PAAC members concerned about increased JUTC subvention despite losses

Christopher Serju, Senior Gleaner Writer

The operations of the cash-strapped Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) again came under the microscope during Wednesday's sitting of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of parliament.

Committee members expressed concerns after it was revealed that a $150 million increase in the subvention to the bus company had been approved, bringing the allocation to the JUTC for the financial year to $5.77 billion.

PAAC chairman Mikael Phillips was puzzled as to why the subvention to the JUTC was on the rise in light of the state-owned bus company's announcement of its intention to cut its fleet roll-out by half.

Financial Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Darlene Morrison, indicated that the operations of the Montego Bay Metro Limited, which operates in western Jamaica, were now incorporated into the JUTC's budget, with most of the money earmarked for salaries.

However, the PAAC chairman was not satisfied.

Phillips argued that the additional expenditure could not be justified if the company's operations were slashed by half and the same amount of money was being paid out to staff.

“There is something that is economically wrong with the operations there,” he declared, before calling for the ministries of finance and transportation to take a detailed look into the operations of the bus company with a view to shedding light on why more was being paid out for less service.

Committee member Fitz Jackson expressed surprise that the operations had not yet come under scrutiny from the finance ministry, arguing that the level of service had deteriorated significantly.

Phillips expressed concern that the combination of the government subsidy and the loss of revenue at the JUTC were expected to cost taxpayers $10 billion for the current financial year and questioned the rationale for the ongoing increases.

“Is it that the losses are going to be twice what they were in the last financial year with less revenue from passengers? Less bus roll out but we are still subsidising at the same amount from taxpayers. Is there going to be a serious look taken at the JUTC or is it that we are going to allow it to continue consuming the increased subvention but giving us less?” Phillips pressed Morrison.

“I believe that the government is looking at how to address the issues of the JUTC,” she replied.

Meanwhile, Phillips went on to describe the deliberations at PAAC and similar meetings as a total waste of time due to their ineffectiveness in improving the quality of service to taxpayers.

He charged that meetings of the standing finance committee, as well as the various committees where the supplementary estimates and matters of spending come under review, must move beyond mere talk shops.

“I find that the standing finance committee meetings are a total waste of time because if we come there to give ideas of how it is that we think government can effectively service the residents of Jamaica and at the end of the day there is no change in the budgeting or the planning of government, then it's a total waste of time.”

He continued: “I find it, as a parliamentarian, a waste of time that we spend hours upon hours going through the budget book and at the end of the day nothing changes at all.”

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