Where the Truth Lies Nov. 15-21, 2009

Well, it took this for me to finally open my mouth after a year of being pushed through the backdoor by my former editor. Actually, no backdoor was involved but I was still pushed. Now, the push is to speak because speech may be silvern but my silence won’t be Golding.

Being terminated and trying to avoid controversy is something many can empathise with. Getting the pink slip is oftentimes an affront to one’s manhood, especially when the employer gives a queer and quaint pretext, that is as transparent as the female underwear that bears the same name. The Commissioner, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin joined Bank of Jamaica Governor Derick Latibeaudiere and they have been put on the horse and shuffled out of town. A military man, Lewin is accustomed to being given marching orders, but this is ridiculous.

Latibeaudiere

That ‘Latty’ has been dismissed in not in dispute, although it is in disrepute. What is strange is not even the text of the Prime Minister’s (PM) speech but its pretext. The Governor was terminated because of his ludicrously large paycheck, a whopping "$38,363,360 plus a fully maintained car, entertainment expenses, medical and life insurance, guaranteed pension and all other benefits to which non-contracted service employees of the Bank are entitled." I would have been comfortable if he had indicated that the dismissal was for misconduct. With all the legal minds in the party and the expertise of all the trade unionists, could not even one of them show him how to trump up some charge or make a dismissal for misconduct stick? Insubordination could work. Didn’t the Minister of Fine ants (MF) - which must really be biting now, - mandate him to lower interest rates? Whatever is the case and however iron-clad the contract is, all contracts can be terminated summarily for misbehaviour.

Where there is misconduct, then the employer only has to pay emoluments and leave earned and not a red cent more. Since no charge of impropriety has been proffered then it must simply be that the governor and the government did not take tea. Given the breach of contract, the government is liable to pay Latty all of his unearned salary and buy out the contract. A hell of a price to pay for dissent. Bye bye Missa Latty Mi Bwoy! Take care Mr Incomaptibeaudierre. Now, the Driver has engaged the new brain, Brian Wynter, the son of Hector, late-labourite and journalist. We may be a tropical country but Wynters do come after false.

Commissioner

As for the Commissioner, he had “taken significant steps to stamp out corruption within the Force. He must be commended." Said the Prime Minister(PM).But not enough to control crime. So, it was not his act of commission but one of omission. The Ommissioner was dismissed. Come on! On October 12, the PM went to the direct employer of the Ommissioner, the Chairman of the Public Services Commission and complained that he "had lost confidence in the ability of the Commissioner to deliver the results that the country required." Bredren! It is at that stage that the real dismissal took place. In law we call that a constructive dismissal because all of Jamaica knows that when the PM tells the PSC that it does not want the employee, he does not relent. Section 5 (5)(c) of the Employment Termination and Redundancy Payment Act states that an employee is dismissed if “he is compelled, by reason of the employer’s conduct, to terminate that contract without notice.”

It was therefore very reasonable for the Admiral to salute, turn to the right and and "fall out!" by penning a letter of resignation three days before meeting with the PM on October 23.

My concern is that we now have an acting Commissioner, who had the crime portfolio, that led to us seeing the rear of the Admiral. What is the message that is being sent? Is it that Hardley was tying his hands or was the seaman being prevented from consummating his duties. I don’t like it because could pit police against police, especially since the “Commissioner Designate” vaulted six of his seniors to get the position. Owen Ellington is a good man who deserves all of our support in this war on crime, I just hope that the Prime Minister and crew give him a free hand and not feel that he can be vulnerable to his every behest like a marionette.

The Dust Unsettled

On another note, all wait with ‘baited’ breath as Uncle Sam asks for another of our own and it's not to join the army. People can say whatever they want but it is my opinion that too many of our citizens have been hurriedly shuttled out to the USA without enough been done to secure their rights. Haste makes waste. In any event, did not the indictment report that the individual did conspire with others to import and did, according to their evidence, bring guns into Jamaica? If that is the case shouldn’t we ask for them to be extradited to us? And why should we put US before us? Any way, let’s see how the dust settles.

In the meantime, threats have been allegedly made against Jamaican media houses over their reporting of the extradition request. It is unclear if the threat came from a credible source,since many enthusiasts will make ill-advised statements of the sort. If the short man is as smart as we think, it would be out of character to do so. Both the Gleaner and my employers, the RJR Communication Group have taken it seriously and have "beefed up security." Okay! I know that both locations are not easily accessible to the public, but how will the employees be protected 24/7? Me! I want two dogs, bullet-proof vests and two honest policewomen.

Understandably, General Secretary of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Chief Apologist, Karl Samuda has rejected the reports, declaring, "We're a civilized party and a civilized country and we must get away from this rumour mongering and rying to create havoc in our country. There's nothing of the kind ... dismiss it as abject rubbish,"

Nevertheless, while I am inclined to doubt that it was an "authorised" threat, the lingering question would be, "How would Samuda know?"

Opaque Transparency

Finally, we have slithered further down the ranks as Transparency International dropped us from having a Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 3.1 last year to 3.0 this year. Graded out of a possible of 10, the higher the number, the less is the perceived corruption. Like the Jamaican Dollar we have fallen unabated since 2003 when the CPI was at 3.8 and the country was ranked 57th on a list of 133 states. Now, Jamdown is 99th out of 180 nations.

Well, with a Junior Minister who allegedly took bribes while a serving bureaucrat under a previous administration; another who needed thousands of free light bulbs to brighten his economic future; a former ruling party that got an improper contribution from an international firm and now two female jurors or juresses who might have tried to obtain a bribe under duress and several members of the constabulary facing criminal charges, what do you expect? By the way, can you imagine a Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP, who lets off a co-accused scotch-free, without explanation,to turn him into a guiltless crown witness, then has the gall to seek majority verdicts instead of the present unanimous?

Oh! THe PM has "encouraged the police to act, despite the political ties of anyone believed to be involved in corruption." Talk and substance are not the same.