Letter of the Day | The system is broken, it needs to be fixed

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The Gleaner on Wednesday, October 18, carried a story “Clarke blames MOEY for fizzling of McLean surcharge” should raise a red flag for those of us who are concerned about the limited funds the Government has allotted for education and how those funds are spent. According to the article, the Auditor General’s Department (AuGD) “recommended that a surcharge be instituted against Dr Dean-Roy Bernard, the then-in-limbo permanent secretary in the MOEY, and McLean, who was acting in the post” of permanent secretary in said ministry. At stake is the hefty sum of $124 million dollars allegedly wrongfully disbursed while some schools are lacking in certain basic needs that said sums could help to alleviate.

The basic point that I wish to make, though, is the apparent breakdown of a system that could be labelled a “swamp”, which is not a recent development. The minister of finance rightfully blames the MOEY for not supplying his ministry with the necessary information that would allow the surcharge claims to be advanced. Consequently, the time lapse – thanks to the “swamp”–will rob the Government of the huge sum wrongfully spent. And no heads will roll! Some will say, “That’s the way the thing set!” Should we be satisfied with that? I hope not! Rather, I propose that the swamp-like system at the MOEY needs a total overall, but this must be done by an outside agency. I speak of experiences of the Ecumenical Education Committee, the members of which are representatives of churches and trusts owning and operating schools. For example, one of our members was a former employee at the MOEY, and even after retiring in 2015, she has yet to receive financial benefits owing to her. She is a victim of the swamp, and it’s not unreasonable to think that hers is not an exception to the rule. This swamp-like system is of antiquity; it’s not just a recent development.

For instance, requests made by the EEC or documents sent to the MOEY– and even the minister herself–are either not acknowledged or acted upon, the recent one being a draft entitled “Agreement between Church/Trust and GOJ.” Never ever being acknowledged, it is lost in the “swamp,” maybe never to be acted upon. The educational system needs overhauling in keeping with the Patterson Commission Report, which, among other things, calls for appropriate accountability firmly put in place so that the taxpayer’s money is properly spent for the benefit of the country. We must do better to instil hope for our people. Fix the system!

MOST REV DONALD REECE