Imagine landing a coveted job with one of the most prestigious companies in your country without having to do a job interview or public screening process. One of the main qualifying criterion is consistent and active loyalty to the brand or the significance of your political contribution. You are to oversee the management of large capital budgets, grow the company, and improve profitability. Sounds like a dream, right?

This is the reality in Jamaica, where becoming the chairman of a public agency or government board lies in the hands of the government minister in charge of that agency or the ‘say so’ of the prime minister and Cabinet. Once approvals are given, the country learns about it via the tabling in Parliament of said board appointments.

In contrast, in other jurisdictions, like the United States, the heads of essential agencies or positions must be nominated and publicly screened before a Senate or Congress committee to determine competence and experience for the role in question. For example, earlier this month, US President-elect Donald Trump selected Matt Gaetz to lead the Department of Justice. The House Ethics Committee was to release an investigative report about him. However, whether or not the report was damning, Gaetz withdrew from consideration.

I recall many moons ago when I first became a Cabinet minister, I was naive to the process that, in politics, loyalty trumps competence. I figured that individuals with years of experience running profitable corporations successfully would understand the importance of efficiency, innovation, and best management practices to get things done and move agencies in the right direction. How wrong I was.

I remember one person I selected as chairman saying they were not prepared to work with the deputy I selected because they were known supporters of “the other side”.

“Lisa, don’t you know he is a Labourite?”

I didn’t move either one of them and they ended up working well together adding significant value.

For a long time, Jamaica’s progress has been held hostage by these tribal institutional practices by both the People’s National Party (PNP) and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), whereby board appointments and selections are made without any public scrutiny, objective criteria, or parliamentary committee screening. These boards set the policy for public agencies, make decisions on budget expenditure, and sign off on the hiring of executive officers. Therefore, is it in Jamaica’s best interest for these decisions to be made on a political bias versus objective criteria?

Public bodies comprise statutory bodies and authorities (with body corporate status), as well as government-owned companies. Collectively, they represent a critical component of the public sector. Approximately 150 active public bodies must perform regulatory, advisory, supervisory, research, administrative, technical, or quasi-judicial functions.

However, some entities engage in both public policy and commercial activities. These are a subset of the self-financing public bodies (SFPBs) which receive money from cash flows and payroll taxes.

For this financial year, the Ministry of Finance expects this group, which comprise 53 companies, to realise revenue of approximately $646.21 billion, representing 48 per cent of the national budget of $1.34 trillion.

Moreover, in an effort to facilitate the Government’s development agenda and enhance its operations, the public bodies have forecast to spend approximately $96.44 billion on capital expenditure. The breakdown: National Housing Trust [NHT] ($50.72b), National Water Commission ($10.82b), and The Port Authority of Jamaica ($7.90b) should account for approximately 72 per cent or $69.44 billion of the planned capital expenditure. Additionally, the Airports Authority of Jamaica ($4.73b), PetroJam Limited ($3.60b), and Housing Agency of Jamaica ($3.16b) will account for another $11.48b (12 per cent) of projected capital expenditures.

The significance of taking an uneconomic decision to select heads of boards to oversee these public bodies is brought into sharp focus when we consider the examples of the losses incurred by Air Jamaica, the sugar industry, and Jamaica Urban Transit Company, to name a few. These losses create the necessity for budget deficits, leading to high interest rates, borrowing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and subsequent devaluation of the Jamaican dollar.

Jamaica’s dismal growth rates over the last 30 years, compared to our Caribbean neighbours the Dominican Republic, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago, can in large part be traced to the poor management decisions of these statutory companies.

Globally, it’s well known that Governments are inefficient and bureaucratic. When you add to this mix ineffective and incompetent management at board levels for agencies that you expect to add exponential value, nothing can move forward. The impact of these decisions reverberates far beyond the present and has profound adverse effects on future generations. Appointments to a public agency board are only the start, but what are the consequences when a board makes terrible decisions that prevent the entity from fulfilling its mandate? Who will hold the NHT board or any public board accountable when it does not meet the set mandates for the financial year? Is the public expected to wait for the minister to question and/or terminate the board?

To my mind, government agencies, for example, HEART/NSTA and NHT, which receive billions of tax dollars directly from the public for funding its programmes and infrastructure to improve the lives of Jamaicans, must have governing heads of boards and members who go through a public vetting process versus only being ministerial appointees to be approved by Cabinet.

Additionally, the performance of the boards should also be evaluated every two years against their targets to the public and Parliament.

As a Member of Parliament I am given the responsibility to appoint school boards that make policy decisions for most schools in my constituency. I’ve often wondered why, as I am not a trained educator or academician or have any technical education/curriculum reform training. The recent Reform of Education in Jamaica 2021 report by Professor Orlando Patterson says: “Although the great majority of its children have access to primary and secondary schooling, Jamaica has a severe learning crisis, in that a majority of students at the end of primary school remain illiterate and innumerate, and most leave secondary school with no marketable skills.” So I must take collective responsibility for where our education sector is today.

In conclusion, it’s time that we demand more public accountability from our leaders. Both political parties have been guilty of tribal nepotism for too long, which has only stagnated long-term economic growth, education, and quality of life for our people.

Lisa Hanna is Member of Parliament for St Ann South Eastern, People’s National Party spokesperson on foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a former Cabinet member.