Save JDIP from sticky fingers

by Garth A. Rattray

I am pleased with the course of action taken by Prime Minister Andrew Holness regarding the auditor general's revelation of opaqueness in the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP) accounting practices.

I would never dream of besmirching the integrity of Mr Patrick Wong, former chief executive officer of the National Works Agency, and I am certainly not accusing Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry of any fiduciary failures or shenanigans. However, such a historically massive economic and developmental partnership with The People's Republic of China needs, deserves and demands protection from any financial predators that have been polishing up their cutlery and sharpening their teeth since the announcement of this 'windfall'.

As soon as JDIP was being introduced to the public, even I was made aware of the existence of several 'enterprising' Jamaicans that were licking their lips in the fervent expectation that some of the approximately US$400 million earmarked to "significantly improve the island's road network in order to enhance the quality of life of the citizens of Jamaica, and to stimulate economic development" would end up in their pockets.

I am not making reference to legitimate contractors who bid for and are awarded work based on tried, proven and legal, above-board methods employed in such matters. I am alluding to those who have always lived by exploiting any loophole in how contracts are awarded. I am referring to the entrusted officials who use their position and influence to send things this way or that way in return for an appreciative 'gift' or two. I am talking about the contributors who 'sow their seeds' in this pasture and that pasture in order to graze on both sides of the political fence (depending on where the grass is greener).

Corruption concerns

We all know that corruption exists everywhere - even in communist China. As recently as July 2011, Hu Jintao (the sixth president of the People's Republic of China and general secretary of the Communist Party of China) said, "The party is soberly aware of the gravity and danger of corruption." He vowed to continue the fight against corruption and stated that it was a "major task [that] the party must attend to at all times". He stated that the party was to "police itself and impose strict discipline on its members".

I find it interesting, disconcerting and ominous that President Jintao found it necessary to openly express his deep and abiding concerns about corruption within a communist party that has been in existence for 90 years. Even though China executes public officials found guilty of corruption, a recent Time magazine article asserts that China sees corruption as a "big problem". The article claims that it is "systematic and widespread" and that most corrupt officials never get caught.

The point is this: If The People's Republic of China (a communist country with many eyes, ears and informants) will execute convicted officials like the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration and the secretary of justice of Chongqing City and the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and it still has a serious continuing corruption problem, what says a neophyte democratic nation like ours?

Therefore, I applaud this administration's attempt at transparency for JDIP. We must close the loopholes and increase transparency in order to reduce the opportunities for corruption to corrode our economy and erode our morals. Corruption runs so deep in our society that many individuals see at as part of the natural order of things.

We need to change that mindset or continue to pay dearly in lost revenue, shoddy workmanship, the perpetuation of the unfair distribution of wealth, crime and violence, protectionism, nepotism and compromised public officials and politicians.

Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.