The dead horse theory

TAMARA SCOTT-WILLIAMS

Sunday, January 29, 2012

The Hon minister of transport and works Dr Omar Davies said in a statement to Parliament on Tuesday that of the US$400 million which was the total funds in the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme, $398 million had been used up, which means that "all but US$1.8 million of the US$400-million loan which was scheduled to be expended over a five-year period would have been totally completely committed before the end of the second year of the programme".

It means that the former government minister of transport and works, Mike Henry, presided over the combined disbursement and commitment of 99 per cent of the money when only half-way into the project period. We await word on how much work on the ground — that promised four-lane highway that it is to take us from Harbour View to Palisadoes — has actually been completed before we start panicking. But for now it certainly does not look good.

In a stunning response in Parliament, Mr Henry, rather than appearing contrite and concerned, said: "As a responsible minister and having been given these details today, and being myself not the shadow spokesperson, I intend to request, and I will be coming back with a series of questions of the minister to clarify a lot of these issues as to how much of these figures are themselves correct in terms of the interpretation he is giving. As soon as I have analysed this, I will come back with a series of questions which I hope the minister will then answer."

Mike Henry is a master politician, for if you hadn't been paying close attention and had just come lately, it would have appeared to you that Henry was expecting Davies to defend himself with regards to the gross expenditure under the JDIP programme.

Despite the results so far of the JDIP probe and audit, he seems to be more concerned about not having a coveted role in the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party's shadow cabinet.

It took very little time for the shock of losing the election and the delight at winning the election to wear off. Our elected members are throwing the "look what we inherited" pity party and the Opposition members are vowing vigorous monitoring and uncovering of fraud and corruption in the new administration. The shoes are merely on other feet now, for it was not too long ago that the Jamaica Labour Party was crying foul over what little they inherited in the coffers from the People's National Party in 2007. And it was the People's National Party who swore that while in Opposition they would "oppose, oppose, oppose".

While I feel very good about the level of political maturity the voters displayed in the last election — and by this I mean the absence of violence and hysteria on election day — I wish to be disabused of the notion that in Jamaica when we change a Government we are merely jumping from the frying pan onto the griddle. In this our 50th year of Independence, I hope to see a real maturity in leadership; that means no blame games; that means taking responsibility and owning up to your failures; that means recognising a good idea for the people of Jamaica even if the idea was the brainchild of the "other" party.

In other words, we want to see less of the 'Dead Horse Theory' as it refers to how government works; if you don't understand this theory, you haven't lived long enough. The tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians, passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount." However, in the Government and the public service, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

1. Buying a stronger whip.

2. Changing riders.

3. Appointing a committee to study the horse.

4. Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride dead horses.

5. Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included.

6. Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired.

7. Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse.

8. Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed.

9. Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance.

10. Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance.

11. Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overheads and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses.

12. Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses.

13. Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position.

Funny? Not really. We want real change, not more of the same.

scowicomm@gmail.com

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The dead horse theory