Delroy Chuck
IF JAMAICA is to really move forward, attract needed investment, generate economic development, avoid the disappointment and frustration of daily interactions, and improve the quality of life of our citizens, we have to transform the delivery of government service.
At present, government service is simply abysmal and shameful. People complain to their representatives and on the call-in programmes and through letters to the newspapers, but their cries seem to fall on deaf ears. To be fair, the introduction of executive agencies has improved the delivery of some government agencies but there are still too many complaints of poor, inadequate and incompetent service. Citizens' lives are oftentimes tied up when they have to wait unduly on birth or other government certificates. Patients deteriorate or die when they cannot get prompt medical care in our clinics and hospitals. Business transactions are put on hold and opportunities lost when documents take months to be assessed and stamped.
IMPEDIMENTS TO PROGRESS
Economic development is stymied when bureaucracy impedes instead of facilitates approvals of housing and business expansion. Over the decades, the main impediments to progress and development are the red tape, bureaucracy and accompanying corruption. It is time to turn the spotlight on how government serves the people. Impose sanctions, if necessary, where the service is dismal. In fact, the measure of good government is whether it is improving its service to the people.
The way forward is to provide benchmarks for the delivery of government service, which is not a new idea but actually recommended years ago. In January, 1999, THE REPORT OF THE TASK FORCE TO REDUCE WASTE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR was presented to government by a team led by Douglas Orane. It was a good report with many useful recommendations, most of which still await implementation. The Report stated: "Ministries and government agencies should benchmark themselves against comparable public sector entities with best practices elsewhere, both locally and overseas."
The Report gave some examples: "Police response to emergency phone calls in a small city in the U.S.A. - 5 minutes, transfer of real estate title in Florida - 24 hours, licensing a car in Massachusetts - 10 minutes, patients seen at casualty in Wales - 5 minutes, small building project approval in Thailand - 2 weeks, all approvals for large scale investment projects in Costa Rica - 4 months, settling of civil matter through the courts in the U.K. - 1 year." How does Jamaica compare?
By any comparison, Jamaica would get failing grades. Just imagine if real estate transactions could be completed within weeks instead of months, building approvals obtained within months instead of years, and payment of government fees possible within minutes instead of hours? One developer informed me that if the applications for housing and commercial developments presently before government agencies were approved and implemented, unemployment would be eliminated.
THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
Even if the claim is only half true, if building project approvals could just come on stream expeditiously, an enormous number of additional jobs and opportunities would be created. The construction industry has the potential to employ tens of thousands of idle labourers and skilled craftsmen from our inner cities but is being thwarted by government bureaucracy. Bureaucracy and delays are hurting the economy, frustrating people, impeding progress and preventing Jamaica from escaping from the clutches, malaise and impoverishment of the Third World culture.
Surely, we must introduce benchmarks for every department, which if it fails to achieve then the sanction will be the return of the fees paid, or a part thereof. In fact, nothing is wrong if departments introduce express service and charge higher or premium fees for the service but return the fee if they fail to deliver. More than ever, there needs to be new thinking, innovative procedures and creative means to deliver better government service.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by email at delchuck@hotmail.com.
