Think differently for a better future, Jamaica

DENNIS CHUNG

Friday, January 02, 2015    

2015 is here, and we celebrate a new year and new beginnings. But what does the turn of a new year really mean?

Traditionally, we have always celebrated a new year as a new beginning, but what makes the start of a new year any different from the old year? After all, we still have the same crime problem on January 1 as we did on December 31. We still have the same leadership issues. We still have the same problems with bureaucracy (which we were reminded of on the last day of 2014 with the statement from Omar Azan).

There are, of course, some things that are different, which we can speak to. We threw out the old calendars and put up the new ones. That is if you are still from the old school where you have a physical calendar rather than a digital version. For some companies and accountants it is significant because it is the start of a new accounting year, but then again, this is not consistent with everyone.

The truth is that there is nothing different between an old year and a new year, outside of the festivities and commercial activities. When we return to work on Monday, the workload and challenges will be the same as December 31 (unless you worked throughout the holidays).

Many of us make New Year resolutions, which we carry from year to year, and each year they need to be bigger, as we have, for example, gained more weight or have not done all that we wanted to do.

So in reality, there is really nothing different about a new year. The positive about recognising a new year is that it provides for us a measure of time, which we can use to measure progress or failure.

But this measure of time is only useful if we had goals, charted a path for those goals, and made sure that we followed our plan. So a company may do a budget and strategic plan for the year, but if the management fails to follow and monitor the plan during the year, then they could come to the end of the year and realise they have not achieved it.

Similarly, a person who has a health plan, such as weight loss, needs to monitor the steps every day to achieve that plan.

Therefore, while the new year serves as a significant measurement milestone, the achievement of that milestone is reached by actions during the year. So we really don’t need a new year to do this, but rather it provides a yardstick and is a good way for people to check their indiscipline.

How many of us have made resolutions in the past to lose weight, but find ourselves putting on more each year? Or how many of us have said that we want to achieve something during a year but find at the end of the year that we are one year older without the achievement?

One thing we can agree on, however, is that the new year is not a magical solution to any challenges we have.

So how do we ensure that we achieve what we want during a year? The reality is that the only thing that will allow change is for us to change our mindset and approach to existing situations. In other words, actions are most times driven by how we think about the problems.

So, if you want to make health changes in 2015, then you have to change your attitude and behaviour that cause the weight problem, which may include getting new friends who do not encourage the bad behaviour.

If we also want a better country, then we also must change the way we approach and think about solutions. This I find to be a big part of the problem we have had over the years.

We have, for example, had many International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreements and promises by politicians in previous years but have always found ourselves back in the same economic quagmire or worse. This is simply because, until the current agreement, we had not adopted a new way of thinking and doing things. And this is why many are saying that the current path, in general, does not work.

Those people are slaves to the normal ways of doing things, which is a significant reason that companies seek younger talent all the time, as they come with a different perspective, which is needed for growth.

This is not limited to the politicians, many of whom need renewal. It also applies to the public. A big challenge for me resides with public sector leadership and rules. I think there are some excellent workers and leaders in the public sector, but there are also some people who think that the role of the public sector is to prevent rather than facilitate.

For example, one of the things we must confront in 2015 is that growing fiscal revenues is not just about squeezing every last cent out of businesses in the form of taxes, but also facilitating the growth of business, resulting in a much larger base of revenue, even if it means lowering the tax take from businesses.

If we are also going to deal with the crime and law and order problems, then we must also think of a different approach. Police Commissioner Carl Williams and National Security Minister Peter Bunting, I think, have the right attitude change that will see progress in this area, and we are seeing some progress, although many are not capable of seeing change while it is happening.

There is, however, still much to be done here.

Much of the responsibility for law and order also resides with the citizens, who don’t see anything they do as wrong. My challenge to citizens is that they should not support any violation of laws such as the Night Abatement Act, or driving and talking on the phone, or disposing of garbage improperly.

We must also change our attitudes to child abuse and punish the perpetrators, and those who are complicit, severely.

This responsibility even extends to not protecting people who have done wrong and supporting the rules to be implemented by the JUTC. When they start implementing these rules we shouldn’t be asking for people to be given a “bligh”. We must support the rules and call out the JUTC if they are not implementing them to the fullest extent of the law.

So as we start the measurement period of 2015, let us all understand that irrespective of the great plans and wants we have, that these will only be successful if we change our mindset and approach to dealing with our challenges, as there is no magic wand that is waved at the start of a new year.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Dennis Chung is a chartered accountant and the author of the books Charting Jamaica’s Economic and Social Development AND Achieving Life’s Equilibrium. His blog is dcjottings.blogspot.com

Email: drachung@gmail.com

Police Commissioner Carl Williams (left) and National Security Minister Peter Bunting have the right attitude for change.

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Think differently for a better future, Jamaica

Wasteful Windies batsmen must do better, says Johnson

CENTURION, South Africa (CMC) — Rookie left-hander Leon Johnson yesterday lamented the West Indies’ wastefulness, after their batsmen wasted good starts to be knocked over cheaply on the third day of the opening Test against South Africa.

The top five batsmen all passed 20 but none managed to convert their innings into a major score as West Indies tumbled for 201 in their first innings, in reply to South Africa’s mammoth 552 for five declared.

Following on by 351 runs, the tourists battled to 76 for two at the close at SuperSport Park.

“It was frustrating because the first round batter got into the 30s, but no one carried on, but that’s just how it goes sometimes,” said the left-hander, who was among the offenders with 31 in an hour at the crease.

“I think come this innings we have got to set that right, we’ve got to get in and play very long innings.”

West Indies were given a good start by openers Devon Smith, who top-scored with 35, and Kraigg Brathwaite, who got 34, as they put on 71 for the first wicket.

They were both dismissed in the space of 13 balls with just one run added, but West Indies rallied to 162 for three before losing their last seven wickets for 39 runs.

Marlon Samuels chipped in with 33, while veteran left-hander Shiv Chanderpaul got 21.

“It is difficult to put the finger on exactly what it is, but if you bat a period of time and you get in and get yourself out, it’s probably a mental lapse somewhere along the line,” said Johnson, in only his second Test for West Indies.

“Smithy (Devon Smith) and Kraigg gave us a platform to launch from but unfortunately, as I said, the guys got in and then got out. It was very important they saw off the new ball as openers usually do, it’s just unfortunate we didn’t capitalise.”

Johnson was leading the Windies fight at the close, having occupied the crease for 73 balls and hit six fours in his unbeaten 33.

He put on a crucial 44 with Brathwaite (20) for the second wicket after Smith perished cheaply for five with the score on eight in the fourth over of the innings.

With West Indies still 275 runs behind, Johnson said it was critical the Caribbean side displayed their fighting spirit in order to save the Test.

“We’re [275 runs] behind and we have two days to go so obviously we have to fight hard, the guys have to dig in and bat for long periods,” he stressed.

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Wasteful Windies batsmen
must do better, says Johnson

SIX MONTHS AFTER CRASH,TRACY MORGAN ISN’T MUCH BETTER

Tracy Morgan was seen weak and limping as he headed into a New Jersey post office with his fiancee Megan Wollover on Wednesday, just the third time the actor has been seen in public since he was involved in a horrifying car accident this past June.

The actor was leaning on a walker as he slowly moved down the sidewalk and said he was still ‘fighting every day’ after being involved in the crash, which claimed the life of his friend James McNair and injured 3 others.
Morgan suffered a traumatic brain injury as well as a broken leg, a broken nose and broken ribs in the accident.

At one point as he returned to his car from the post office, the actor even had to briefly stop and catch his breath before moving on. In addition to his fiancee he was also accompanied by an aide who was there to help him get into the car.

Morgan was critically injured in early June when a Wal-Mart tractor-trailer rammed into a limousine bus he and his friends were travelling in on the New Jersey Turnpike. The comedian, known for his roles on Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock, was returning home to New York City from a show at a Delaware casino. He spent almost two months in the hospital and rehab following the accident before he could return home, and the extent of his brain injury is still unknown.

‘He’s fighting to get better, and if there’s a chance for him to be back to the Tracy Morgan he once was, he’s going to try to do that,’ said his lawyer Benedict Morelli last month. ‘But we just don’t know because of the severity of the injuries that he sustained and the fact that he had such a severe brain injury.’

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Kevin Roper, was charged with death by auto and four counts of assault by auto in a New Jersey state court. Earlier this week, Morgan and his attorneys accused Wal-Mart of stalling in a federal lawsuit that have brought against the company over their safety practices after it was reported that Roper was asleep at the wheel at the time of the crash.

Morgan was forced to put an FX series he had in development on hold after the accident, though his new film with Chris Rock, Take Five, will be released this month.

He came out against Wal_mart in a public statement this past September after they accused him of being at fault during the accident for not wearing a seatbelt. ‘I can’t believe Walmart is blaming me for an accident they caused,’ he said at the time.

‘I’m fighting hard every day to get back.’

We’re pulling for you Tracy!

DM/SPLASH

Posted in: Black History, Celebs, Environment, Gossip. Tags: SIX MONTHS AFTER CRASH, TRACY MORGAN ISN’T MUCH BETTER.

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SIX MONTHS AFTER CRASH,TRACY MORGAN ISN’T MUCH BETTER

Halle Berry thinks TV is now better than film

Halle Berry – File

The 47-year-old actress – who has children Nahla, six, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, and eight-month-old Maceo with husband Olivier Martinez – was unimpressed with the movie scripts she was receiving and had no desire to return to work until she was approached to appear in sci-fi drama series Extant.

She told Entertainment Weekly: “I was being offered parts that I felt like I had done before. They weren’t exciting enough for me to leave my family for four months. I realised some of the best writing especially for women, was on television. The minute I started to read [Extant], I couldn’t put it down. I thought, ‘Wow. This is different.’ It’s innovative.”

The highly anticipated miniseries sees Halle play infertile astronaut Molly Woods who returns from a year-long solo space mission pregnant. The brunette beauty was attracted to the character because of her “complicated” life.

She added: “Molly is a strong female character, which I really love to play. Molly is a complicated woman with a complicated family. Who is a woman who goes away to space for a year and leaves her husband, first of all? Who is a woman who comes back pregnant and tries to handle it somehow on her own? That just felt like a complication that I wanted to be a part of.”

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Halle Berry thinks TV is now better than film

HOPING FOR A BETTER YEAR IN THE SADDLE

Paul ‘Country’ Francis says he wants to start the New Year with a bang and ride 80 or more winners in 2014

JOCKEY Paul ‘Country’ Francis is banking on his strong work ethic, his ability to ride and his dedication in order to ride more winners this year.Francis says his main focus is to start and finish the season well as he plans to improve significantly the amount of times he makes that joyful trip to the winners’ enclosure.“My first plan is to get a good start and maintain it for the rest of the year. In order to do that I have to get some good rides and win more races; that’s my main focus at the moment. If I can ride 80 winners for the year, then that would be a milestone for me because I mainly ride like 60 to 70 winners each year,” the long-standing jockey popularly known as ‘Country’ told the Complete Racing Guide.Francis admitted that the Jockeys’ Championship is always on his mind as every jockey’s dream is to become a champion.“As long as the winners are coming then I don’t see why I should not challenge for the title. At some point in my career as a jockey I would love to be called a champion,” he stated, adding quickly, “You need to get the right material to win a championship, you have to get the best rides each race day, and, of course, you have to make good use of the opportunities given.”The 37-year-old, who graduated from the Guys Hill High School and who started riding at the Park in 2002, has won three apprentice titles and came close to winning the jockeys’ title in 2009 when he lost to Omar Walker by just one win.“I have won the champion apprentice three consecutive years; 2003, 2004 and 2005, so you can see that the confidence was there to win the jockeys’ championship… but it was one of those things in 2009 when everything just went wrong,” he remembered with a smile on his face.In the 2013 jockey’s race Francis finished in fifth position with 45 wins, far behind Dane Nelson who retained the championship with 116 winners.Despite riding only 45 winners in 2013, Francis is very pleased to have won a Classic race last May when he guided the Richard Azan-trained Lady Abhijita to victory in the Bigga Jamaica Oaks.“This year I plan to work even harder than I did last year, as I really want to win more Classic races. The confidence is there and all I need is the horse, and I will take it from there”, the 37-year-old insisted, with a look of determination on his face.Francis was particularly pleased to ride Commanding Chief trained by Everal Francis to victory in the Catherine’s Peak Gold Cup last month.“He is a great horse, he worked well coming into the race. He broke well and when I reached the half-mile, I felt I had a lot of horse and when I asked him to run he just laid out everything on the track, and it was how far we were going to win,” he fondly reminisced.“Once you ride with confidence and show dedication and carry out your hard work you can win races, but you need the support as well,” he said.“I have to thank the trainers and owners who believe in me and trust me to give me the rides each race day. Also my agent and the fans, as they are the ones that keep me going. They have supported me well and I am looking to please them this season by riding more winners,” a confident ‘Country’ Francis said. Paul ‘Country’ Francis interacts with the public in his usual style as he enters the race track for another race.

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HOPING FOR A BETTER YEAR IN THE SADDLE

Guidelines for better expert testimony

QUITE often professionals are requested to provide an opinion on scientific or technical matters for the purposes of court proceedings. The more commonly solicited experts are engineers, surveyors, doctors, scientists, actuaries, accountants and economists.

Experts in court proceedings are required to prepare a written statement of opinion to the court which usually takes the form of a witness statement. Further, an expert needs to understand that he may be required to attend trial. Usually, an expert can expect to receive proper notice of this because trial dates are fixed long in advance. Sometimes, however, the expert is unable to attend for good reason and the courts will try to ensure that the expert’s diary is taken into account and that he can attend at a convenient time.Some experts require witness summonses to be served to secure attendance. In a fairly recent case an expert was successful in setting aside a witness summons where a party wished to call her as an expert but could no longer afford her fees.The courts have also become more flexible as to the method of delivering expert evidence at trial with the use of video link and telephone, albeit more commonly used in this jurisdiction where the experts are from overseas.An expert should exercise caution in the preparation of his witness statement and the giving of oral evidence since an expert can no longer rely on immunity from suit in respect of the evidence he provides.As recently as 2011, it was held that the immunity from suit for breach of duty enjoyed by expert witnesses in relation to their participation in legal proceedings is abolished. Breach of the duty owed by an expert witness to the client by whom he had been retained should give rise to a remedy. However, the abolition of immunity did not extend to the absolute privilege enjoyed by expert witnesses in respect of claims in defamation.An expert should understand that his overriding duty is to the court, but there are nonetheless duties which an expert owes to his client such as (i) a duty to present his evidence as clearly and persuasively as possible; (ii) a duty to identify clearly the facts on which his opinion depends; (iii) a duty to consider, and be in a position to explain in evidence, how his opinion would be affected if the facts were found to be different from those for which his client contends; and (iv) a duty to explain clearly the process of reasoning by which he supports his opinion.Where there is a range of opinions, the expert in stating his opinions, should summarise the range of opinions and give reasons for his opinion. Although the requirement for an expert to indicate any opinions contrary to his may appear, not to be in the interest of his client, the expert who fails to address honestly any view contrary to his, will readily lose favour with the trial judge, and thus do a disservice to his client.The client, just as much as the court, is entitled to expect advice which is objective, expresses the opinion truly held by the expert, and which, in arriving at that opinion, the expert has been careful not to allow himself to be influenced by the client’s aims in the litigation. If the expert does otherwise, he is likely to lead his client to expensive disaster, and in that event the client would be entitled to bring an action against the expert.Although there are yet to be any local decisions where an expert has been found liable for participation in court proceedings, with the immunity now abolished there is now the possibility of such a finding. Professionals may well wish to consider appropriate indemnity insurance.Maliaca Wong is a Partner at Myers, Fletcher & Gordon and a member of the Firm’s Litigation Department. Maliaca may be contacted at maliaca.wong@mfg.com.jm or through www.myersfletcher.com.This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

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Guidelines for better expert testimony

Closer ties to better compete

LAST month, on June 24 and 25, Jamaica’s second biggest lender, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in partnership with the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and other development agencies including the UK’s Agency for International Aid, held a regional workshop, the Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF), in Nassau in The Bahamas.

The key presentation was by the IDB’s President Moreno, who argued that the forecast for continued weak economic growth in the US and Europe was bad news for the Caribbean’s tourist industry, and that the Caribbean “cannot depend on an improvement in external conditions”. For this reason, doing nothing was “not a viable option”, as, in words that could have applied specifically to Jamaica, “it implies either spiralling debts or a fiscal compression with persistent low growth” which would inevitably 1 standards “lead The alternative to for worse your is ’ citizens to living offer ”. hope to the region s citizens through “reaching a grand agreement to put your countries on a path to higher and socially inclusive growth”. Moreno rightly observed that this does not mean a one-size-fits-all solution, as there is no single set of policies that would allow the entire Caribbean to get on a path to growth. “The solutions must be home grown in each of your countries”.The Caribbean Growth Forum, which was launched in Jamaica in June 2012, supports the competitiveness action plans of the 15 participating Caribbean countries by driving a number of regional public private dialogues focused on creating private sector development and growth. It seeks to identify action orientated policy reforms in three main areas: the investment climate, skills and productivity and logistics and connectivity, monitor their implementation, as well as creating opportunities for regional learning.The overall goal is very similar to Jamaica’s so far failed efforts, starting in the mid 1990s, to create what we in Jamaica have called a social partnership. More recently, Jamaica’s efforts include the partnership for progress effort between 2003 and 2005, and the partnership for transformation effort of 2009, covered in more detail in the IDB report “Mapping of Public – Private Dialogue in Jamaica: Issues and Options for Jamaica”.In his own speech opening the conference, IDB Caribbean head Gerard Johnson noted that the Caribbean’s future survival required growth. He observed that after independence the Caribbean did very well, being an average of three times richer than comparable small middle-income countries. However, in recent years it had fallen behind as a region, and the continued lack of growth had increased crime and hopelessness. He noted that the intention was not to create another talk shop, “but concrete initiatives to improve doing business”. Amongst the questions that the forum needed to ask were “what are the specific actions required?”, who will follow up, and who is ultimately responsible. His counterpart from the World Bank, Francoise Clottes, outlined an agenda of voice (listening), hope, change, action, and implementation of the change, leading ultimately to accountability.The most important session of the conference was on “Improving the Investment Climate in the Caribbean”, a panel which included two Jamaicans, Jamaica Producers CEO Jeffrey Hall and competitiveness guru Professor Alvin Wint of the University of the West Indies. The wide-ranging discussion, which included participants from Belize, Barbados and Minister Khaalis Rolle from the Bahamas revealed that many of the problems facing the Caribbean: access to credit, the specific issue of venture capital, transactions costs (eg registering land), government bureaucracy, investment promotion, etc were very similar across many Caribbean countries although the specific issues varied.Some solutions could be implemented regionally, such as creating credit bureau at the regional level to spread set-up costs, but some areas, such as investment promotion, would inevitably be competitive, as Minister Rolle pointed out. He cited the example of the taxation of the cruise lines, where a regional strategy was agreed at a regional Heads of Government meeting, and the very next day, a Government would give a further concession when the cruise line called the prime minister and said they would go to a different Port. Hall noted that Jamaica’s Junior market had improved access to capital by creating an opportunity for exit by investors, and their appeared to be some regional interest in Jamaica’s innovation. He observed that the impact of high energy costs in areas such as food manufacturing, with a normal net margin of say three to four per cent, were underestimated, as it was not just the direct cost (to be alleviated by say a solar panel on the roof), but all the other higher energy related increase in costs which cascaded right through the production system.Finally, Professor Wint cautioned against the bandaid approach to policy, using as an example the experience of one-stop shops, which he advised, had come to be called in Jamaica “one more stop shops”. The creation of one stop shops, typically in the investment promotion agency, often caused resentment in other government agencies, who decide “to show where the real power lies”. Rather than trying to have everything stay with the one stop shop, he advised instead a fundamental reform of investment process across government. This view was supported by Minister Rolle, who advised that, in his experience, even putting the one-stop shop in the prime minister’s office doesn’t work. Virtually all of these, and other lessons mentioned are relevant to Jamaica. It must therefore be hoped that our policymakers are listening, and that there is now a real desire for reform.

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Closer ties to better compete