Bureaucracy a barrier to development, says Charles

Lamenting that the acquisition of two backhoes for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) took two years, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr was critical of the bureaucracy which, he said, continues to strangle development. Charles was speaking at last Wednesday’s handingover ceremony at the head office of Agro-Invest Corporation (AIC).

“Bureaucracy has been misinterpreted, has taken on a negative connotation. It used to mean state officials doing work according to rules, people who are adhering to rules, strictly. Now it has become barriers to progress, and we have to find a way to balance the accountability and the rules. Two years; and we are the ones who have to challenge ourselves to find that different approach that’s going to allow us to make up that gap. We have to break through the barrier that is holding back our efficiency. But we don’t have nobody to talk to but us, because a we run the sector. Who can I quarrel about? Me a the minister now,” an exasperated Charles declared.

He called on the agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to make their service delivery efficient and on par with the private sector.

“What is it in RADA, the AIC that drives us, when you already have the job? Because the reality is that for government, when compared to the private sector, we are not in the same situation. In the private sector, you know that if you don’t hit certain targets you going to get run out tomorrow. It’s not like that in government, we know that. So I am making an appeal to you and to me, to see the challenges that we are facing as competition to drive our efficiency. We have to get things running effectively.”

“You [have] got to challenge yourselves and ask yourselves, whether zonal director, whether parish manager, whether you are now the CEO, what are you now doing different? My team at the ministry [has] got to challenge ourselves. When you running the business, you don’t just look at what you get and tie a ribbon and cut the ribbon and feel good, because you will fail, you will lose, you will not be able to pay your workers,” the minister told his staff.

According to Charles, a revolutionary approach is needed going forward if Jamaica is to survive, in light of the external shocks he anticipates that the country is likely to face.

“When I think about next year and what we could be potentially facing because, guess what? This is not the food crisis now. This is a global issue with economic costs of every item; but when you look on the reality, on what was not planted in this season, which would have been reaped for next season. That is when it kicks in and when we have to start looking on a strategic plan that is efficient, that is resilient and will allow us to move towards food security -- not just this concept in the air that everybody says, but as a real goal, a target to feed the country and get access to affordable food that is nutritious and safe.”

Having recently returned from the regional agricultural investment forum in Trinidad, and following his participation in a similar event in Guyana, Charles said that Jamaica is faced with a responsibility, given the fact that its US$1.2-billion annual food import bill is one-fifth of what the region pays for imported food.

“We have signed on to collective responsibility to reduce imports by 25 per cent by 2025. Are we on track, are we energised, are we moving? And if not, let me tell you, let’s get moving,” he said.