'Fat cats salary scandal' revisited
The Editor, Sir:
We cannot defend the indefensible. That having been said, the discussions going on for more than 18 months and the subsequent negotiations for the sale of toxic assets of the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) is a complex and time-consuming exercise. The SCJ's books, as far as I understand it, are not up to date, and this must be disconcerting since the company was being managed by technocrats from the Bank of Jamaica and a former president/CEO.
Aubyn Hill need not remind us of his qualifications from Harvard University. Former United States President George W. Bush went to Yale and Alan Greenspan went to New York University. It is your performance that counts, Mr Hill, and the thing that stands out foremost in my mind is the fact that it took a journalist to disclose that Infinity Bio-Energy was bankrupt although Mr Hill had been having discussions with the Brazilian company for over two years.
Salary scandal
In light of the disclosure of payments to Hill's company, president of the Nurses' Association of Jamaica, Edith Allwood-Anderson, is asking for more disclosures of payments to consultants. I fear that if this is done, we will have an islandwide shutdown of our health system.
In October 1999, the Financial Gleaner along with another newspaper broke the news on what became known as the 'Fat cats salary scandal'. This became an embarrassment to the then P.J. Patterson administration.
At the time the scandal broke, senior managers were claiming $120,000 for tickets to Miami while the tickets could be bought for 30 per cent less. The reports exposed what is possible when you have a corrupt administration running your country and very little oversight is exercised.
The then general manager of the SCJ, Vibert Young Kong, was earning $6 million a year with paid membership in the Liguanea Club and a 15 per cent gratuity based on his annual salary.
Nathan Richards - the third-highest paid public-sector executive, received $650,862 for overseas travel as part of a $7-million package to run the National Development Bank.
The governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Derick Latibeaudiere, was paid $139,485 for overseas travel and a salary of $7.266 million, as well as a fully maintained car. His chauffeur was earning over a $1 million a year; a senior deputy governor earned $5,224,441 annually, and the salaries of other deputies hovered around $4 million a year.
These packages do not include fully maintained vehicles, as well as access to low-cost mortgages and loans for vehicle purchases.
The salary for the managing director of Petrojam was reported at $6 million; Port Authority's CEO at $6 million and senior vice-presidents at $3.953 million; at the HEART Trust/NTA, the executive director's was $5.248 million and senior directors at $3.29 million; JAMPRO's head at $6.8 million and FINSAC's Patrick Hylton was at $5.7 million.
Remember those salaries and allowances were from 1999. If we don't want the nurses and other civil servants shutting down this country, dare we publish an updated version?
I am, etc.,
MARK CLARKE
mark_clarke9@yahoo.com
Siloah PO
St Elizabeth