An increasing number of people have now joined this column in calling for the publication of the full list of Financial Sector Adjustment Company debtors in detail, including borrowers whose debts were written off or reduced. Shortly after Finsac was established this column asked its then managing director, Patrick Hylton, for a list of debtors and details of their obligations for publication. However, Hylton would not provide it on the grounds that this was not permitted under the banking laws.

Now Hylton as managing director of National Commercial Bank, one of the banks bailed out by Finsac, is advocating that the list be opened to public scrutiny and that the Commission of Enquiry into the financial meltdown of the 1990s determine whether borrowers were treated fairly. Dr Karl Blythe, who was part of the decision-making Cabinet that formulated policy to deal with the financial sector crisis in the 1990s and created Finsac, recently came out strongly for the list to be made public. Said Blythe: “I would welcome the publication of a Finsac debtors’ list. Heading that list should be the names of all politicians to include Cabinet members, senators, members of parliament, councillors, and their immediate family members. The list should clearly state what the debts were when transferred to Finsac, and when they were bought by the Jamaica Redevelopment Foundation. The country should be told what was the write-off for each of those debts, and what was the final payout figure for the debts if cleared” .

I would also like to see made public a list of the immediate family members of politicians who withdrew deposits from the affected banks a few hours before the announcement that these banks would be closed. The People’s National Party has also supported Dr Blythe’s suggestion that the complete list of Finsac debtors with the details of the obligations of each be published. Dr Blythe’s statement on the financial crisis of the 1990s which received wide publicity last week was the most profound analysis of what happened. He was also vice-president of the PNP, a candidate for the presidency of the party and a “finsac’d debtor”, as he put it. I think he should submit his statement to the commission and be prepared to give evidence.

The Finsac issue is of the utmost importance because the fiasco cost taxpayers $140 billion, and 40 per cent of the GDP – the goods and services we produced – was eaten out. If what Hylton said is true perhaps we ought to remove the legal obstacle temporarily. There ought not to be any doubt in anybody’s mind that the main cause of the collapse of the financial sector in the 1990s was the high interest rates to borrowers which ranged from 70 to 100 per cent. Some people who borrowed at 17 per cent had their interest increased to 70 and 80 per cent over a short period. That destroyed thousands of debtors. I agree with PJ Patterson, who was prime minister at the time of the crisis, that if depositors in banks and financial institutions had not recovered their deposits, there would have been riots and bloodshed. For example, if I had lost all my investments in Century National Bank which represented all my life savings for old age, I would have been driven to desperation and do not know what would have happened to me. As it turned out, I recovered my deposits and ran without being paid one year’s interest which came to a substantial amount.

Newland and Woodham architects of NIS

Last week I received the following letter from Leroy Brown, human resources consultant, who is well known in business circles and the sports world. He wrote:

In a recent column you lauded the government for honouring the late Minister of Labour LG Newland, by placing his image in NIS pension books. It is a long overdue recognition of a minister who gave valuable service to Jamaica, and whose efforts led to the implementing of the law and regulations that have been providing important Social

Security benefits for hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans over 45 years.

There is another Jamaican, a public servant, who should also be remembered at this time. He is Warren Woodham, the man who was given the assignment to lead the team of specialists who did the early groundwork, studied social security programmes from all over the world, particularly those in Britain and the USA, and then came up with a model that suited Jamaica’s unique situation. I had the honour to be a member of that team of four, led by Woodham, that was given this wonderful opportunity. The other two were Stephanie Lopez and Marlene McNally. We had the assistance and guidance of overseas experts, who came to Jamaica from time to time to work with us, and I particularly remember the actuary, Peter Thullen, who was sent from the International Labour Organisation in Geneva to whom I was assigned. He was a fantastic person to work with and he knew figures. He worked hard and dragged you along with him. I look back at those days with fond memories.

Woodham in all of this, was the quiet influence, the point man, the man behind the scenes, who would guide the ship, take instructions from the minister, advise him, tried to give him what he wanted and subtly changed his mind, if it was believed to be necessary. Sometimes you won and other times you lost, but he was the boss. When the NIS was launched, it was a great moment for us after years of very hard work. Sadly, it became a political football for some, but good sense eventually prevailed and the NIS is embraced by all Jamaica today. It was refreshing to hear the Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Portia Simpson Miller, join in the tributes to LG Newland. “I do not think any honour can be too great to bestow on this minister whose vision it was to establish the National Insurance Scheme,” she said. I agree. He deserves the accolades.

He had respect for the people who worked for him, and as a result we worked as hard as we possibly could for him. I have never worked with two such hard-working and genuine human beings as Newland the minister, and Woodham the public servant. They were good leaders and we are reaping the benefits of the work they spearheaded 45 years ago.