Orville Taylor | Board men not bored men

As a youngster, no male wanted to be called a board man. No, it had nothing to do with wood; but rather, it meant that such an individual was incapable of doing anything of substance. True, there was a slight sexual innuendo as well. So perhaps I might have to reprise the last sentence and put in a disclaimer. However, what was important for us was that men needed to be men and not figureheads or paper images.

Therefore, as one came to an understanding of juntas of men and women, appointed to oversee an entity, the key was whether or not they would serve any purpose.

Over the past few years but in particular the last decade, the misconduct, incompetence or what looks like sheer thievery of myriad public agencies and companies, have caused the government to lose a massive amount of economic and political capital.

Call a spade a trowel but one has to support the recent passing of the Public Bodies Management and Accountability (Nomination, Selection and Appointment to Boards) Regulations, led by Minister of Finance Nigel Clarke, in the House of Representatives, to add greater scrutiny to the process by which boards are appointed.

It is a win from the beginning, because it had bipartisan support and thus, a high level of consensus. True, there seems to be some dissent on the part of the Leader of Opposition, Mark Golding, regarding the space for nominees from the political parties. For him, it is really unnecessary and merely opens a channel for further partisan intrusions in a scenario where the appropriate minister, him or herself a party representative, has the final say in the appointments of boards.

Even the response of the finance minister is encouraging, because, inasmuch as he shot back at Golding over the post facto comment, he conceded that there is still space for agreement on this element.

As simple as it might seem, this is potentially a turning point. Never mind the sycophants and hypocrites on both sides of the political divide; there has been enough corruption to share across the spectrum.

In fact, despite the opportunistic latching on of critics on the corruption perception index (CPI), it really has not changed significantly in the last 15 years. Truth is, a CPI score of 38 is qualitatively the same as 48, which have been the numbers whichever party has been in power. Anything below 50 is a joke on a 0 to 100 scale.

MEASUREMENT OF OPINION

Notwithstanding the fact that the CPI is a measurement of opinion rather than actual corruption itself, people perform better in every social indicator when they live in a society or organisation where they trust their leaders and believe that they are operating in ways that are fair, transparent and honest. On the other hand, real and perceived corruption are correlated with two critical variables, which this country must pay keen attention to. First, corruption directly leads to social violence. Thus, if you want to reduce homicides and other lesser acts of human aggression, you increase the fairness and transparency in society. Venal governments breed anger and hostility.

Second, in the context of economic activity, one cannot expect to cheat workers or subordinates and get high productivity. It is a no-brainer. Corrupt practices in society and in industry, which are the antitheses of ‘decent work’, lead to low labour productivity. Indeed, ‘indecent’ work practices over the past few decades in Jamaica have fuelled the frequency with which Jamaicans have taken other Jamaicans’ lives. No speculation here; the data speak for themselves.

Nonetheless, there is too much lip service, even among my highly degreed peers on my plantation, The University of the West Indies (UWI). Corruption is a task for every Jamaican, and each of us must commit to act more and chat less. In the academy, the one place where we approximate truth on earth, if there is dissonance between what we preach and what we or our data do; then wolves ‘nyam’ our suppers.

Often we speak about the Singapore model and the ‘miracle’ led by Lee Kuan Yew. Yet, his success was anchored on two significant platforms. The first was zero tolerance to corruption, and second, mass secondary education for all. In fact, most Singaporeans now have university degrees.

This might be unpopular, but I believe that our elected officials and ministers of government are woefully underpaid. Moreover, no public servant should be paid more than his minister. Thus, it is total foolishness that the minister of national security is paid less than the commissioner of police. Hungry men cannot run kitchens or carry food in restaurants. Lee ensured that his top public officials were amply remunerated. Therefore, when the sticky fingers got loose, they were punished swiftly and severely.

If we are serious about corruption and crime, no one in this country must be free from scrutiny. I am on record about legal fees, and have served on many green and orange boards. Therefore, I hold myself to no less a standard. Were it up to me, all employees of institutions whose officers are partially paid by the Jamaican government, including the UWI academics and administrators, should declare before the Integrity Commission or a similar body.

I am ready … but more on that at a later date.

Dr Orville Taylor is head of the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com.