Commentary

The Editor, Sir:

Bravo to the Office of the Contractor General for attempting to safeguard public assets, which might be frittered away through a corrupt contracting process. It is quite another matter, however, when there are attempts to throw cold water on the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project this country has seen in years.

My first observation is that it seems our contractor general, Greg Christie, is on a bit of a public relations (read ego) trip. He sometimes seems to craft his statements for maximum sensationalism, before having facts to support them, thus ensuring maximum exposure for himself. This is dangerous business when there are international implications - because multinational companies with money to invest are usually very unwilling to be used as a tool for local politicking and grandstanding.

I write out of self-interest, after matching my recent light bill against the announcements about liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the subsequent statements from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG).

There are some pretty big companies (Exmar and Promigas) with loads of money to spend who are probably at this very moment reconsidering their investment in Jamaica. An investment which, I might add, will have a direct impact on every household with a legal electricity connection. This consortium has a plan to bring LNG to Jamaican shores with no help from the Government - that is to say, as a wholly private enterprise, using private funding - no Government investment, no matching funds, no commitment fees, no repayment of loans, no Government guarantees for loans and no guaranteed rate of return - all of which have been features of every big project that has got off the ground. And all without the level of uproar that the OCG has mustered against LNG.

Long-term financial commitments

There was Highway 2000, Portmore toll road, China Harbour, PetroCaribe, and many more - all beneficial, but all requiring significant long-term financial commitments from the Government.

Here we have a private project. Large, but private. Large enough to require the Government to be involved, that cannot be argued. But the Government's involvement must be as follows:

Ensure the company is technically competent (because we want/need it to work);

Ensure the company is financially capable (because we do not want to hear any requests for funding);

Smooth the red tape path (as they would for any big project, hotel, etc.)

Get out of the way.

The bidding process should simply have been to confirm the first two duties. Once an investor was identified who was willing to fund the project privately, those assessing the bid would have been faced with what is termed technically as a 'no-brainer'. This is good for Jamaica in more ways than I need to get into, but not least among which is that my light bill will most surely come down.

The furore seems to be centred on the fact that Ian Moore, who is part of the local group, was once chairman of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), who has responsibility for fuel matters in Jamaica. Mr Moore was fired, as I recall, in the midst of the Coal (Mullings) vs LNG (Moore) debate. A debate he seemed at the time to have lost. Should that preclude him from working with private entities to bring LNG to the country if it will be to our benefit? It's not as if he set up an LNG project with a company, then resigned to join the same private company. He was fired.

Accumulated experience

Obviously, while there he was convinced it would be good for Jamaica, whether done by PCJ or privately. To his credit, instead of being bitter about being fired, he pursued the project. I'm sure his past tenure at PCJ was a value to the group, but don't we all benefit from our accumulated experience?

As for me, I don't really care who the individuals are in this project, and I actually think it's very parochial to focus on that rather than the bigger picture. Big Picture: First, this project is essential for Jamaica's development, lower electricity cost and revitalising of the bauxite and manufacturing sectors are assured; and second, this does not involve government money - it's private.

Come on, Greg, go run after the Olympics celebration from 2008 if you want, at least that was Government money, but for LNG, get out of the way.

I am, etc.,

BILL ED TO DEATH

aijohnsonjm@gmail.com