Let’s suspend security of tenure now
After 47 years of Jamaica’s Independence, it is more than obvious that we have not done a good job at managing our affairs. Jamaica is badly adrift and is on the verge of becoming a failed or rogue state.
Saving our country requires strong leadership and an urgent overhaul of the public bureau-cracy, which has failed at its job to effectively manage the country’s business and deliver first-rate services. The public sector needs an infusion of talent.
Public-service employment arrangements, inherited from less complex economic times, make it difficult to import talent into the bureaucracy or to remove employees, except for the most egregious misbehaviour.
Given Jamaica’s crisis, we must declare a period of public emergency, allowing for the suspension of security of tenure for civil servants as well as an impartial assessment of the people now employed and the jobs they perform.
Part of a revolution
The bottom line is that public-sector reform must not merely be an accounting exercise for dealing with immediate fiscal problems. It is part of a revolution.
The best talent, regardless of political antecedent, must be employed to do the job.
Concomitant with the over-haul of the public sector, Government, in consultation with the private enterprise and civil society, must establish policy priorities for creating the environment conducive to social stability, economic growth and job creation.
We must demand action from the Government and hold them accountable for performance.
Similarly, the political execu-tive must retreat from its generally incompetent dabbling in bureaucratic management, leaving that job to those for whom it is intended – the public servant. The politicians must do their own job of establishing policy and holding public service managers accountable for theirs.
In this rebuilding, Prime Minister Golding must assume the role of mobiliser-in-chief, exciting Jamaicans into wanting to be part of the renewal, rather than fleeing the country.Tough challenges
This revolution will, of course, face tough challenges, including many that require political consensus. Some of these include legislative changes to further modernise the economy, fight corruption and improve security and justice.
It is Mr Golding’s job, as prime minister, to lead this process. It is, however, neither his nor the ruling party’s alone.
The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) must behave responsibly. Its own long, ineffectual period in government contributed to Jamaica’s decline. The PNP’s leadership has an obligation to contribute to the fix. They must be clear that they will be held to account if they are obstructionist.
Political parties and their leaders must no longer be allowed to manipulate poor, uneducated Jamaicans, whose votes they perennially milk for the advantage of the political class. A rejuvenated and newly assertive private sector and civil society must be vigilant and willing to speak out.
Lead the change – Renew private sector for a renewed Jamaica
Except for a handful of institutions and a few individuals, Jamaica’s civil-society and private-sector leadership has, for too long, been accommodating of incompetent management of the country’s affairs.
If our nation is to be rescued from its long and worsening economic and social crises, that will have to change. Private-sector institutions and leaders must find their voice, assert their influence and demand an environment that is conducive to growth and prosperity. Civic leadership must help liberate Government from its entrapments by outmoded economic policies which are supposedly good for the poor, but which really keep Jamaica in poverty.
This will require the willingness of business/civic leaders to identify weak political leadership, bad public-sector management, and to offer the private sector’s skill, insights and support to an often well-meaning, but mostly inefficient bureaucracy.
Corruption unacceptable
Politicians and bureaucrats, in this regard, must be told that corruption is just not acceptable in any form, and that our untrust-worthy police force and creaky justice systems have to be fixed. They must know, too, that civil society, broadly, but more specifically the private sector, will not tolerate the relationship, residual or otherwise, between political parties and community enforcers, which perpetuates garrison politics.
At the same time, the private sector must insist on a rebalanced economic environment. Undue tilt needs shifting in favour of margin gatherers to an even keel where real sectors, with a capacity to create jobs, can find a sustainable space.
Flexibility in fiscal reform
Economic reform must also include greater flexibility on the part of firms to reorganise, including making positions redundant, without risking staff’s existence, which is now often the case.
Existing laws require companies to meet the high cost of severance, especially when stressed firms can least afford to pay.
It is sort of like the private sector flip side to the near, if not absolute, security of tenure enjoyed by civil servants.
The private sector is not without history of leading change. It certainly has the leverage to demand it.
In the 1970s, a period of deep ideological schism, many Jamai-cans feared for their democratic freedoms. The late Carlton Alexander, CEO of Grace-Kennedy, and others, spoke out forcefully. In the process, they created the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica as an effective counterbalance to government policy. They helped win the ideological battle of the day.
With appropriate mobilisation and support, a similar victory is possible over today’s decidedly different, and perhaps even more profound, problems.
We want and deserve more
Jamaica is ill-served by a public bureaucracy that has retreated from its responsibility to manage. The problem is compounded by politicians who believe not only that the job is theirs but that they are capable of doing it.
The result is abject failure, exemplified by the embarrassingly small economic growth since Independence, deepening poverty, high levels of crime, poor performance in education, a decrepit justice system, inadequate infrastructure as well as social and physical decay. There is, too, our intensely competitive and divisive political process that often breeds violence and has difficulty in fostering consensus.
While our politicians stumble around in management roles that were not designed for them and for which most have neither skill nor training, their core policy functions are poorly handled or left largely unattended.
The executive has become, at once, formulators and implementers of policy in a system that lacks real oversight or accountability. Parliament operates inefficiently. Constituency representation is often weak and, in some cases, ‘outsourced’ to, if not outright criminals, people who operate close to the margins.
These, of course, are not new problems. Nor are they limited to any specific party or administration. But Jamaicans are fed up. They want and deserve better. The environment is ripe for change.
Listening to the people
The transformation must start with our leaders engaging in a frank conversation with the people, listening to our ideas, being willing to act decisively for the good of the country. Small parliamentary majorities can’t be held up as the reason for failing to do what is right; and should appropriate policies be predicated on their impact on the next election?
In other words, our call is for a leadership that is beyond declarations of integrity, but a readiness to respond to the hard tests when they come – such as extraditing accused criminals, whatever their status in a political constituency, or how strategic their support may be considered to a party.
Time to mount efforts
It requires, too, that politicians and their critical supporters stop exploiting the ignorance of portions of our population. It is also time for our leaders to mount credible efforts to dismantle political garrisons.
This restructuring must also include reform of the legislature. The Senate must no longer be used as a place to reward the hard-core party faithful or those who fail at the hustings. Its members should be bright people, allowing the Upper House to operate as a serious, deliberative chamber and from where governments can appoint key ministers.Sweeping changes
The legislature is not only inefficient, but expensive to operate. We propose that the seats in the House of Represen-tatives be cut from 60 to 45, the size of the Cabinet radically reduced, and better use made of backbenchers in the legislative process.
For two decades, Jamaica has talked local-government reform but has achieved little. We should cut the number of parish councils and consolidate their operations.
Parliamentarians must be paid decently but their remuneration should be linked to performance and a system of accountability. We must also introduce state-financed political campaigns, with clear limits on what parties can spend.
At the bottom line, we insist on a political process that is prudent and responsible, offering adequate representation to its constituents. It should be so structured to attract the best talent and the confidence to hold itself accountable for performance.
A Call to Action (Editorial Series) – Do it or leave!
Introduction:
Jamaicans have for decades complained about the state of our country – its poor economic performance, its poverty, its poor management, its crime, its violence. Many people have become fed up with the seeming inaction on the part of those we elect and the bureaucracy we pay to put things right.
Things cannot continue as they are; certainly not in these exceptional times. In a series of four editorials, The Gleaner is calling Jamaicans to action, to engage in a debate on the kind of country we want to live in, and to hold to account those who have abrogated their responsibility to manage, and to insist on a radical overhaul in the way we conduct our affairs. For it can’t continue this way.
Jamaicans are recognised as an exceptional and talented people. But for the nearly 50 years since Independence, our economy has been stagnant and the majority of our people live in poverty. Today, our country is adrift and confused.
This failure is primarily the result of public bureaucracy that has failed to perform, is managerially incompetent, and lacking in accountability.
And having been cowed by political bosses, our bureaucracy not only retreated from its central role of delivering quality service efficiently, but ceded its job to a political executive, whose role was conceived not to manage the government bureaucracy, but to establish policy and ensure accountability.
This failure of public-sector management tells in, among other things, our low quality of education, high crime rate, a justice system in which most people have lost trust, a corrupt police force, little or no economic growth and, ultimately, Jamaica’s underdevelopment.
In the 1960s, for example, Jamaica was on the lower rungs of the industrial development ladder and among the leaders on the human-development index.
Economic growth averaged six per cent a year. Singapore was still a rough-and-ready port city.
Today, Jamaica’s per capita GDP hovers at around US$5,000; Singapore’s is over US$31,000. Singapore is wealthy and orderly; Jamaica is lawless, disordered and seemingly ungovernable.
Yet, even as our bloated bureaucracy stagnates, it has been skilled at shaping a public sector to its own benefit and perpetuation. For instance, the Government’s direct wage bill is $127 billion, nearly $49,000 a year for every man, woman and child in the country, or approximately 12 cents of every dollar for all goods and services produced in Jamaica.
This, of course, does not include another $10 billion a year in non-contributory pension payments; duty concession on motor vehicles; massive leave entitlement; and for the central civil service, an anachronistic system of security of tenure. Looked at coldly, theirs, for all the complaints about pay, is essentially an easy, unproductive existence of little transparency and even less accountability.
This is unaffordable. It demands an urgent and radical overhaul. The current economic crisis and the reform of the public sector, mandated by Prime Minister Golding, provides a good opportunity that must be seized.
First, it must be made clear that transformation must be centred on fashioning the public sector to deliver services at lower costs and holding public-sector managers accountable. Jobs should be performance-based with clear systems to measure outcomes against deliverables. Employees should be paid for performance.
Anachronistic notions, such as security of tenure for public servants, must be revisited, making it easier to disengage non-performers. Indeed, we should perhaps declare a state of emergency on this matter, and urgently pass temporary legislation to allow for the necessary reforms.
While Prime Minister Golding and others in the political directorate are expected to set the vision, we expect that permanent secretaries and other senior public servants, in accordance with their job functions, must implement the plans. If they are incapable, they should go.
Welcome to Call to Action
Welcome to The Gleaner’s Call to Action blog.
The Gleaner will be publishing a series of front page editorials covering critical issues running from this Sunday, December 6 until Wednesday, December 9 and we want to hear from you!
Jamaicans have for decades complained about the state of our country – its poor economic performance, its poverty, its poor management, its crime, its violence. Many people have become fed-up with the seeming inaction on the part of those we elect and the bureaucracy we pay to put things right.
Things cannot continue as they are certainly not in these exceptional times. In a series of four editorials The Gleaner is calling Jamaicans to action, to engage in a debate on the kind of country we want to live in and to hold to account those who have abrogated their responsibility to manage and to insist on a radical overhaul in the way we conduct our affairs. For it can’t continue this way.
Follow the editorials and let us start the discussion.
http://gleanerblogs.com/calltoaction/
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Solution: Cooperate Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete wants agri ties with Jamaica
Kikwete wants agri ties with Jamaica
Published: Wednesday November 25, 2009
Published: Wednesday November 25, 2009
President of Tanzania Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete (left) and Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Dr Christopher Tufton, pat a 'Black Poll' bull, during a tour of the Bodles Research Centre in St Catherine yesterday. - JIS photo
Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete says he is impressed with Jamaica's agricultural research, and wants closer cooperation between both countries in that area.
"There is need for exchanging information and exchanging experience, and to use that experience for the benefit of our two peoples and two countries," Kikwete said yesterday, during a tour of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries' Bodles Research Station in Old Harbour, St Catherine. The tour formed part of the itinerary for his three-day state visit to Jamaica.
Kikwete said efforts are being made to transform the agriculture sector in his country to make peasant farming more productive.
"Our preoccupation is increasing about the use of water for our agriculture, meaning irrigation; the use of high-yielding seeds and the challenge is about its availability, and this is where the research institution comes in," he explained.
Echoed need
Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton welcomed the visiting president and his delegation for the tour, and echoed the need for cooperation.
"We're quite mindful of the fact that in Tanzania the bulk of your economic activity is in the area of agriculture," Tufton said, noting that almost 20 per cent of Jamaica's labour force is involved in agriculture.
"As a consequence, we share that important variable, and we believe that we can learn from each other."
Kikwete will leave Jamaica tomorrow for Trinidad and Tobago to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Port-of-Spain.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Make cadet training mandatory
Make cadet training mandatory
Published: Monday September 14, 2009
The Editor, Sir:
The cadet force is a disciplined organisation that takes on both military and community activities. Participation in cadet activities changes the lives of many individuals and it is a deterrent to indiscipline in our schools.
It has been established that some high schools across the country are experiencing problems with students' behaviour. In an effort to instil discipline and positive attitude in our youths, thus enabling them to become focus and responsible citizens, the Government should mandate that every public high school should have a cadet unit. I believe that there should be a partnership between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF) where principals of the participating schools provide a designated teacher (male or female) to supervise or be placed in charge of the unit.
Drawback
The JCCF could provide the appropriate training and equipment, whereby the schools provide the space or storage facility for equipment, that is, uniforms, training manuals, etc. In the event there is a lack of space at the schools, then the MOE could provide a container for the purpose. A drawback to the effort is that many teachers might not see the cadet force as an option because service in such an organisation is voluntary. However, there are privileges that are associated with being a member of the JCCF.
With reference to St Thomas, most high schools are in need of active cadet units at those institutions. I strongly believe that if the Government embark on such an effort, then we will see some productive students growing up to become responsible adults.
I am, etc.,
CHARLIE BROWN
charliebrown1004@hotmail.com
St Thomas
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090914/letters/letters6.html
Published: Monday September 14, 2009
The Editor, Sir:
The cadet force is a disciplined organisation that takes on both military and community activities. Participation in cadet activities changes the lives of many individuals and it is a deterrent to indiscipline in our schools.
It has been established that some high schools across the country are experiencing problems with students' behaviour. In an effort to instil discipline and positive attitude in our youths, thus enabling them to become focus and responsible citizens, the Government should mandate that every public high school should have a cadet unit. I believe that there should be a partnership between the Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF) where principals of the participating schools provide a designated teacher (male or female) to supervise or be placed in charge of the unit.
Drawback
The JCCF could provide the appropriate training and equipment, whereby the schools provide the space or storage facility for equipment, that is, uniforms, training manuals, etc. In the event there is a lack of space at the schools, then the MOE could provide a container for the purpose. A drawback to the effort is that many teachers might not see the cadet force as an option because service in such an organisation is voluntary. However, there are privileges that are associated with being a member of the JCCF.
With reference to St Thomas, most high schools are in need of active cadet units at those institutions. I strongly believe that if the Government embark on such an effort, then we will see some productive students growing up to become responsible adults.
I am, etc.,
CHARLIE BROWN
charliebrown1004@hotmail.com
St Thomas
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090914/letters/letters6.html
EDITORIAL - The Dickensian shame of Armadale
EDITORIAL - The Dickensian shame of Armadale
Published: Monday September 14, 2009
In a sense, the Armadale enquiry wasn't really necessary. It wasn't going to tell us anything that we didn't know. Most Jamaicans know about the horrible conditions at the so-called correctional centres and places of safety.
Sadie Keating's committee earlier this decade, for instance, documented rampant sexual and physical abuse at both government and privately run homes where children ought to believe they have bankable guarantees of refuge and well-being.
We are aware, too, of the beatings and torture in 2000 at the prison in St Catherine, and the findings of the sole commissioner who probed that atrocity. Before these, there was the report on the riots at the Tower Street Correctional Centre that highlighted the overcrowding at the prison, the ill-treatment of prisoners, and the general corruption of the system.
But even though there would be no grand revelations from Justice Harrison's probe of the events in May at Armadale, St Ann, where seven of the inmates of this facility for girls were burnt to death, we knew that it was important that we hear what happened and the circumstances in which it happened. For it is important, we feel, continuously to confront ourselves and to test our tolerance for indecency until, perhaps, we are at a point where we can no longer endure and, therefore, shame ourselves into action - to a behaviour for the better.
A degrading Dickensian hellhole
In the first regard, the enquiry did not disappoint, confirming Armadale as a degrading Dickensian hellhole for which no one, from top to bottom and in-between, assumes any responsibility and has no expectation of being held to account. Unless, perhaps, Justice Harrison deems someone criminally liable for starting the fire that caused the deaths and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions prefers charges against that individual.
But igniting the fire that caused the deaths and injuries was not the worse thing that happened at Armadale. The fire, the raw truth be acknowledged, was mere symptomatic of something far nastier and more corrosive than what is likely to have been a case of bad judgement: it is a toxic cocktail of abrogation of responsibility and indecent disrespect. So people who find themselves in a particular circumstance or are hemmed into a certain stratum are worthy, it appears, of not more than a Dickensian workhouse.
Psychotic behaviour
Should such an assertion be deemed unfair, how else then is the evidence of Dr Micas Campbell, who attended to the Armadale girls, explained?
Several of the 61 wards, she said, displayed various forms of psychotic behaviour, including hallucination and suicidal and homicidal tendencies. Some were particularly aggressive. Some suffered from depression and anxiety. But the State, in whose care they were placed, which had responsibility for their welfare, could not find it possible to ensure that teenage girls with deep psychological problems receive prescribed medication on a regular basis. Nor could Dr Campbell get two girls, with deeper problems, complicated by diagnosis of HIV, removed from Armadale. They died in the fire.
That attitude is symptomatic of a culture in which what happened at Armadale in May was entirely possible. What is worse, no one at any level of the system seems to feel responsible, which makes them irresponsible, and should go, starting at the top of the correctional system.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090914/cleisure/cleisure1.html
Published: Monday September 14, 2009
In a sense, the Armadale enquiry wasn't really necessary. It wasn't going to tell us anything that we didn't know. Most Jamaicans know about the horrible conditions at the so-called correctional centres and places of safety.
Sadie Keating's committee earlier this decade, for instance, documented rampant sexual and physical abuse at both government and privately run homes where children ought to believe they have bankable guarantees of refuge and well-being.
We are aware, too, of the beatings and torture in 2000 at the prison in St Catherine, and the findings of the sole commissioner who probed that atrocity. Before these, there was the report on the riots at the Tower Street Correctional Centre that highlighted the overcrowding at the prison, the ill-treatment of prisoners, and the general corruption of the system.
But even though there would be no grand revelations from Justice Harrison's probe of the events in May at Armadale, St Ann, where seven of the inmates of this facility for girls were burnt to death, we knew that it was important that we hear what happened and the circumstances in which it happened. For it is important, we feel, continuously to confront ourselves and to test our tolerance for indecency until, perhaps, we are at a point where we can no longer endure and, therefore, shame ourselves into action - to a behaviour for the better.
A degrading Dickensian hellhole
In the first regard, the enquiry did not disappoint, confirming Armadale as a degrading Dickensian hellhole for which no one, from top to bottom and in-between, assumes any responsibility and has no expectation of being held to account. Unless, perhaps, Justice Harrison deems someone criminally liable for starting the fire that caused the deaths and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions prefers charges against that individual.
But igniting the fire that caused the deaths and injuries was not the worse thing that happened at Armadale. The fire, the raw truth be acknowledged, was mere symptomatic of something far nastier and more corrosive than what is likely to have been a case of bad judgement: it is a toxic cocktail of abrogation of responsibility and indecent disrespect. So people who find themselves in a particular circumstance or are hemmed into a certain stratum are worthy, it appears, of not more than a Dickensian workhouse.
Psychotic behaviour
Should such an assertion be deemed unfair, how else then is the evidence of Dr Micas Campbell, who attended to the Armadale girls, explained?
Several of the 61 wards, she said, displayed various forms of psychotic behaviour, including hallucination and suicidal and homicidal tendencies. Some were particularly aggressive. Some suffered from depression and anxiety. But the State, in whose care they were placed, which had responsibility for their welfare, could not find it possible to ensure that teenage girls with deep psychological problems receive prescribed medication on a regular basis. Nor could Dr Campbell get two girls, with deeper problems, complicated by diagnosis of HIV, removed from Armadale. They died in the fire.
That attitude is symptomatic of a culture in which what happened at Armadale in May was entirely possible. What is worse, no one at any level of the system seems to feel responsible, which makes them irresponsible, and should go, starting at the top of the correctional system.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published. http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090914/cleisure/cleisure1.html
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Managing in times of recession: success through partnership and collaboration
Managing in times of recession: success through partnership and collaboration
Published: Tuesday September 1, 2009
Ibrahim Ajagunna, Director, Academic Studies, Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI)and Fritz Pinnock,Executive Director (CMI), Contributors
The impact of the recent recession has had a tremendous effect on the shipping industry and Maritime Education in Jamaica.
Both are now downsizing in all aspects of their operations simply because of recession. It is important to recognise that the roots of a recession and its true starting point rest in several quarters of positive but slowing growth before the actual recession.
While this is so, it is also important to recognise other economic change variables such as national unemployment rates or consumer confidence and spending levels, which are all a part of the economic system and which must be taken into consideration when considering a recession.
In an economic environment where inflation is prevalent, people tend to cut out things like leisure spending and spend less on things they usually indulge in.
People will attempt to save more money than they usually do and sometimes they do so through wrong investments that yield super profit in a short time period. As a result of this people and businesses start finding ways to cut costs and avoid unneeded expenditures which will eventually lead to decline in the Gross Domestic Product.
As experienced recently in the shipping industry and other businesses in Jamaica, unemployment rates continue to rise because these companies start to lay off workers to cut more costs.
This however occurs because consumers are not spending like they use to do. These combined factors according to experts help to drive an economy into a state of recession. Economists also believe that this set of circumstances, coupled with the ability of people to get access to greater amounts of loan money, creates a cycle of unsustainable economic activity which may eventually grind an economy to a near halt existence.
Rough tide
These views are not different from experiences in Jamaica over the last few years.
The Hellenic Shipping News recently revealed the rough tide for shipping lines globally for which there has been sharp reduction in cargo volumes worldwide. The last six months for example have seen a huge amount of capacity changes in the container industry, including the lay up of vessels.
According to Hellenic Shipping News, many shipping lines have responded to this tide with job cuts, and increases in freight rates have sharply plummeted in the last few months since the meltdown started.
The chief executive officer of Maersk Line, Eivind Kolding, in an interview with Hellenic Shipping News said that more job losses are likely at Maersk Line in 2010. Also, as part of the economic recession fallout, the AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary has indicated it will charge $300 more per 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on its Far East to Mediterranean and Northern Europe lanes with effect from 1 July 2009.
There is no doubt that this will extend to the Caribbean making the cost of goods to the consumer skyrocket. The question is, could this be an opportunity for shipping lines to cut costs and increase their revenue using the recession as a yardstick? Can partnership and collaboration help resolve the present bottleneck? The answer to the last question may probably be yes based on the following.
Partnerships and collaborative arrangements amongst all stakeholders in the shipping industry is one effective way of achieving success in the industry. Partnership and collaboration is a process of joint decision making among autonomous and key stakeholders of an inter-organisational domain to resolve problems of the domain and/or to manage issues related to the domain. It occurs when a group of autonomous stakeholders of a problem domain engage in an interactive process, using shared rules, norms, and structures, to act or decide on issues related to that domain.
Future challenges
It can lead to better decisions that are more likely to be implemented and, at the same time, better prepare agencies and communities for future challenges. Partnerships and collaborative ventures can help to unite the multiplicity of interests throughout all sectors of the diverse shipping industry.
To realise the growth potential of the industry, it is important to develop a high-quality, profitable and sustainable activity, through a partnership of industry, government and other stakeholders. Such a common arrangement will allow the private sector to work in conjunction with the public sector on a wide range of issues, for example, policy formulation, infrastructure development and provision, the development of maritime facilities and amenities, marketing and promotion and the development of skilled personnel for the industry.
By developing interpersonal and inter-organisational linkages, managers can be better informed and make choices about future directions that are more likely to solve the problems at hand. Collaborative decision-making and on-the-ground partnerships can enhance the capacity of agencies and communities to deal with problems in the future.
Published: Tuesday September 1, 2009
Ibrahim Ajagunna, Director, Academic Studies, Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI)and Fritz Pinnock,Executive Director (CMI), Contributors
The impact of the recent recession has had a tremendous effect on the shipping industry and Maritime Education in Jamaica.
Both are now downsizing in all aspects of their operations simply because of recession. It is important to recognise that the roots of a recession and its true starting point rest in several quarters of positive but slowing growth before the actual recession.
While this is so, it is also important to recognise other economic change variables such as national unemployment rates or consumer confidence and spending levels, which are all a part of the economic system and which must be taken into consideration when considering a recession.
In an economic environment where inflation is prevalent, people tend to cut out things like leisure spending and spend less on things they usually indulge in.
People will attempt to save more money than they usually do and sometimes they do so through wrong investments that yield super profit in a short time period. As a result of this people and businesses start finding ways to cut costs and avoid unneeded expenditures which will eventually lead to decline in the Gross Domestic Product.
As experienced recently in the shipping industry and other businesses in Jamaica, unemployment rates continue to rise because these companies start to lay off workers to cut more costs.
This however occurs because consumers are not spending like they use to do. These combined factors according to experts help to drive an economy into a state of recession. Economists also believe that this set of circumstances, coupled with the ability of people to get access to greater amounts of loan money, creates a cycle of unsustainable economic activity which may eventually grind an economy to a near halt existence.
Rough tide
These views are not different from experiences in Jamaica over the last few years.
The Hellenic Shipping News recently revealed the rough tide for shipping lines globally for which there has been sharp reduction in cargo volumes worldwide. The last six months for example have seen a huge amount of capacity changes in the container industry, including the lay up of vessels.
According to Hellenic Shipping News, many shipping lines have responded to this tide with job cuts, and increases in freight rates have sharply plummeted in the last few months since the meltdown started.
The chief executive officer of Maersk Line, Eivind Kolding, in an interview with Hellenic Shipping News said that more job losses are likely at Maersk Line in 2010. Also, as part of the economic recession fallout, the AP Moller-Maersk subsidiary has indicated it will charge $300 more per 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) on its Far East to Mediterranean and Northern Europe lanes with effect from 1 July 2009.
There is no doubt that this will extend to the Caribbean making the cost of goods to the consumer skyrocket. The question is, could this be an opportunity for shipping lines to cut costs and increase their revenue using the recession as a yardstick? Can partnership and collaboration help resolve the present bottleneck? The answer to the last question may probably be yes based on the following.
Partnerships and collaborative arrangements amongst all stakeholders in the shipping industry is one effective way of achieving success in the industry. Partnership and collaboration is a process of joint decision making among autonomous and key stakeholders of an inter-organisational domain to resolve problems of the domain and/or to manage issues related to the domain. It occurs when a group of autonomous stakeholders of a problem domain engage in an interactive process, using shared rules, norms, and structures, to act or decide on issues related to that domain.
Future challenges
It can lead to better decisions that are more likely to be implemented and, at the same time, better prepare agencies and communities for future challenges. Partnerships and collaborative ventures can help to unite the multiplicity of interests throughout all sectors of the diverse shipping industry.
To realise the growth potential of the industry, it is important to develop a high-quality, profitable and sustainable activity, through a partnership of industry, government and other stakeholders. Such a common arrangement will allow the private sector to work in conjunction with the public sector on a wide range of issues, for example, policy formulation, infrastructure development and provision, the development of maritime facilities and amenities, marketing and promotion and the development of skilled personnel for the industry.
By developing interpersonal and inter-organisational linkages, managers can be better informed and make choices about future directions that are more likely to solve the problems at hand. Collaborative decision-making and on-the-ground partnerships can enhance the capacity of agencies and communities to deal with problems in the future.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
NCJRS Abstracts Database - Corruption and Regulatory Structures
"NCJ Number
207126
Title:
Corruption and Regulatory Structures
Author(s):
Anthony Ogus
Publication Date:
July 2004
Pages:
18
Type:
Legislation/policy analysis
Origin:
United States
Language:
English
Annotation:
This article examines the problem of suppressing corruption in developing nations, focusing specifically on a critique of the conventional, regulatory strategies espoused by Western institutions.
Abstract:
One of the major obstacles to economic growth in developing nations has been identified as corruption. Governments in these developing countries have fallen under increased scrutiny and pressure from the World Bank and other international organizations to combat the problem. Western institutions have been urging developing countries to adopt the regulatory methods used to constrain corruption in Western industrialized societies. These regulatory methods focus on greater accountability and transparency in decisionmaking and on intensifying law enforcement efforts. The author argues that these strategies are not necessarily appropriate for developing nations facing problems of restricted law enforcement resources and deeply culturally embedded practices of corruption. Rather than adopting the Western regulatory model, the author asserts that developing nations should focus on reducing the opportunities for corruption within the context of regulatory decisionmaking, instead of attempting to suppress it altogether. The key aspects of regulatory institutions and procedures that have the potential of achieving the goal of reducing opportunities for corruption are identified, some of which are inconsistent with regulatory methods recommended by Western institutions. Reducing opportunities for corruption will not only be a more effective means of controlling corruption, it will also demand fewer resources than the Western regulatory approach. References
Main Term(s):
Corruption of public officials; Developing Countries
Index Term(s): Law enforcement; Regulatory agencies"
http://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=207126
207126
Title:
Corruption and Regulatory Structures
Author(s):
Anthony Ogus
Publication Date:
July 2004
Pages:
18
Type:
Legislation/policy analysis
Origin:
United States
Language:
English
Annotation:
This article examines the problem of suppressing corruption in developing nations, focusing specifically on a critique of the conventional, regulatory strategies espoused by Western institutions.
Abstract:
One of the major obstacles to economic growth in developing nations has been identified as corruption. Governments in these developing countries have fallen under increased scrutiny and pressure from the World Bank and other international organizations to combat the problem. Western institutions have been urging developing countries to adopt the regulatory methods used to constrain corruption in Western industrialized societies. These regulatory methods focus on greater accountability and transparency in decisionmaking and on intensifying law enforcement efforts. The author argues that these strategies are not necessarily appropriate for developing nations facing problems of restricted law enforcement resources and deeply culturally embedded practices of corruption. Rather than adopting the Western regulatory model, the author asserts that developing nations should focus on reducing the opportunities for corruption within the context of regulatory decisionmaking, instead of attempting to suppress it altogether. The key aspects of regulatory institutions and procedures that have the potential of achieving the goal of reducing opportunities for corruption are identified, some of which are inconsistent with regulatory methods recommended by Western institutions. Reducing opportunities for corruption will not only be a more effective means of controlling corruption, it will also demand fewer resources than the Western regulatory approach. References
Main Term(s):
Corruption of public officials; Developing Countries
Index Term(s): Law enforcement; Regulatory agencies"
http://www.ncjrs.gov/app/publications/abstract.aspx?ID=207126
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