Based on the news of preferential treatment in loan write-offs that came out at the Finsac Enquiry last week, we can see why there are some people who are actively engaged in trying to discredit the enquiry with the ultimate goal of having the process abandoned.

Iniquitous perhaps best sums up the actions of Finsac in how it treated some debtors compared with others. For what else could explain how a $325-million loan to one company was reduced by $295 million; $322 million forgiven out of a $326-million loan in another case, and a $116-million loan was reduced by $112 million, while many other debtors were being squeezed -- some to the point of financial ruin -- for repayments that ballooned on extremely high interest rates.

To make matters worse, we are told that the Jamaica Redevelopment Foundation (JRF) -- an American company that bought the Finsac debt portfolio at a highly discounted rate with the understanding that a portion of the returns from the sale of seized assets would be paid over to Finsac -- has refused to provide statements of accounts to indebted entrepreneurs.

And, according to Mr Errol Campbell, the current general manager at Finsac, a large portion of the Finsac debts sold to the JRF were not verified. All they had, he told the enquiry, were names and numbers.

At best, this operation is very untidy, and Finsac no doubt has an obligation to explain to the country the reasons for its actions.

Why would the JRF be provided with only names and numbers, and why would the JRF accept that data only from Finsac, and why has the JRF been advised by its attorney not to divulge information on the loan balances after they were acquired?

Finsac also needs to say what criteria were used to determine who received write-offs and how much. For it is critical that we ensure -- through this enquiry -- that Jamaicans who wish to invest in their country are not subjected to this kind of egregious action again.

We also note the charge made by Mr David Wong-Ken, the attorney representing the Association of Finsac'd Entrepreneurs, that the list of debtors provided by Finsac was inaccurate and lacked clarity. His reason for making that claim, he said, was that his company was included on the list, even though he was never offered any forgiveness and worse, he never owed any money.

It is also noteworthy that Mr Douglas Orane, the reputable chairman and CEO of the GraceKennedy Group, has had to dissociate himself from the "Douglas Orane" on the list of debtors that was unveiled.

These are very serious matters that should not be swept under the carpet. We therefore urge the commissioners to ignore the noise being made by those who obviously have things to hide, and pursue these answers with dogged determination.

For based on what the enquiry has so far unearthed, we should lay a foundation that will make it extremely difficult and costly for those who would abuse positions of authority in the future.

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