GraceKennedy

Compares current situation one year after the attack on the State by armed gangs. - Jamaica’s civil society has received high marks for bringing about the release of audited financial statements in 2010 by the country’s two main political parties, a first in Jamaica’s political history.

Jamaica’s civil society has received high marks for bringing about the release of audited financial statements in 2010 by the country’s two main political parties, a first in Jamaica’s political history.  

The high marks were given by Douglas Orane, Executive Chairman of GraceKennedy Ltd., at the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica’s (PSOJ) Chairman’s Club Breakfast held on Tuesday, July 26 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.

Mr. Orane, who delivered the opening remarks at the event, said that the release of the financial statements was brought about by the actions of a small group within Jamaica’s civil society, who insisted that financial reports should be produced on an annual basis. Rating this positive action with a score of eight out of ten, Mr. Orane said that this was a good example of what can result through pressure from civil society.

Mr. Orane’s remarks, presented in the format of a scorecard which measured Jamaica’s performance in breaking the links between organised crime and politics, was done against the background of a speech he gave to the Rotary Club of Kingston in June 2010, one month after the West Kingston incursion. That speech embodied the message that members of civil society have the power to effect the changes necessary for a better Jamaica. In that address, Mr. Orane laid out a set of nine specific measures, which he revisited in his speech on Tuesday, gauging what progress had been made in each area. Each measure was scored on a scale of 0-10, with 10 representing outstanding achievement.

“It occurred to me that, with one year having elapsed since the events of May 2010, it is an opportune time to carry out a process to examine ourselves as a society, and measure what progress we have made in the past year in this regard,” Mr. Orane said. The assessment was made against the backdrop of the Government’s National 2030 vision, which has as its vision statement, ”Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise a family and do business.” 

Mr. Orane rated the efforts to stop violent crime, since the events in West Kingston, a score of seven. While acknowledging that the number of murders was dramatically down by 38% in2011, he pointed out that the high rate of homicides was still a worrying issue. In spite of the progress that had been made, he noted that the challenge remained to build on recent gains, prevent retrogression and further reduce the levels of serious crime.

On Mr. Orane’s suggestion to increase voluntarism and community interventions, the the private sector, NGOs, service clubs and individual Jamaicans, in addition to Government agencies, all acting together scored a seven. The increase in voluntarism, Mr. Orane noted, was evident in the rise in financial contributions to social programmes, an increase in the number of these programmes and a greater number of people served by these programmes. He lauded the work of the Peace Management Initiative, Jamaica Social Investment Fund, the Ministry of Labour and H.E.A.R.T. , the PSOJ’s YUTE programme, and the work of GraceKennedy Ltd., through its Grace and Staff Community Development Foundation.

With regard to his suggestion that there needs to be transparency in the area of political party financing, Mr. Orane gave a score of five. The Executive Chairman had posited in his speech a year ago, that all donations and donors were to be made public, and that there was to be a maximum amount beyond which no one donor could go, and a maximum that any party could spend on an election campaign. He acknowledged the Electoral Commission of Jamaica’s second report on campaign financing, which ultimately stated that there was no perfect legislation to address the issue of campaign funding. He noted that, this topic of campaign funding has been raised by resolution in Parliament since 2002 and to date, it has not been addressed. The ECJ report has gone back to the parties, in the face of much resistance from some quarters. “It is imperative that this matter is attended to before the next general elections,” stated Mr. Orane

An average mark of four was also given for the progress made with regard to the awarding of state contracts to corrupt entities. At present, noted Mr. Orane, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Services has no fit and proper requirements for the awarding of State contracts. He also suggested that the proposal that the Contractor General needed to be supported regarding the establishment of a National Independent Anti-Corruption Agency. Mr. Orane acknowledged some progress in the pursuance of a Special Prosecutors Bill, which would pull together an anti-corruption framework, including a Commission against Corruption.

A score of five was awarded for the frequency with which Parliament meets. In 2009 Jamaica’s Parliament met 47 times and in 2010, it met 49 times compared to the UK’s House of Commons which met 136 times in 2009, and 60 times in 2010; and the Canadian House of Commons which met 129 times in 2009, and 123 times in 2010. Asserting that the number of bills being passed each year needed improvement, Mr. Orane said, “There is a direct correlation between the number of times that Parliament meets and the number of bills it is able to pass.”

One of the areas where progress was found sadly lacking by Mr. Orane, was the establishment of a system of integrity testing for persons who offer themselves for political office, or are incumbents. This area got a rating of two out of 10. Mr. Orane noted that, while both parties have announced committees to screen and vet their candidates, he suggested that integrity testing went far beyond screening for a criminal record or conviction. He encouraged the parties in the direction of internal screening, also putting forward the view that each party should disclose what criteria they use to determine candidates who are fit and proper for the upcoming elections. Mr. Orane said, “the purpose is to achieve what I believe all well-thinking Jamaicans want, which is a clean slate of leadership who are not corrupt, without connections to organized crime, and are in politics to give public service rather than for personal enrichment.”

Tax compliance also received a failing grade of three from the GraceKennedy Executive Chairman. “Our record of tax compliance is dismal,” said Mr. Orane. He supported the facts with figures that show that in the fiscal year ending March 2009, 36% of tax returns were not filed. In 2010, of the 610,066 tax returns expected to be filed, 252,866 or 41% were not filed. Mr. Orane noted the worsening situation, calling for “drastic measures” to be implemented, “as our society cannot function effectively with this chronic situation.”

Finally, Mr. Orane made reference to his proposal to investigate and confiscate the assets of persons who use ill-gotten gains from criminal activities to finance their lifestyle. He commended the Ministry of Finance for its work in actively carrying out these investigations and confiscating large amounts of cash. However, he lamented how quiet the developments had been because of the Ministry’s bid not to publicise these activities. As a result, he gave a score of four on this issue.

Mr. Orane said that honesty in accepting both our successes and our failures was the true route to success. “Every incremental step taken to put the country on a more positive path is to be celebrated,” he stated. As such, he commended the PSOJ on its initiative to introduce the Commercial Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre and the series of sensitisation sessions which have been planned. “Given the facts I have shared and the assessments I have made, I hope that this will act as a catalyst for all of us to take the steps to do what needs to be done to make Jamaica a better place, and we do this in a timely manner,” he said.

Associated Articles

• Performance Measurement of our Progress Towards Breaking the Link Between Organised Crime and Politics - A Speech by Douglasl Orane at the PSOJ Chairman’s Club Breakfast at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel