$24 Million Per Year is Zilch When It’s Other People’s Money
Damion Crawford’s recent tweet:
“So Jamaica save $2 million Ja Dollars a month due to smaller cabinet…. impact zilch”.
I thought that the new generation of PNP supporters were smarter.
I even liked Damion Crawford’s insistence that he was opposed to “curry goat politics” when he argued he was more interested in education and upward mobility of the youth.
Notwithstanding the People’s National Party delegates removed Crawford as a candidate for the constituency of Saint Andrew East Rural. At the time many including this writer opined that the PNP delegates were out of step with reality in removing Crawford as their representative in Gordon House.
I take this opportunity to apologize to those delegates for siding with Damion Crawford on that occasion. Even if Crawford was removed as the representative because he would not play curry goat politics, Crawford has since demonstrated that he is unworthy of my sympathy or support.
“Coack-roach nu bizniz inna fowl fite”.
I assume the ‘Kumreds’ in Saint Andrew East Rural know more about their one time Member of Parliament than I do. In all fairness this was not the only dumb thing Crawford has done, he once referred to members of the Opposition party as “dutty labourites” .
I forgave Crawford for that bit of indiscretion also, it was a normal thing for ‘Kumreds’ to do , in fact Peter Bunting likened the leadership of the JLP to “john crows”. So the young Damion had PNP role models to emulate.
Two million in savings per month from a smaller cabinet translate into 24 million per year. At that rate the people of Jamaica will have realized a savings of J$120 million over a five year term. One hundred a twenty million dollars from tightening the reins of Government spending on the cabinet alone.
Imagine the savings which can be realized when each minister goes through his/her ministry with a scalpel and does an audit to see where waste, duplication , over-runs and other dollar-loss are occurring as this medium has suggested.
Unfortunately Damion Crawford’s tweet though inconsequential in the greater scheme of things , reveals a mindset which has plagued the People’s National Party’s ability to be good stewards of the public trust.
Whether the excess stems from huge cabinets, expensive SUV’s, lavish spending sprees on foreign travels by the Prime Minister, or a junior parliamentarian’s abuse of a government cellphone, the mindset is the same.
Their attitude when it comes to the public’s money seems to be, let’s spend as much of it as possible.
The problem for Crawford and the PNP is that they never grasped the concept of frugal Governance, .Government has always been a private kitty to be taken advantage of.
Being in power was a means of lording not leading. Power meant being served not serving.
It will take a successful Holness led term for the nation on a whole to recognize that Government is there to serve them but not by handing out freebies.
Now let’s hope the new Administration can find millions more which may be used to provide health-care, education and securing the nation.
By Mike Beckles – Check out his blog HERE
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