More corruption?

Ronald Mason

Governments exist to do the things necessary to allow citizens the best quality of life. The need for security of the person and the State is paramount. The ability of the citizen to realise his or her full potential is among the highest needs.

The Asian nation of Bhutan has captured this importance with the adoption of the Happiness Index. The state of mind of its citizens is measured by how happy they are. The government delivers all the support to allow for this. Here, we seem to do the exact opposite.

Jamaica has very serious economic challenges. I am sure each citizen now knows just how large our debt is. Our productivity is dismally low and the currency is not stable. This is a scenario that calls for the nation to rally to the aid of our country. However, there is no one in the Government motivating the population. No one is telling us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. We get lies. We are told there will be no new taxes, but there will be revenue enhancements. The situation has changed so dramatically that we must do the largest extraction from your pockets.

In the next breath, we are told that revenues are only off by 0.2%. We pass the IMF tests. Hooray, but the off-the-books debt is growing larger by the day. The Government of Jamaica does not pay its creditors. Sometimes it owes for so long that business is threatened. Persons owed by the Government have to entertain the thought of writing off the debt.

Government continues to act in a manner that borders on the immoral. A 28-year-old woman who was misdiagnosed with HIV has been awarded J$8 million. Not paid. Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) buses have to be seized by the bailiff to settle judgments, yet the Government is wasting millions of dollars on the energy fiasco and then is fiercely loyal to the minister, who uses high-sounding language to gloss over the fiasco. All we do is pay and pay - and then pay some more.

The Government is bringing Christine Lagarde to give the seal of good housekeeping, while the country has crumbling infrastructure. We will not find money to do the basics, including the delivery of potable water: electricity rates at a manageable rate; and sustainable and high-quality health care. Hospitals are almost out of IV fluid - reportedly linked to a worldwide shortage - but a charity organisation can provide us with the life-sustaining fluid. Imagine - the charity organisation has better trade sources and negotiation skills than the Government of Jamaica! Pathetic!

The same charity organisation has become the de facto government of Jamaica: housing, food, paying of fines for non-violent criminal convicts, providing hospital supplies, to name a few. It contributes more to the Happiness Index than those who sought the job to do so.

In dealing with government departments, the only thing not stated up front is who to pay how much to expedite the matter. One gets silly responses like 'It has to be signed off by the minister personally, and he is a busy man, yet one sees the minister in Parliament auditioning for the role of court jester.

The Opposition huffs and puffs and fails miserably to blow down the house of questionable repute. The members dislike each other so much that they do not wish to sit next to certain persons. Mr. Speaker, I seek permission to speak from a seat other than my own. Right.

WATCHDOG AND ENFORCER

The Integrity Commission is the watchdog and the DPP is the enforcer. Chatter has it that the Integrity Commission forwarded a file related to a major political figure, yet the matter languishes. The people in Jamaica are too interconnected for secrets to really last. One law for the connected and another for the rest of society. Happiness Index?

The commissioner of police has not seen it fit for more than two years to provide an extensive update on an alleged homicide that was perpetrated at a political gathering in Mandeville. Why? We are asked to trust the police. Speak to a senior officer. The street chatter will eventually become the standard by which opinions are shaped, Mr Commissioner.

There is another government authority that the street says has been asked to intervene in a media matter. Nothing has happened as the chairman and the minister with portfolio responsibility will not act. Friendship, fear, indifference, or misfeasance, which is it?

The sports arena is itself the subject of disquiet. The Trinidad Express newspaper has a story about the infamous Jack Warner and FIFA. The article, dated June 14, 2014, comments on a dominant football personality in Jamaica as follows: "Australia also provided a US$2.5M grant to Warner's buddy ... late in the bidding process in October 2010." To date, no public response.

All these things will never allow us to have a good score on the Happiness Index. We have failed miserably.

Ronald Mason is an immigration attorney, mediator, and talk-show host. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and nationsagenda@gmail.com.