Dear Editor,

Why must anyone apply for higher-tier positions in Jamaica when top jobs are carved and given to those fortunate to be named amongst the elites who gain employment through nepotism and political favouritism?

The formula for success has been to attend primary, then secondary, then tertiary, and from there, with at least a first degree, you would be able to move through the ranks as you continue to upskill. This, however, has been a façade and has germinated into one of the biggest scams that Jamaica has ever seen. We have seen that retired people remain on the books in contract positions and/or are placed in positions without vetting, primarily in the public sector. Yet the qualified populous are subjected to either business process outsourcing or pretentious interviews that go nowhere, as the make-believe panellists already know the selected. What is truly heart-rending is the Government’s claims that there are no skilled Jamaicans and that it will be required to import human capital — another blunder. The true Jamaican reality is that qualified professionals are forced to migrate to acquire meaningful work aligned with their qualifications and years of experience.

The qualified are fed up with being classed as employed when their actual reality is that they are underemployed workers who are not able to meet their basic needs. The working class is crippled by the epidemic of nepotism and political favouritism. Qualification and experience do not matter. It is who you know and how much of a political pull you have in this country that gets you the chief executive officers, chief technical directors, permanent secretaries, managing directors, and secretary general positions, to name a few. And, no, I am not confusing recommendations or references with nepotism and political favouritism.

I am confident that when published this article will resonate with many Jamaicans, some of whom have resorted to lower-end jobs and some have even been stuck at the same desk for 20-30 years because they cannot climb the ladder. Others have been faced with the backlash of being blacklisted and bullied by the nepotists and political “favourists” who have been placed in these high-tiered jobs. It might be an accurate correlation or assessment that the high levels of fraud, misappropriation of funds, or even procedural errors that have become national and international blunders, some may even dub them a disgrace, are because of nepotism or political favouritism.

How will this epidemic be stemmed? The public sector reforms have not found an antidote to eradicate nepotism and political favouritism. Instead, we read about the systemic symptoms that have led to the qualified working class fleeing in droves. The so-called recruitment system in the public sector is a fallacy masked by public advertisements for top positions as cover to say, “We have a transparent process.” However, those of us who have participated are aware of the scam, as often, when walking out of these interviews, you see who is entering the building, and days later, they are named. It is only when the scandal looms and starts to make an uncontrollable stench that the masks and the façade are presented on a platter riddled with disgrace.

So, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, it is not that Jamaica does not have skilled workers, it is that they are kept out of the opportunities that exist. The only option to earn is to work below their qualified scale, an unfair result of fallacy stemming from nepotism and political favouritism.

Vernon Silvera

professorvernonsilvera@outlook.com