EDITORIAL - Welcome, Dr Davis; now jettison the deadweight

Perhaps it is that Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller recognises her mistakes and is preparing to jettison some of the ministerial ballast that weighs down her administration. If it is the case, it is good that it would happen this early, before mediocrity and incompetence have an opportunity to do too much damage.

But whatever may be her motivation, we welcome Mrs Simpson Miller's appointment of Dr Carlton Davis as a kind of supremo in the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), albeit with the pompous title of ambassador and special envoy. The important thing, though, is Dr Davis' competence and the relevance of the job he has been asked to undertake. On either count, we have no qualms.

Dr Davis is a first-rate public servant and one of the world's leading authorities on the aluminium industry. He has written books on Jamaica's involvement in the business, the latest of which - published in 2011 - recounts Jamaica's 1974 negotiation of the bauxite production levy. His last full-time job, between 1993 and 2008, was as Cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, during which he oversaw projects to modernise the public sector. The latter experience should be useful in his new assignment.

According to Jamaica House, Dr Davis will provide "support, advice and perspective" to Mrs Simpson Miller "with a focus on ensuring coherence and establishing priorities in the formulation and implementation of policies among the various ministries, public-sector reform and negotiations regarding the conditions of public service".

He is also expected to advise the prime minister's "macro- and microeconomic policy issues; the bauxite-alumina and energy sectors, the working relationship between the Office of the Prime Minister and that of the governor general, and foreign political and economic relations".

Draw clear boundaries

If you get past the soupiness of the statement, it is clear that Dr Davis, if he is listened to, has a serious job. But he has to establish clear priorities and avoid territorial entanglements.

For instance, it has to be clearly defined where Dr Davis' jobs begins and that of the current Cabinet secretary, Ambassador Douglas Sanders, ends, particularly in managing the constitutional relationship between the PM and the governor general, and the ongoing programme for public-sector reform.

However, in a properly managed environment, Dr Davis' expertise and experience in these areas should be useful for Mrs Simpson Miller who, clearly, recognises the value of such competence.

Moreover, if Dr Davis can combine his personal stature with the authority of the OPM to ensure ministries coordinate on priority initiatives, such as energy, Jamaica could well begin to see the possibility of getting out of its economic crisis. In this sense, Dr Davis would undertake a role similar to that of Dr Paul Robertson, in the early 2000s, when as a minister in the OPM he helped to drive new investment in tourism.

Given the fullness of Dr Davis' assignment, we might just begin to see the extraneous backs of the likes of Luther Buchanan, Natalie Neita-Headley, Sandrea Falconer, Noel Ascott, Colin Fagan, Richard Azan, and a few more.

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