Sunday Sips with HG Helps | Why Anderson for NaRRA job?, Lisa Hanna and rumours, Any hope for fixing potholes?, and a lesson in football for Jamaica

Was Ambassador Anderson the best man for the job?

It was more than a surprise when Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced last Tuesday that Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organisation of American States would be returning home on a different assignment after he had served for a year in that capacity in Washington, DC.

The emphasis though, was on the new assignment given to Major General Antony Anderson by the prime minister, that of Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, called NaRRA for short, as not much was said about who would replace Anderson in Washington, which itself led to wild speculation that even took the form of a show to throw a veteran beauty queen into the limelight.

It was a huge move for Anderson to have been asked to give up the most powerful job in the Jamaican diplomatic fraternity, which carries a highly respectful and attractive salary, paid in United States dollars, and perquisites that make that financially salivating salary stay unmolested.

Sometimes I had to wonder whether or not Anderson was intimidated by US President D J Trump to look elsewhere for work, for even soldiers often fear the American top man. But, having served the Jamaica Defence Force as its highest-ranking officer, Jamaica as National Security Advisor, and also Commissioner of Police, running from up north would not be something that you would imagine Anderson would cower to.

No salary has been disclosed for the new NaRRA CEO, but you can bet your last dollar that it will not be discounted from that which he was receiving while he was chilling out in DC.

Why the Major General, though? Was it so difficult to find someone more capable than Anderson in Jamaica? Or were there other factors that we are not being told, at play?

My first consideration for a job of the kind, remembering that the mission to push the repair project caused by deadly Hurricane Melissa was so important, even without an oversight body in place to watch over its operation and conduct, would be the Chief of Defence Staff, Vice Admiral Antonette Wemyss Gorman on secondment. If she were not seen as fit to serve, if asked, then it would have been no point for her to continue as head of the JDF.

At this point and under normal circumstances, she would be three years away from the retirement age of 57 for a JDF officer, unless that has changed. Therefore, the 54-year-old would be quite handy in working on, and completing the project that would come under her management, and still have time to return to her substantive post to, among other things, prepare her successor for higher office.

There would also be the expectation too, that she would benefit from the many handouts of jobs that her predecessors are trendily flung into, after they leave the service.

Strangely, there seems to be an investment in confidence by the prime minister in Anderson that many of us do not see, and cannot determine why, because it is not that he excelled in the assignments that he had been given over the years.

The prime minister, who was quite unfriendly with the truth when he said that he had no say in inviting Anderson to apply for the new job, nor in Anderson’s selection, must address those busy, energetic rumours flying around like fighter jets over Iraq that he is biologically related to Anderson. On the face of it, there is little wrong with backing a relative for a job, unless the regulations say otherwise. However, there seems to be a special light that Holness has been shining in the direction of Anderson for far too often. 

There must be other people around who can perform the tasks at hand.

Lisa Hanna and rumours of Washington

It would be natural to segue into a related topic mentioned earlier, about the speculation that surrounds the appointment of the new ambassador to Washington.

Social media, which has effectively replaced traditional media as the main source of information, credible or not, has become bloated by the view that former (for now) political representative of the Opposition People’s National Party, Lisa Hanna, is ahead of a hungry pack of hunters to replace Major General Antony Anderson as Jamaica’s top envoy.

That speculation was fueled by her presence at Jamaica House last week to pay, as officials of the prime minister’s office described, a Courtesy Call on Jamaica’s top politician.

I cannot recall seeing the purpose of the call, although I am led to believe that it had something to do with sharing information on the coming of her new line of beauty products for the marketplace. My understanding too is that she also called on the Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, with the same intent, although I am unable to confirm the same.

The job of becoming Jamaica’s Ambassador to Washington is a huge one that is often driven by partisan politics, with one clear exception being that of Stephen Vasciannie in June 2012, when he succeeded Jamaican businesswoman Audrey Marks, now a Cabinet minister and Member of Parliament for Manchester North Eastern.

The United States remain Jamaica’s number one trading partner, so the emphasis on quality and political links is both, quite often, tossed at the top of the needs list during that microscopic process of selection.  

Many are still insisting on it, but I doubt very much that Hanna will be in the reckoning, although she could be a better fit in that mix than heading back into elective politics. As much as it was a surprise to return Major General to ground duties in Jamaica, it would be an absolute shocker for Hanna to be so appointed. I’m game if anybody wants to wager a small $100 bet (not in US currency) that she is not in the running.

The focus might be on the incumbent Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith, to leave the Senate and head to Washington. Remember now, she wanted the job of Commonwealth Secretary General, so this would be a great chance for her to feel the feeling again, of somewhere she once lived.

Her departure would pave the way for the transfer of Marks to the Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Ministry, which would seem like a better fit for her.

This issue is going to be very delicate to settle.

Is there any hope that potholes will be fixed?

The pothole population in Jamaica has grown so fast in the last year, that birth control measures need to be introduced fast, in order to prevent an explosion.

Obviously, the potholes seem to want to show up the Jamaican population that what they are doing in terms of lowering the human birth rate is not right, and there ought to be an end to it, or else some will grow to become mini craters in acts of frustration.

What seems puzzling is that there is no visible effort to stem pothole growth. There is a minister in charge of the programme to fix Jamaican roads, who operates as if it is no big deal to have the creatures of the road attended to. Even on major thoroughfares where you would think that they would not attack you, they pop up at last minute, and sudden braking adds another element of danger to the mix.

I am sure that there are provisions in Jamaican law that, just like how motorists are compelled to pay taxes that are supposed to be used to fix Jamaica’s roads when they go bad, largely as a result of shoddy work by dishonest contractors, they can also file lawsuits against the State when its agencies flop in its duty to keep the roads safe.

Nigeria’s victory shows up Jamaica

Last Saturday’s 3-0 beating of Jamaica by Nigeria in the Unity Cup played in England showed just why Jamaica should focus on someone to run national football programmes who has common sense and knowledge about the operations of the sport.

Those who continue to argue for Rudolph Speid to remain as head coach had better accept the fact that he does not have what it takes to move Jamaica forward and build a football culture that is deeply immersed in winning.

Unity Cup action will recall that Jamaica defeated India 2-0, yes India, in their first match of the series, and we are not talking about cricket here. That match ended 2-0 over what the Indian head coach described as a depleted squad.

India, not regarded as a football-playing country or powerhouse in the sport, has seen its football programme grow over the years, but by small margins.

As far as Nigeria is concerned, though, the most populous, though most corrupt, African nation, has a rigid football programme. Like Jamaica, Nigeria also missed out on qualification to next month’s World Cup – a major disappointment for the country that some see as one of the greats of Africa.

So, Jamaica going to a football class for tutoring last Saturday, was something that could have been avoided. Jamaica clearly lacked the finer points of coaching and technical work.

Knowing how silly the Jamaica Football Federation can be, it would not be surprising if Speid now gets the nod as permanent head coach, although it would be a retrograde step by the JFF if the appointment goes ahead.