The 'Politically Correct Guide to JDIP'

Daniel Thwaites, Contributor

My wife has instructed me to write that people are unfairly harassing Mr and Mrs Holness for their decision to homeschool their children. I agree and abide by the edict. To my mind, the prime minister's explanation of the whole situation is more than satisfactory. He and his wife appear to be caring parents taking the best decision they can for their children.

My only quibble is that Mr Holness should henceforth please refrain from describing homeschooling as an "individualised, learning-focused solution". Where did that come from? That is the affliction of political correctness, and it is generally to be avoided because it is a 'near-life experience' (abortion) of the language and good sense.

It causes housewives to become 'domestic technicians', bald people to become 'follicularly independent', and alcoholics to become 'anti-sobriety activists'. Homeschool is homeschool, not 'individualised blah, blah, blah'. It will be better if the prime minister retains some directness for at least a month or two. For one thing, he has to deal with the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) 'learning experience' (disaster).

Speaking of JDIP, the recent auditor general's report uses the term 'sole-source procurement methodology' to describe the way China Harbour Engineering Company landed on our shores to spend US$400 million of borrowed money without any oversight by channelling it through a maze of subcontractors. I won't insult the intelligence of my reader by spelling out what the politically incorrect word is to describe that set-up.

Catalogue of error

Anyway, if, like Mr Golding (who dozed off three times at conference during the PM's speech), you're struggling to stay awake or 'temporarily metabolically enabled' (alive) through another major speech by the PM, I suggest the auditor general's report as diversionary reading material. There you will find a catalogue of error and bungling. These include inadequate records, unpaid tax obligations, no evidence of negotiating for value on projects, murkiness about how projects were chosen, and neglect of quality assurance.

There are smaller side alleys where one glimpses a hint of more to come. For instance, some Mabey & Johnson bridges were turned over to China Harbour, but the auditor general was "unable to determine how the provision of the bridge structures influenced the negotiation of the project price". Separately, there were no "supporting documents, including the competency of the assessor, to allow for the authentication of the payment of $8 million for crops purportedly damaged during the construction of the Christiana Development Road".

It is difficult not to conclude that the largest infrastructural project in the country's history was in the hands of 'ethically deficient bovine control officers' (crazy cowboys).

One issue is that Mike Henry claims to have been 'factually unencumbered' (ignorant) of the $100-million refurbishing of the National Works Agency's headquarters going on next door to his office. Henry had famously said he was not accustomed to living in squalor when a prior matter of refurbishing the ministerial manse caused tempers to flare. Now the National Works Agency has relieved its own squalid living conditions. There is also the case of the 'metaphysically challenged' (non-existent) roadworks for $23 million, gone to join the missing schools of old and the more recent missing beach.

Until a few nights ago, it seemed to me that Clif-twang Brown was unchallengeable for the coveted spot of 'Clip of the Year'. There were no close contenders on the horizon. But as they say, a day is an eternity in politics. For immediately upon watching the news clip of the now-famous Henry dash at the Jamaica Conference Centre, it was obvious that Clif-twang's title is under threat.

The imperturbable Mr Henry, a man unafraid to challenge Mr Seaga for the party's leadership when everyone else quailed, sped away from the reporter showing no sign of being 'gerontologically advanced' (old). This JDIP scandal has legs, and it has also put legs on to Mr Henry, who was hustling along at speeds that would put many a younger man to shame.

There were abundant warnings about JDIP. Remember the hue and cry when the programme's design was made public. It was repeatedly criticised for deliberately evading scrutiny and parliamentary oversight. Requests for information were hastily and contemptuously dismissed.

Mired in controversy

JDIP has been mired in controversy from the very beginning and Mr Henry and everyone around him, including the entire Cabinet, had been alerted repeatedly that JDIP was in danger of becoming a monumental and unequalled raid of the public purse. In my view, we have reached here because the programme was designed and implemented to bring us exactly here. It's not the first time we've seen this, but it is the largest and the latest. These are not mistakes.

In the face of all this, Mr Henry explained to a reporter at the Jamaica Labour Party conference that the removal of JDIP from his purview was a temporary matter. What a remarkable statement! I'm hoping some journalist will follow up. Was that told to Mr Henry by the PM, or someone else? If not, how does he know this? Or is he just being 'faecally plenary' (full of it).

Again, it raises the issue that Mr Holness' elevation to prime minister was the result of a 'sole source, non-competitive bid procurement process'. For who is actually in charge? Mr Wong has been fired, but Mr Henry remains in place, apparently confident that he has been temporarily separated, not divorced, from the JDIP pot of gold. What does Mr Holness intend to do about that? At the very least, Mr Holness needs to effectuate an 'individualised retirement solution' for Mike Henry.

Daniel Thwaites is a partner of Thwaites, Lundgren & D'Arcy in New York, and currently qualifying for the Jamaican Bar. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.