so much red herring.

We are constrained in the circumstance to repeat our advice to Prime Minister Andrew Holness for the removal of JDIP from Mr Henry's control, and temporarily put a halt to the programme while it is reviewed and proper oversight and controls put in place. The PM might be inclined to contemplate seriously what role Mr Henry should properly play in his Government.