“The use of specialist commissions and committees of inquiry serves a number of valuable purposes. These include: immediate action on a wider range of issues than would otherwise be possible … availability of specialised skills … providing a … channel of communication between Parliament and the people.”

Australian Prime Minister E G Whitlam, Garran Oration 12 November 1973.

THE Royal Commission of Enquiry into the Riots of 1938 (also called the Moyne Commission) was the last time Jamaica had a commission that redounded to any foundational improvements to our institutions, social conditions and/or significant benefits/shifts in the lives of the masses. A century after physical slavery was abolished, and notwithstanding Crown Colony government and the Legislative Council, the lot of the former slaves was atrocious. Working conditions were inhumane, wages were abysmally low and workers were treated like ‘dogs’ by their employers, as country people would say. Former slaves found it near impossible to access land, which determined their ability to vote and stand for political office.

Such were the realities of the masses that culminated in the riots of 1938.

St William Grant, assisted by Alexander Bustamante and Norman Manley, gave representation to the cause of the working class. All over Jamaica, there were massive and fiery strikes, slowdowns, shutdowns and shutouts. During these periods [the 1930s] of social upheaval, dozens were shot and killed by the police and thousands were detained, arrested and/or jailed.

In the aftermath, the ‘very wicked’ white colonials established a commission of enquiry not merely to examine the social conditions that precipitated the 1938 riots – but its terms of reference included a thorough examination of the hierarchy of force used by the colonial authorities to quell the disturbances. The commission’s recommendations were foundational. How so?

Land settlement schemes were established so that the masses could have access. The constitutional arrangements [internal self-government] for Jamaica were significantly adjusted to culminate in universal adult suffrage in 1944. Ordinary black Jamaicans could then vote irrespective of whether they owned land, and importantly, could stand for elected office. These changes were forerunners to Independence in 1962.

That was not a ‘rubber teeth’ commission of enquiry.

Seventy-seven years later, commissions of enquiry have become mere masquerade parades — like old dogs without teeth, some might even say like veritable ‘JEEP’ — for lawyers, political hacks, well-connected members of the establishment and thrill seekers who crave their 15 minutes of fame in the proverbial video light. Of course, there are still some genuine people who staff commissions whose motivations are not predicated upon mere personal aggrandisement.

The latest happenings of the Tivoli Commission of Enquiry, a political soap opera, reiterates the reality of how commissions of enquiry have lost their salt. It’s all about ‘flossing’ nowadays. And worse, the uptown ‘flossers’ invariably leave a trail of financial woe to be paid by us the ordinary taxpayers, as many of the rich in Jamaica avoid paying taxes as best as they can. It is well known that millions of dollars are owed in corporate taxes by some of the wealthiest in this land; I dare anyone to challenge me on this point.

How can any well-thinking government, in the midst of biting austerity, fork out US$459,170, or US$370 per hour for a maximum of nine hours daily [total of 64 days of work] to pay a single commissioner? Simply, this is not a well-thinking government. That is why it can set up a commission to pay co-commissioners Justice Hazel Harris and Professor Anthony Harriott US$300 hourly, with each to take home a maximum of US$372,000. Legal counsel to the Commission of Enquiry Garth McBean could pocket up to US$446,100 while the Junior Counsel Symone Mayhew has signed on for US$371,750. Not to be outdone, a maximum of US$249,600 has been set aside to pay the secretary to the commission, Maria Jones, a former permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education.

All this money for a ‘rubber teeth’ commission which Government will not even have to pay ‘bad mind’ as regards its recommendations. The Tivoli people are being victimised again. I wonder if minister with responsibility for the public service, Horace Dalley, believes these figures are ‘astronomical’. What is worse is that this uncaring Administration can afford these sums but cannot afford to fix the elevator at the Kingston Public Hospital, a facility used by thousands of the nation’s poor on a daily basis.

“Almost every day someone gets trapped in the elevator because it shuts down, including patients for surgeries, and staff, too. Every day somebody has to be called to fix it. Fixing it so often has to be bleeding the hospital. “You fix it today, and two hours later, it breaks down,” said the source seven months ago. And our health systems and social services are buckling as evidenced in an Observer editorial on Tuesday, January 6, 2015.

“Essentially, doctors working in the public health system told us what we have been hearing from their colleagues for months. There are no antibiotics, and patients have to be asked to buy their own and take them to the hospital,” one surgeon at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) said. “Gowns are not appropriate for surgery as the plastic aprons do not cover anything,” he added.

“There’s one CT machine at Kingston Public Hospital, and when it goes down the hospital is left with a big backlog of patients.” The situation at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) is no better, we are told, as that institution is lacking supplies of drugs and other equipment necessary to treat people with a range of illnesses, or to examine them to determine what is wrong with them. One doctor working at the Mandeville Regional Hospital told us, as well, that basic supplies are often out of stock there, and to make matters worse, the hospital has a shortage of beds.

“The Port Antonio Hospital is said to be out of contraceptives given to low-income or unemployed mothers to prevent more unwanted babies.”

Add to those realities the fire services that are in disarray, acute shortages of vehicles for the police, inability of the National Solid Waste Management Authority to collect garbage on a timely basis all over the country, lack of appreciable economic growth, grinding increases in poverty and chronic unemployment and underemployment, plus runaway crime [over 50 Jamaicans killed in 20 days] and we can only come to a single conclusion. This benighted Administration is fast becoming an enemy of the people.

This ‘rubber teeth’ Tivoli Commission of Enquiry is but further evidence of this Administration’s singular expertise, squandering of public resources, the inevitable result of which is mass impoverishment.

Which major commission of enquiry since 1962 has resulted in any significant social, legal and foundational institutional change for ordinary Jamaicans?

The Commission of Enquiry into the Orange Lane Fire of May, 19, 1976

“Tenements were destroyed by arson leaving 500 residents homeless and 11 persons burned to death. Gunmen fired a barrage of shots to prevent firemen in the station next door the community from entering the area. Gunmen even committed the ultimate act of brutality, pulling babies from the arms of some fleeing mothers, tossing them back into the flaming houses. This act of savagery, which stands out as one of the most barbarous in Jamaican history, was condemned by Manley in his presentation as another ‘new and unique type of violence’ which precipitated the need for a State of Emergency.” The Gleaner, July 9, 2006

This enquiry was presided over by Mr Justice Small. Since certain crucial witnesses were heard in secret and the report was never officially published [although at least two copies are said to be in existence], no one was ever held criminally responsible for the atrocities which served as precursors to the 1976 State of Emergency called by the Manley Government.

The Commission of Enquiry into the 1976 State of Emergency

Under the guise of what Manley called, “new and unique types of violence” [Hansard], a State of Emergency was declared on June 19, 1976 and lasted for a year. Mr Justice Kenneth Smith, then chief justice of Jamaica, headed the commission into this sordid piece of Jamaica’s history.

Under the dark cloud of the State of Emergency, political opponents like Pearnel Charles [incarcerated for a year], Olivia Grange and scores of other key JLP organisers, and a couple token PNP were locked-up. In these conditions, Michael Manley won Jamaica’s eighth general election. The JLP officials were locked up because they were supposed threats to national security.

The findings of the Smith Commission revealed that the State of Emergency’s calling was predicated upon the facilitation of political opportunism and not bona fide concerns about national security.

The Smith Commission also uncovered that the head of both intelligence agencies of government — the Special Branch of the police force and the Military Intelligence Unit (MIU) of the Jamaica Defence Force — never advised Manley of any potential threat to national security during Carifesta and, indeed, Deputy Commissioner Curtis Griffiths, head of the Special Branch, testified to the commission that he knew nothing about the intention to declare a State of Emergency; he read of it in the press, although he was the chief intelligence officer of Government. Captain Carl Marsh in charge of the MIU also gave devastating testimony. He advised that there was no need for a State of Emergency.

Those who are interested in the truth can consult the archives at the Institute of Jamaica and University of the West Indies, Mona.

No one was ever held criminally responsible; no foundational institutional changes were occasioned by its findings.

Montego Bay, Street People Commission of Enquiry

On November 5, 2000, The Gleaner reported that the bill was at $4.2 million and could rise to over $5 million. This was after most of the bills had been submitted, but the three commissioners’ honorariums had not yet been paid. Carl Patterson led the commission, which lasted over 30 days in Montego Bay, St James. Derek Taylor, the commission’s secretary, said that the commissioners’ “rate was approximately $10,000 per day each, with the chairman (Carl Patterson) getting a little bit more”.

The commission of enquiry into the street people scandal found no one criminally responsible for the abduction of 32 street people from the streets of Montego Bay, in the pre-dawn hours of July 15, 1999. They were set loose in St Elizabeth. However, it was revealed that the State’s resources — the local authority truck, rope purchased by the council and police officers — had been used.

West Kingston Commission of Enquiry #1

On July 31, 2002, The Gleaner reported that then Prime Minister P J Patterson told Parliament that just over $44.6 million had been spent on the West Kingston Commission of Enquiry. Among the expenditure was $700,334.90 for chairman of the commission, Canadian Justice Julius Isaac. As Justice Isaac was still paid a salary by the Canadian Government while chairing the enquiry, he was not paid a salary by the Jamaican Government, but there was a per diem of CDN$130 daily for 184 days. All payments were made directly to the Canadian High Commission.

Isaac, who slept intermittently through some of the hearings, was accommodated at the Courtleigh Hotel at a cost $479,000.

Members of the security forces were cleared of the events in western Kingston from July 7-10, 2000, which resulted in 27 people being killed, including a JDF soldier and a policeman.

FINSAC Enquiry

This enquiry has taken the form of a permanent gestation now that the PNP is in office. It was set to investigate the financial sector meltdown of the 1990s. So far it has cost the taxpayers over $140 million and needs another $12-$15 million to achieve full closure. For obvious political reasons this Administration may truly not want the FINSAC Enquiry completed.

Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips told Parliament in June 2012 that the Government had spent $65 million to finance the commission and that there had been outstanding bills for rental and other costs. The commission which began sitting in September 2009, was expected to last for six months, but only wrapped up proceedings towards the end of 2012.

Manatt-Dudus Enquiry

The Manatt-Dudus Commission of Enquiry was set up to examine the Government’s handling of the extradition request for Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, and the subsequent hiring of US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Cabinet originally approved the spending of $37 million for the commission. The final cost was nearly $100 million. Bruce Golding [then prime minister], paid his own legal fees.

No one was held criminally responsible although there were some political causalities, including Golding.

Enquiry into the Morant Bay Rebellion 1866

Let’s compare the outcomes of these recent enquiries to the enquiry into the events of the Morant Bay Rebellion of 1866. This was set up when the ‘very wicked white imperialists’ ruled Jamaica.

“Paul and Moses Bogle assisted by George William Gordon — and others — tried to convince Governor Eyre to improve the conditions of the masses, and when he refused to even talk to them, they walked back to St Thomas and burned plantations and killed several planters including the custos of the parish, Baron von Ketelholdt.

“In retaliation, British soldiers and the Maroons [note Maroons] killed hundreds of the former slaves on the spot, and hanged hundreds after ‘Kangaroo trials’ [my inclusion].

The Commission of Enquiry into the Morant Bay Rebellion looked not only at the mayhem caused by the ‘rebels’ but also at the social conditions which led to the revolt, and at the propriety of the means used by the colonial authorities to quell the hostilities.

The recommendations were far-reaching. Not only did Governor Eyre lose his job (for mishandling the situation), but the constitutional arrangements for Jamaica changed. The House of Assembly — the seat of the plantocracy — was abolished, and Jamaica became a Crown Colony, ruled directly by Britain.” Peter Espeut, The Gleaner, 2002

That was not a ‘rubber teeth’ commission of enquiry.

The major enquiries since 1962 have cost taxpayers billions but have borne little real benefits for the ordinary Jamaican. Most of the recommendations have not seen the light of day. Many of the reports of these commissions are hard to access by the general public. We need to immediately retrofit how we structure these commissions and set structures in place to ensure that recommendations are implemented in a timely basis – otherwise we are wasting time and money as we are now with the Tivoli Enquiry #2.

“A common allegation is that commissions are set up merely to get politicians off the hook on a current embarrassment. Once out of the way, the issue can…be forgotten and the report …shelved.” (Bulmer 1982)

Garfield Higgins in an educator and journalist. Comments to higgins160@yahoo.com