IT is certainly true that the management of a crisis situation will never prove to be a popular job. It also does very little to enhance the current popularity of those persons who are called on to act decisively in order to mitigate the crisis. The current state of the Jamaican economy is one such example, as the medicine required will be very strong and unpopular, if we are to emerge as anything other than a failed state. But like most cases, you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. At the time of writing, the Government will be going on a four-day retreat, and this is one element that they will have to seriously consider. As the saying goes, “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”

This unfortunate side effect of crisis management is not unique to Jamaica. In the course of handling such things as natural disasters, the authorities in California and Australia are often required to give people instructions to vacate their homes. This is the same thing we face when a hurricane approaches, bringing high tides or high ocean levels, and Portmore citizens are told to vacate. In the case of the first-world country, the failure to vacate those homes often place lives in danger, but these can be mitigated by emergency helicopter airlift. Lucky them! We don’t have that kind of money but still wish to live “la vida loca”. Poor us. “Puss and dog don’t have the same luck.”

US President Barack Obama is now in a most unenviable position. The richest nation in the world has failed to have their airport systems working, and simple technology such as surveillance cameras have not been properly maintained, allowing for breaches in security. Furthermore, his much-vaunted Homeland Security participants and agencies such as the CIA and FBI are still not talking to one another, let alone sharing information, and no one is being held responsible. President Obama must be singing a Bob Marley tune right now, “What a plot them ah plot against I and I.”

In all cases where people are paid to be in charge, they must be given the necessary authority which is equal to their responsibility. St Mary and parts of Portland are flooded again with a few days of rain. Who has the responsibility for ensuring that rivers are properly contained, garbage is properly disposed of, and squatters are not allowed to affect local drainage or sanitation? Whoever that person or those persons are, they need to be empowered by the Cabinet to take the necessary decisions, even if it means they will be unpopular. The country cannot await the intervention of ministers and/or the prime minister to make decisions in every single area which should be the purview of effective management.

The threats made against a senior director of the Office of the Contractor General need to be taken seriously.

The five sham contractors, who have been awarded millions of dollars in contracts from the NHT, need to be dealt with decisively. In the first instance, there is evidence of fraudulent intent. If this were another country, they would already have been rounded up for interrogation. Fraudulent charges should be pressed and the death threat quickly investigated and pursued to a quick conclusion. After all, phone calls can be traced and offered as evidence.

Mr Greg Christie and his staff are required by law to manage the propriety of government contracts. Due to widespread corruption, this seemingly simple task has escalated into a crisis management exercise. In a country like this, Mr Christie will never be elected, or perhaps even be loved, but he deserves the respect and support of our citizens for his tenacity in fulfilling his responsibility.

The Government is currently looking at restructuring its various entities. There are a few points which should be borne in mind such as:

* The legal establishment of the entities which are to be merged or divested must be clearly understood as some are established under particular statutes which may not be compatible with a new role.

* This also has some implication as to which organisations can be combined, and sets the time frame within which the reorganisation can be accomplished.

* Many necessary mergers of responsibilities occur across current ministerial portfolios and some will have to lose sections. I hope this will not bring out the “testosterone gangs”.

* I would urge the Government to be wary of placing too much hope on the amalgamation of back-room services. This has not worked well in Jamaica for either the public or private sectors. One downfall is that the clear responsibility is clouded, as the managers do not control the back room, and the back room does not control the managers, allowing both sides to cover their ‘you know what’.

The back room also encourages movement from real-time response to the batch-processing systems. The “cheques are drawn only on a Friday” mentality is one more step towards inefficiency.

The restructuring cannot only be about utilising office space. Full functionality must be a part of the design criteria and must be supported by modern communication systems and the elimination of irrelevant and wasteful procedures.

Please bear in mind that this job is also a crisis management exercise, and for those involved in the process, there will be no thanks given.

The Opposition’s low-keyed attempts at demonstrating against the policies of the Government seem to be merely minor tokens. They have not seriously challenged the policy directions of the Government, but rather have been challenging individual members of the Government. This has allowed for a great deal of the usual personality conflicts which distract Parliament from the discussion of serious issues. This is a classic case of the dog chasing the car but not really hoping to catch it, as they are afraid that they may have to drive. The recent “sit-in” which took place was a remarkable non-event, as there was 100 per cent attendance, good behaviour, and no crosstalk or sleeping.

Right now it is safe to say that Jamaica is a vehicle in such a condition that there are few willing drivers. Well, the current prime minister came into power as “the driver”. So all I can say to him at this time is “don’t stop at all”. You have got a vehicle with an engine that seems to be incompatible with E10. I hope the Cabinet retreat proves enough to help you face this series of crises so that you will make the necessary decisions.