The reason for Jamaica’s declining productivity rate

THE EDITOR, Madam:

On Monday, June 13, I went to the Constant Spring Tax Office to pay some of my taxes and have my car licensed. The transaction totalled five property taxes and a car -licence renewal.

I was quite impressed with how the staff handled the large number of persons and the arrangement for senior citizens, of whom I was one.

When directed inside the building, I still had a favourable rating of the nice, comfortable seating and cool environment while listening to the numbers being called as if at a bingo game. After waiting my turn for nearly two hours, I was finally called. On handing my papers to the clerk, I was told, “We are only dealing with three items, sir”. “What did you say?” I enquired. “Only three, sir.” “So what about the other two?” I asked. “You have to come back another time, sir.” My bubble burst, and all my favourable impression was like I was enjoying a lovely dish of soup and suddenly a lizard fell in it. “Can I see a supervisor?” I asked. “Yes, she is sitting at the next window.” She was not much more helpful but offered to do the transaction at a time unknown.

I calculated that processing the extra two transactions would take about two minutes, but I must come back another day, burn my expensive gas, risk my life playing Russian roulette with the taxis on the road, and probably spend the greater part of the day to do what should have been done at the first attempt.

When we add all these wasted times spent in offices, on the roads, calling office telephones that send you around the mulberry bush, and a host of other things, why should we complain about Jamaica’s steadily declining productivity rate?

Trevor Samuels