Letter of the Day | Are we committed to fight fraud?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing with reference to the article, ‘Policing thieves in high places’, by Imani Tafari-Ama published on Sunday, January 29 in In Focus. I must commend Ms Tafari-Ama for penning a great article; it was an excellent read.

Allow me to briefly share a personal story with you. After a few years of planning, I moved back to Jamaica from North America as a returning resident about nine years ago with the intention of helping with nation building.

My professional background is in fraud risk management and is extensive. At the time of the move I had undergraduate and graduate degrees, and at least one professional designation relating to fraud prevention/investigation. I also came with quite a bit of corporate security experience in the credit bureau industry having intentionally worked in the industry for a few years to learn the business in anticipation of my future move.

Could not get a job in Jamaica for the life of me! And it was not because I did not know anyone in corporate Jamaica; the ‘connections’ or ‘links’ were there. As a matter of fact, I had opportunities to meet with some of our business leaders and even a team from one of the regulatory bodies. However, it was to no avail. In one particular meeting with executives from an institution, they explained that my experience and knowledge were too far ahead of the game, for lack of better words, because the credit bureau industry in Jamaica was just at its infancy stage, thus no suitable role for me. The meeting was arranged at the request of a contact. I would eventually pack up and return to North America a year later extremely disappointed.

It does break my heart to know that I was there and willing to be a part of the solution. But it seemed as if we really did not want to discuss or acknowledge the subject of fraud and I perhaps I underestimated our commitment to fight fraud.

FRUSTRATED MEMBER OF THE

DIASPORA