Letter of the Day | If time were currency, Jamaica would demand a refund

THE EDITOR, Madam:

If time were currency, Jamaicans would have every right to demand a national audit and, in many cases, a refund.

We lose time waiting on approvals, sitting in traffic, moving from agency to agency, resubmitting documents, awaiting responses, and chasing decisions that should have deadlines. Then we call ourselves busy.

But busness is not productivity.

Jamaica’s productivity problem is not a shortage of talent, ambition, policies, committees, or plans. We have an abundance of all five. Our challenge is the persistent gap between announcement and execution, responsibility and accountability, policy and measurable results.

For decades, we have discussed productivity and national development. Yet, the question that matters is not how often we talk about the problem, but whether outcomes improve.

Recent public controversies surrounding development projects and regulatory oversight highlight a broader concern. When problems emerge, the public is often left asking: Who was responsible for monitoring the situation? When should intervention have occurred? Were proper procedures followed? And, by what standard can citizens judge whether the system worked?

These are productivity questions.

Government productivity is not measured only by economic output. It is reflected in how quickly applications are processed, how efficiently projects are delivered, how rapidly agencies respond to concerns, and whether enforcement occurs before issues become crises.

This is why efforts to streamline government processes deserve close attention. If institutions can demonstrate that decisions can be made faster, agencies can coordinate better, and projects can be delivered on schedule while maintaining accountability, those standards should apply across the public sector.

Jamaicans need clear performance measures that ordinary citizens can understand. Every ministry, department, and agency should report on service standards, response times, project delivery, and outcomes. The public should be able to see what was promised, what was delivered, and how long it took.

Jamaica does not suffer from a shortage of ideas. We suffer when good ideas are buried beneath weak execution.

We announce, launch, consult, establish committees, and promise timelines. Too often, however, we move on to the next announcement before evaluating the last one.

For every promise, there should be a deadline. For every agency, a service standard. For every project, a measurable outcome.

If time is currency, Jamaica has spent too much of it explaining delays.

It is time to start accounting for them.

LeVar McLeod