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Re: The more things change,
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the more they remain the same.
gleaner article on corruption
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Is this a gleaner article on corruption or is this a gleaner article on the Mayor of Kingston and the JLP's response to it?
The Mayor of Kingston should resign.
The Mayor of Portmore should resign.
Dr. Clueless Davies should resign.
Minister Susumba Committee Assamba should resign.
Minister Youthful Exuberance Paulwell should resign.
Ayatollah Portia Simpson-Miller should resign.
Minister John Wayne Junior should resign.
Just as David Coore, PJoke and Dr Karl Blythe resigned or were relieved of their responsibilities when scandals broke around them.
The interesting question is, since the Gleaner put the matter of Dr. Clueless Davies “run wid it” speech on the table what was their response when that bubbled up to the surface?
The Parish Councils are a waste of taxpayers’ money and should be vanked enblock.
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Re: The more things change,
No sacrificial lambs or scapegoats
published: Tuesday | May 23, 2006
Garth Rattray
WHY DO we continue to play these silly games? Is anybody genuinely surprised by the Contractor General's findings regarding the failure of several government agencies to comply with the rules governing the awarding of contracts?
Obviously some agencies habitually and conveniently ignore proper procedures for the sake of expedience but couldn't it also be done in the furtherance of political power (by controlling scarce benefits and spoils)?
Breaking the rules opens the door to the possibility of corrupt practices that allow many individuals and companies to make an excellent living at our expense. People do not want to see their tax dollars involved in anything that could be interpreted as political favours or pay-offs and this is one reason why so many individuals become tax-dodgers.
As a result of this so-called "revelation", the People's National Party Youth Organisa-tion went into "poly-tricks" mode and described the recent findings as "alarming and unacceptable". Oh please! Nobody should feign shock and consternation in this matter, nor should they go hunting for sacrificial lambs and scapegoats. With this in mind, I certainly do not agree with their call for the resignation of the Mayor of Kingston, Desmond McKenzie.
BREAKING PROCUREMENT RULES
Maybe my job has endowed me with more than a modicum of pragmatism, but breaking the procurement rules has been part of the standard operating procedures in some quarters since time immemorial and has involved officials from both parties. Mr. McKenzie should not be made to pay for the sins of all his predecessors. His propensity for overzealousness aside, he is the hardest working mayor to date and will be a hard act to follow.
APOLOGY
By profusely apologising and stating openly that the rules were breached "for the betterment of the municipality", he has demonstrated himself to be a master politician and not scapegoat material. He also stated categorically that the practice is "institutionalised" and contritely confessed that the precedent was set many years ago by those who came before him, thus proving that he's no sacrificial lamb.
It seemed to me that the flouting of the rules governing the awarding of contracts were being condoned and/or ignored and I somehow got the impression that last year, when Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller (then Minister of Local Government) commissioned probes into the procurement procedures of the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, the Portmore Municipality, the Sports Development Fund and the Social and Development Commission, it was perhaps done to prove that the National Solid Waste Management Authority wasn't the only government entity breaching proper procedures.
I also found it strange and somewhat troubling that it took a directive from Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller for the Contractor General to launch a probe; isn't that what he's supposed to do on a regular basis? Shouldn't it be safeguarding the taxpayer's money and ensuring that such breaches never occur in the first place, red tape or not?
ENLIGHTENED SELF-INTEREST
In my opinion, much of our politics is based upon enlightened self-interest. Many people, from the dirt poor (let off something) to the filthy rich (one hand washes the other) posse, depend heavily on handouts and contracts for their survival. And, although the mayor tried to justify the breaches as a little wrong done for the greater good (my words), the fact remains that circumventing the in-built and prescribed checks and balances within the system lends itself to corruption.
The Government must rationalise its prohibitively "restrictive bureaucratic impediments" (quote à la Mayor McKenzie) and set irrevocable standards of transparency, propriety and efficiency if it is to gain the trust and cooperation of its citizenry.
No sacrificial lambs or scapegoats
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Dr Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
No sacrificial lambs or scapegoatsComment
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Re: The more things change,
Should I take this to mean that you do not see it as corruption?
This has been going on for years on both sides of the fence. Isn't it high time for a change? Afterall, taxpayer's money should benefit the taxpayers collectively, and not be spent on a few to aquire political allegiance.
I am not even remotely interested in the "politrics" surrounding the issue, since the attack would have come from the other side, if the shoe was on the other foot. In the long run, it is Jamaica that suffers.Comment
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Re: The more things change,
[ QUOTE ]
Should I take this to mean that you do not see it as corruption?
This has been going on for years on both sides of the fence. Isn't it high time for a change? Afterall, taxpayer's money should benefit the taxpayers collectively, and not be spent on a few to aquire political allegiance.
I am not even remotely interested in the "politrics" surrounding the issue, since the attack would have come from the other side, if the shoe was on the other foot. In the long run, it is Jamaica that suffers.
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Did you read my comments?Comment
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