JAMRROC Will Operate in the Tradition of EPOC but with Far More Rigorous Scrutiny
Jamrock draws on the principles that made the economic program oversight committee epoch such an important part of Jamaica's macroeconomic reform. EP epoch brought together respected Jamaicans from different sectors and gave the public an independent means of assessing whether government was meeting its commitment. That model helped to build credibility because Jamaicans knew that the people doing the monitoring had reputations of their own and were prepared to speak frankly. But reconstruction requires an even more granular form of scrutiny. Project by project, milestone by milestone, dollar by dollar. Jamrock must operate in the tradition of epoch, but it will be far more intense in its scrutiny. Professor Henry has committed to quarterly public updates, an online platform through which Jamaicans can access information on the reconstruction portfolio, and direct engagement with communities. The public should also be able to know what is being built, what is the expected cost, when it is expected to be completed, whether milestones are being met, and where delays or corrective action may arise. So, we're going to be seeing quite a bit of Peter in the public domain. And as an economist he said n will ensure that there is no asymmetric no difference in information so that all actors have the same information set. He said something that I had said but maybe I said something that somebody had said before but you are entitled to your own opinion on the information set but you're not going to have your own information set. You're not entitled to your own facts. There are no alternative facts here. So there is one source of what is factual and that is backed by the reputations of all the distinguished Jamaicans who are serving on the Jamrock Committee. That doesn't stop political machinations. You can have your own opinions and make your political statements but not on things that are not factual. We we have to have a factual base on which to to proceed. Jamrock will have access to project information, accounts and performance data. It will most certainly have direct access to myself and the cabinet and to the cabinet secretary and to the chief executing officer of NAR. There is no question about NAR getting the information on which it will then make its