Phyllis Thomas, Enterprise Editor
This patient at the Percy Junor Hospital gets the attention of Member of Parliament for North West Clarendon Richard Azan (right), during a tour of the newly refurbished male medical ward recently. Looking on are the hospital's Chief Executive Officer, Stanhope Scot (second right) and Acting Director of Nursing Services, Jacqueline Pennicook (third right). - PHOTO BY GEORGE HENRY
THE MEMBER of Parliament for North West Clarendon, Richard Azan, has an open-book policy where the SESP is concerned - literally.
This reporter was able to scrutinise an SESP file showing allocations from one individual getting $3,000 to the school uniform project at $264,000.
The gestural spreading of his cards on the table was propelled by his wish to demonstrate transparency in his administration of the fund, he said.
But it is also driven also by an almost paranoiac fear of being called a thief, a fear which surfaced during the interview with The Gleaner.
"I feel that with government money and with people claiming that all politicians are thieves and that they are corrupt ... that's the reason why I say to my constituency that if they want the file, they can get it," he said in the interview in the hall of Gordon House.
"They can look at the file. You will know who get and who don't get. You will know exactly how the money is spent ... my secretary has a file, I have one - so anybody who wants to call and ask anything can call her ... I don't like anybody to question my integrity. You can question anything else but don't question my integrity!"
MAINLY ON EDUCATION
Mr. Azan received between $2.4 million and $2.8 million for SESP annually. SESP has, however, suffered a contraction with the slash in allocation from the $5 million that it was annually, prior to 1998.
Apart from the $1 million towards the Christmas Work Programme which Mr. Azan said he is obliged to spend, most of the SESP covers education.
But contributions are also made to health, sports, minor water supply,agriculture, towards the start or continuation of businesses and the Church.
The decision about who benefits under the fund usually follows an exercise of consultations through committee meetings, citizens associations, youth clubs and school principals. Sometimes the recommendation for assistance comes from a minister of religion. But oftentimes persons bypass these avenues and approach the Member of Parliament directly.
Mr. Azan said that sometimes he had to forgo any needs assessment because time would not allow it.
"When someone visits the office and say, 'I have someone who is dead' or, 'I have a prescription to fill', you really can't do the assessment. If the roof is leaking and it's the rainy season, you can't wait until you have to get somebody to go and look at it
"You have to just deal with it right away, whether you send a letter to the funeral parlour or to the hardware or pharmacy and say, 'please deliver for me until I can pay.' You just have to do it that way."
The MP's use of the term 'until I can pay' does not mean that he - or the other MPs for that matter physically handles the SESP purse.
USING OWN FUNDS TO HELP
Mr. Azan explained that in his case he sends the recommendation to the secretary/manager of the Parish Council who prepares a cheque for delivery.
A synopsis of how the SESP is administered in North West Clarendon is seen in chart above (according to the file of requests sent to Clarendon Parish Council Secretary/Manager Adassa Morgan).
Mr. Azan justifies his spending: "There are some children out there who can't send themselves to school and you have to give them a start."
He told The Gleaner of a student from a high school in the parish, whom he saw out of school during the time when school was in session. He asked the student why he was not in school and was told that he could not afford to go.
"So I had to buy him uniform and all that. He is now back at school."
The youngster was also put on a path to sustainable growth. "I asked him to identify a project that he could do, and he did."
The youth chose an agricultural project growing cash crop and it was doing well until it was affected by the recent droughts.
"I am giving him personal assistance from my pocket, giving him lunch money and any little assistance that I can give him ... I plan to continue to assist him although this year is his final year in school."
'NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE'
Mr. Azan, too, responds to arguments of how politics influence some of the decisions made concerning SESP.
"I can speak for my constituency, I don't go the political way of doing things. I deal with needs. I am not telling you that I, 100 per cent don't deal with politics. There is a time that I deal with it. There is a time that I don't touch it at all ... You can't only deal with straight politics you have to deal with the needs of people. The whole aim of building better communities and better a country is that we have to move from the partisan politics to do some of the things that we have to do and what is best."
The Percy Junor Hospital was given a total of $100,000 towards its tiling project, Mr. Azan said.
Azan's SESP spending
Uniforms - $264,000 - (Glendale Uniforms)
Books $88,000
Percy Junor Hospital - $50,000
Pepper-planting project- $40,000 - (30/4/04)
Edwin Allen High School - $20,000 - (Sports - 20/1/04)
Twitside Primary School - $15,000 - (To install lights)
Mineral Heights Christian - $10,000 - Kinder Prep
Spalding United Church - $10,000
Frankfield Police Y/Club - $5,000
Alston Primary School - $5,000
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