Red-tape gridlock

Jamaica’s ability to develop at a faster pace is being hampered by “excessive bureaucracy”, Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness is arguing.

Holness, who was speaking at the official handover ceremony of the Essex Valley Agro-Processing Facility and Administrative Building in St Elizabeth, said yesterday that his Government could have completed “10 times” the number of projects it has over the past five years if not for “complicated” red tape.

The prime minister, pointing to the time it took to complete the agro-project which had been on the table since 2017, said several of the rules and legislation in place were adopted from other nations as a prerequisite for doing business with Jamaica or offering grants.

“You are not going to have simple processes in any country today. But, you can have complex processes that are not complicated. The problem with our bureaucracy is that it is complicated – meaning that things don’t happen simultaneously. They happen sequentially. So you have to do one before you can move on to the other,” said Holness.

“They’re not outcome-sensitive. So, it doesn’t matter if there was a hurricane and people had to procure telecommunications and other critical things to make sure that we can get to people who are stranded. That is not a matter for the public bureaucracy. That is of no moment, no concern,” he added.

Holness said for government to function efficiently and in a timely manner, the bureaucracy must be sensitive to outcomes and context.

“We must reform the bureaucracy,” the prime minister said.

His comments come on the heels of the tabling of a compliance audit report in Parliament in which Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis flagged as a breach of procurement rules, actions taken by Cabinet Minister Daryl Vaz in relation to the purchase of 200 Starlink devices valued at $12.12 million.

Starlink devices are user-operated satellite equipment developed by international technology firm SpaceX. They provide high-speed Internet connectivity in areas where traditional networks are unavailable or disrupted.

The devices were reportedly procured to address connectivity and communication issues following the passage of Hurricane Melissa in October last year.

Monroe Ellis reported that Vaz, acting in his capacity as co-chair of the Relief and Recovery Oversight Committee, improperly directed a disaster relief agency to engage a single supplier for the procurement. The auditor general said the move violated established procurement procedures, which require such actions to be initiated by the head of the procuring entity.

The audit report highlighted inventory failures, noting that 80 of the 200 Starlink devices were not recorded in the official inventory and remained unused on-site.

Further, it pointed to idle assets, showing that of the 120 devices distributed, inspections revealed that at least 41 were sitting in storage rather than being utilised.

There was also missing documentation, with five entities failing to log the devices in their asset registers, violating government policy and risking loss.

Additionally, the audit identified unverified distribution, with only 13 of 17 entities responding to verification requests, leaving the status of dozens of devices unknown.

The audit also noted questionable or disputed allocation of the devices, as the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) claimed a device was sent to the Ministry of Finance, but the ministry denied receiving it. It was reportedly collected by a close-protection officer instead.

The report said the JCF has yet to provide proof of authorisation from the Ministry of Transport or the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management for the distribution of the devices.

However, Vaz has rejected the finding of the audit concerning him, calling the conclusion “uninformed and grossly inaccurate”.

“I strongly reject any suggestion of wrongdoing for my justifiable actions,” said Vaz.

In a series of posts on social media site X yesterday, Vaz said: “If, in the midst of panic buying and price gouging, I am being faulted for intervening to secure devices to assist a national response, then I make no apologies and take full responsibility.”

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com