Dear Editor,

Corruption in many different ways has been plaguing Jamaica for quite some time. It affects our everyday lives in ways that are not always very obvious. Have you ever seen a roadway renovated for millions of dollars — renovated or rehabilitated or whatever big word is used for fixing these days — only to drive on it seven or eight months later and it is worse than it was before all manner of photo ops and announcements were made?

Well, I have. And, sadly, this has been the practice of many contractors for years.

They do shoddy work, and then the Government and the political representatives who regale us with their glowing usage of the amazing facility which is the English Language with tall tales of how they are performing and fighting corruption, seem incompetent, as their best accomplishment was only to leave a sour taste in people’s mouths because it reduces the level of confidence we have in the competence of government.

This is one form of corruption that has cost this country way more money than probably the last three tax packages put together. In my community alone, a small stretch of road that would take me 10 minutes to walk cost over $25 million to repair. Now, using that as a gauge, one can easily see that billions upon billions have been spent on road repair. Sadly, so much of it is spent in such a way as to ensure that by next year the contract can be bid for the same road again.

I must say that there is one road in my community that has stood up perfectly with not even a pothole being formed. This, unfortunately, is not often the case.

Another problem is the civil service. An audit needs to be done with regard to how often over the last few years government workers have shown up late for work. Almost all government-run places in the country start work at 8:15 or so. However, so many civil servants keep strolling through the door at 10:00 am or 11:00 am. I have seen this over and over. If I tried that during my days in the classroom I would have been fired!

The things so many government workers get away with they could never try in the private sector. The result is a loss of efficiency.

The two problems listed above might seem trivial to some. However, if you equate the cost of shoddy work by some contractors and the lack of respect for the job by some civil servants you will realise that the country is losing billions of dollars that otherwise could go to productive use.

The challenge of the Andrew Holness Administration is going to be to rein in this monster of corruption in Jamaica. It is a huge weight on the economy and negates whatever the Government of the day is trying to do on a policy level.

Sure, by all means, legal and ethical, people must ‘eat a food’. However, the big problem is that the work done is not satisfactory.

Let us aim to do exemplary work instead. It will save the country billions in the long run.

To the prime minister, and his finance minister in particular, I say, good luck fighting this problem, and may God be with you. You will need His help.

Damion Heslop

damionheslop@yahoo.com