Dennie Quill, Contributor
FOR MOST of the last few days media attention was fixed on the sexual scandal surrounding the Dayton Church of God and we almost missed Minister Phillip Paulwell's latest gaffe.
One would have needed a heart of stone not to laugh at the announcement by Paulwell's Junior Minister Kern Spencer that some 100 Cuban social workers are to come to Jamaica to distribute light bulbs. Thus emerges the question of whether we are witnessing another example of Paulwell's youthful exuberance after the well-published IT fiasco and the more recent cement imbroglio. Both ministers are to be flayed for this nonsense, but Paulwell being the more experienced, should take most of the blame.
Successive PNP administrations have had close relations with Cuba, rooted firmly in the heady '70s when Michael Manley vowed to walk to the mountain top with his buddy Fidel. The relationship resulted in gifts of schools and programmes of technical as-sistance including doctors and other professionals. Many people were not too comfortable with this alliance and the JLP government of the 1980s rejected this close relationship.
WARM BILATERAL RELATIONS
Since then, however, the baggage of history has not prevented the Government of Jamaica from engaging in warm bilateral relations with Cuba as we cooperate in areas of health, culture and education. So we have come to expect generosity from Cuba. It is not at all odd that the Cuban government, in a bid to help out a poor sister island, has offered to donate four million fluorescent light bulbs to Jamaican house-holds. This offer is too good to be true. In outlining details of this brilliant deal, the junior minister reported to the Senate that the distribution brigade comes as "part of the package that was negotiated with Cuba." They say never look a gift horse in the mouth. This gift from Cuba is costing us US$3.4 million. While we are yet to hear what the money will do, we imagine it will contribute to transportation, storage and distribution. So maybe this offer is too good to be true.
One applauds the Government's efforts at developing an energy-saving policy in the face of high-cost oil. In the current era of soaring energy costs, every responsible government has come to recognise the need for a comprehensive energy-saving policy which should include diversification of fuel sources and greater investment in renewable energy sources. But in the search for ideas, we need to ensure that the good of the Jamaican people is being served. How about offering a subsidy to the local light manufacturing company so they can make the bulbs cheaper?
DEAL
Who is responsible for negotiating a deal which shows such contempt for the Jamaican people by suggesting that because there has to be accountability for every bulb, Cubans have to be personally involved in the distribution. Can there be anything more offensive than to be deemed dishonest by your employer? This is exactly what is being implied. On the face of it, Cuba may see this as a huge public relations gesture, so the bulbs would be distributed by smiling Cubans who would deliver a gift saying: "This is from Fidel." But consider these persons have to transported here, be fed and accommodated and presumably someone will pay them for their efforts. Seriously, is this necessary? There is a national registry of volunteers, there are thousands of volunteers in the NGO sector and to think none of these people are trustworthy enough to distribute some light bulbs?
Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist who may be reached at denniequill@hotmail.com.
