Still-outstanding FINSAC report will not be timely - Rudd

Another finance minister has left office without delivering the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC) report into the collapse of the financial sector in the 1990s. But the chief executive officer of the company which purchased most of the depressed debts sold by the Jamaican Government under FINSAC is not surprised that the report is yet to be completed.

Jason Rudd, who heads the Jamaica Redevelopment Foundation Inc (JRF), said the Commission of Enquiry was destined for problems from the outset, as it was burdened with overly broad terms of reference and the commissioners demonstrated an inability to retain control of the direction of the proceedings.

"Both of these factors allowed the commission to become hijacked by a relatively small group of people promoting their own personal agenda and vendetta, who did not offer any insight into the root problems that the enquiry should have been considering," said Rudd, who was among those who gave testimony during the enquiry.

"Unfortunately, a report issued by a commission 10 years after its inception regarding events that took place 15-20 years ago in a world economy that is changing as rapidly as the world we currently live, is not timely."

SPENT MORE THAN $100M

The Government has so far spent more than $100 million on the enquiry, which was established in 2008, but began proceedings in 2009. The commissioners were given six months to complete a report documenting their findings.

In 2012, former finance minister, Dr Peter Phillips, said the then commissioners indicated that they would submit their findings in two parts - one in April 2012 and the other in August 2012. However, the enquiry was stalled because the commissioners wanted additional funding to complete the report.

Outgoing Finance Minister Audley Shaw promised during the lead-up to the general election in 2016 to provide more funding to complete the report, and $58.4 million was allocated. He then insisted in August 2017 that the report would be completed within two months.

Shaw was replaced as finance minister by Dr Nigel Clarke as part of last week's Cabinet reshuffle, and has since taken charge of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture.

In September 2017, Prime Minister Andrew Holness also promised that the commissioners would not be receiving any more extensions to finish the report, and announced that they had until December 2017 to submit it to the Government.

"I am saying this publicly: there will be no extensions, and there will be no more additional funding. The last extension and the last additional amount will be the last. I am binding myself to that publicly," the prime minister vowed during a press conference at the time.

However, in January, Shaw made yet another promise, stating that the report would be ready in a matter of weeks.

Opposition spokesman on finance, Mark Golding, feels the report is long overdue.

"I think the length of time that it has taken the commissioners to complete their report since the hearings in the enquiry came to an end many years ago is problematic," said Golding.

"One really has to wonder what the quality of the report will be, given how long it has taken to produce it and how long ago the testimonies were given to the commissioner."

nadine.wilson@gleanerjm.com