By Lavern Clarke, Staff ReporterFINANCE MINISTER Dr. Omar Davies says Government's failure to fully implement the Orane Report stemmed from concerns that the suggested cuts could bring social chaos if implemented too speedily.
Of the near $6 billion in savings over a three-year span suggested by the Orane Report, the Government has only realised cost cuts of $192.4 million.
Presenting the figures at a Jamaica Conference Board forum, PricewaterhouseCoopers partner, Eric Crawford, said critically that "very little has been accomplished in terms of implementing or rejecting those proposals." Crawford's comments on the Orane document came amidst his criticism of Government's "seemingly insatiable" appetite for spending.
But Davies, in response to the taxation expert, said the pace chosen was in the interest of the public.
"It's a difficult thing to say I'm going to save a billion here or there, because some of the recommendations have consequences, which I'm not sure the society would be able to deal with," Davies told the business executives.
SLOWER RATE
Executive agencies like the Registrar of Companies and the Registrar General's Department, he said, have made a difference, but the more significant savings in the report will come at a much slower rate "than just saying here's 20 billion, we must can knock off five," said the Minister. "You could have real chaos within the society."
The Orane Report, which resulted from a task force appointed by the Government in 1999 to examine waste in the public sector, was headed by then Independent Senator Douglas Orane, the chief executive of Grace, Kennedy & Company.
The Report had suggested seven main areas for chopping waste in the public sector - cutting back on rental for government agencies and ministries, rationalisation of overseas missions, rationalisation of public sector allowances, rationalisation of domestic travelling, rationalisation of overseas travelling, implementation of an advance card system for petrol purchase, and implementation of energy audits.
Government has been acting on some of the recommendations, among them, the rationalisation of missions and the gas card system.
Minister Davies has since set up another task force, comprising Patrick Hylton and Chris Bicknell, whose terms of reference include examining 'the fat' within the public sector and identifying savings of at least $900 million, or one per cent of the $90 billion budgeted for non-debt expenditure this fiscal year.
Davies said shortly after announcing his task force that the duo would be focusing on waste generated in the day-to-day operations of various entities, including procurement practices for items such as vehicles.
Crawford suggests that Government also has other options available for savings within the 155 public sector enterprises, including the "bundling of profitable entities into a single holding company", offering shares to the public, and setting efficiency targets benchmarked against their peers.
The complete group accounts for surpluses of more than $11 billion, which is net of the $3 billion loses being sustained by a few big losers, among them the National Water Commission and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company.
Davies said Government recognises that in addition to the NWC staff numbers being too high, its rate structure does not allow the Commission to recoup sufficient revenues to finance its operations. The latter is being addressed through legislation this year.
In relation to the JUTC, the Minister said Government has taken responsibility for capital development, noting that "fares simply can't handle those costs."
