After all, the shift in perspective towards the OCG's report, tendered late last week, has been extremely remarkable.
Public about-face
The about-turn reported in yesterday's Gleaner began: "The board of the beleaguered Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC) has admitted committing procurement breaches at the company, in recent months, and outlined a host of measures aimed at preventing any future recurrence. The board made the concession which comes almost a week after a damning report from the Office of the Contractor General (OCG). The OCG's report had outlined apparent corruption and flagrant breaches of procurement guidelines at the state-owned bus company."
The OCG should be forgiven for any smugness it may feel at this public about-face in a country where losing face is not taken lightly.
For not only has its report been vindicated, but, in July, Transport Minister Mike Henry had pointed out that the probe was being done after an internal probe, which had given the company a clean bill of health, and said that he expected "the facts, once fully established, will clear the air, especially in respect of the stewardship of the JUTC board under the leadership of the late Douglas Chambers".
Opportunity for correction
However, despite the chuckles (grim or otherwise) that Henry's statement will now attract in light of the past week's developments, it is not a time for losing focus on the matter at hand and descending into a cycle of 'I told you so'. The report has actually created the opportunity for correction of the company's ills, which the JUTC's board has taken advantage of, we hope, in good grace.
Because at the end of the day, for the general public, the objective is not to tally the political points which are being scored but to be able to access an efficient, affordable system. No doubt the corruption that has been unearthed by the OCG has a direct impact on how much a JUTC bus trip costs, as well as the number of buses in the system.
And there is a direct correlation between the JUTC ticket price and the availability of buses and the spread of 'robot' taxis; these taxis figuring prominently in the wave of attacks on women which has shocked this nation in recent months.
Need for urgency
So, there is a pressing need for the situation at the JUTC to be remedied post-haste and while, now that the board's about-turn is on record, there will be increased scrutiny of the organisation. We trust that it is not a nine-day wonder.
The road ahead for the JUTC must be one that leads to efficiency which, in turn, realises an affordable service for the public. And that is all they want.
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