The Editor, Sir:

Your Sunday report on the cost of Mr. Golding's Cabinet is welcome, but incomplete. It compares the Patterson Cabinet of 17 with the present Cabinet of 18 and the relevant costs - $61.47 million (2003-2004) as against today's $65.59 million. However, there is a serious omission. You forgot to remind your readers that in addition to his 17-man Cabinet, Mr. Patterson's administration also had 144 consultants costing $326 million per annum. At Jamaica House alone, there were 18 with a total salary of more than $33 million annually.

If Mr. Golding replaces semi-visible consultants with ministers who can be seen and held accountable, that should be an improvement in governance and administrative transparency, not to mention the considerable saving in public expenditure. Of course, we do not know what will happen in the future and I quite understand the anxiety that attends the sudden change after 18 years of a certain style; but it is "early days" yet, and rushing to judgement even before the new Cabinet has had a chance to meet is, in a phrase, "too previous".

I am, etc.,

KEN JONES

alllerdyce@hotmail.com