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It's the leadership, stupid
Mark Wignall
Thursday, November 01, 2007
BOTH men were having a typical Jamaican discussion. It was loud, spirited and tinged with just enough of the home-grown expletives to make it uniquely our own. Said the PNP man to his JLP friend, "Yuh a complain sey dem tek yuh bus off a di road. A you vote fi dem. A nuh nutt'n. When a fi wi time, wi still tek wey yuh bus."
The Transport Authority had seized his illegally operating bus and he was mad because, he said, he had voted JLP to end the corruption of the PNP. Now in his own bit of 'hustling' corruptly he had been caught, under the watch of the party of his choice. A woman nearby chimed in. I knew her as a JLP supporter, about 38, five children, dirt poor, unemployed for as long as I have known her. Her father cut lawns up until a few years ago and her mother still tended other people's homes.
"From di election gone, mi nuh si not even a $500 bill. Bwoy, mi nuh know wey dem a gwaan wid," she said. In former years when the man's bus was seized, he blamed the PNP. In JLP time, he continued to break the law, was prosecuted, his vehicle seized again and, in his complaints, the last words I heard from him were, "Mi nuh know wey dem a gwaan wid."
In politics, the perception is the reality. On this scale from perception to reality, truth is oftentimes an early casualty. Two months after it won the general elections, the JLP is facing mounting pressures on its finances, and we are not even sure about the real state of the nation's books. In just eight weeks, the nirvana which some believed was the JLP's calling card during the election campaign has not materialised.
From my perspective, it appears to me that the government is 'holding' well, meaning, no Cabinet member has made a fool of himself, nor has any directly thrown spanners into the works. Additionally, the leadership stands out miles ahead of what we had last year.
At about this time in the life of the new PNP leadership, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was in the process of telling the nation that she was the appointment of the Almighty and that voters had a duty to support the 'appointment of the Almighty'. For the sake of Golding's political career, he has to ensure that his speeches are tinged with just enough references to God. Quite apart from the fact that the prime minister subscribes to many Christian principles, I have never heard of him trying to ram God down his constituents' throats.
In the early months of Simpson Miller's time at the wicket, she demonstrated her affinity towards redistributive politics by hijacking money from the NIS and the NHT to go into projects those funds were never designed for. From her first muddled budget speech, to the calamity with cement, to the scandal in Trafigura, the signals were open and plain. There was no leader in the house.
The fact that Golding has, by his early approaches, signalled that he is the leader that Simpson Miller never was, the attendant factors of high expectations will obviously go ahead of him each time that he steps up to a podium. Some may argue that in Golding's push for job creation, he has engaged the correct gear at the wrong time. To place job creation as the main hub of his economic policy, the criticism is that any such push has to take into consideration the types of jobs the prime minister wishes to create. There is a huge pool of unemployed, underemployed and uneducated labour at large in this country. In the 1980s it was a cinch for Seaga to go the way of the sweatshop garment factories. Today, countries in the Far East would eat us up, what with their higher efficiencies and willingness to settle for what would seem to us as slave labour wages.
Golding cannot seriously contemplate job creation for that pool of labour with that consideration determining the overall economic policy. Golding has to consider the following, as put forward by a Jamaican academic residing overseas: "What has not been clear to policymakers on both sides is that job creation is a result of increased investment and economic expansion, not the other way around. The focus should therefore be on the latter, and the jobs will come.
Singapore did this to the point where they are literally at full employment and are importing labour from the Philippines (eg for household helpers). Jamaica is importing labour from China, Haiti, and even Eastern Europe, not because we have full employment, but because our labour productivity and price of labour is relatively high."
Even if Golding is criticised on the mechanics (crucial) of the overall economic policy, so far the criticism has not yet been made of him that he does not know what he is doing. This time around, unlike in Simpson Miller's time, there is a leader in the house. The problem is, based on his stance when a live demonstration of leadership was necessary and he stood up and delivered, now, we want him, expect him to be in touch with us for the purpose of engaging us all.
PJ Patterson ran for too long and won not because he was an excellent communicator, but because the PNP's machinery had pretty much sewn up Jamaica. Knowing this, the last third of his time at the bat was the sort of leadership associated with 'auto pilot'. Simpson Miller could not follow his lead, nor did she create any podium space for herself. At no time in her role as prime minister did we ever determine what she stood for, apart from her telling us that she loved the poor and reminding us that they love her.
Golding can learn even from those whose leadership was disappointing in the extreme. Patterson retreated in the latter days of his reign. Simpson Miller was never sure where her footing was. In both instances, they failed to engage the people because they believed that they could win without too much fuss. Golding has no such luxuries.
He has to tackle the pressing matters of corruption in the last administration, but it has to take the priority of a sideshow when the other main objectives are enumerated. Somehow I sense that in his rush to show up on all fronts and get his ministers up to fuller speed, he has forgotten that we need to hear from him at regular intervals.
Where is he on addressing the plight of that large pool of unemployed? The fact is, these people will not be suddenly walking into $10,000 (US$141) per week jobs. Looking one year down the road, I still cannot see any economic space opening up for those who missed the education and training boat.
The advantage that Golding has is what the JLP promised in its campaign. His leadership is the only factor going for the JLP. After 18 years of the PNP rule of arrogance and the many instances of corruption, which sprang up in the government like water hyacinth in a brackish pond, the people are not in a mood to second-guess the JLP government's move.
Golding outdistances both PJ Patterson and Simpson Miller in terms of his leadership. We need to hear more from him before that rock-hard barrier becomes a reality.
observemark@gmail.com
Mark Wignall
Thursday, November 01, 2007
BOTH men were having a typical Jamaican discussion. It was loud, spirited and tinged with just enough of the home-grown expletives to make it uniquely our own. Said the PNP man to his JLP friend, "Yuh a complain sey dem tek yuh bus off a di road. A you vote fi dem. A nuh nutt'n. When a fi wi time, wi still tek wey yuh bus."
The Transport Authority had seized his illegally operating bus and he was mad because, he said, he had voted JLP to end the corruption of the PNP. Now in his own bit of 'hustling' corruptly he had been caught, under the watch of the party of his choice. A woman nearby chimed in. I knew her as a JLP supporter, about 38, five children, dirt poor, unemployed for as long as I have known her. Her father cut lawns up until a few years ago and her mother still tended other people's homes.
"From di election gone, mi nuh si not even a $500 bill. Bwoy, mi nuh know wey dem a gwaan wid," she said. In former years when the man's bus was seized, he blamed the PNP. In JLP time, he continued to break the law, was prosecuted, his vehicle seized again and, in his complaints, the last words I heard from him were, "Mi nuh know wey dem a gwaan wid."
In politics, the perception is the reality. On this scale from perception to reality, truth is oftentimes an early casualty. Two months after it won the general elections, the JLP is facing mounting pressures on its finances, and we are not even sure about the real state of the nation's books. In just eight weeks, the nirvana which some believed was the JLP's calling card during the election campaign has not materialised.
From my perspective, it appears to me that the government is 'holding' well, meaning, no Cabinet member has made a fool of himself, nor has any directly thrown spanners into the works. Additionally, the leadership stands out miles ahead of what we had last year.
At about this time in the life of the new PNP leadership, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller was in the process of telling the nation that she was the appointment of the Almighty and that voters had a duty to support the 'appointment of the Almighty'. For the sake of Golding's political career, he has to ensure that his speeches are tinged with just enough references to God. Quite apart from the fact that the prime minister subscribes to many Christian principles, I have never heard of him trying to ram God down his constituents' throats.
In the early months of Simpson Miller's time at the wicket, she demonstrated her affinity towards redistributive politics by hijacking money from the NIS and the NHT to go into projects those funds were never designed for. From her first muddled budget speech, to the calamity with cement, to the scandal in Trafigura, the signals were open and plain. There was no leader in the house.
The fact that Golding has, by his early approaches, signalled that he is the leader that Simpson Miller never was, the attendant factors of high expectations will obviously go ahead of him each time that he steps up to a podium. Some may argue that in Golding's push for job creation, he has engaged the correct gear at the wrong time. To place job creation as the main hub of his economic policy, the criticism is that any such push has to take into consideration the types of jobs the prime minister wishes to create. There is a huge pool of unemployed, underemployed and uneducated labour at large in this country. In the 1980s it was a cinch for Seaga to go the way of the sweatshop garment factories. Today, countries in the Far East would eat us up, what with their higher efficiencies and willingness to settle for what would seem to us as slave labour wages.
Golding cannot seriously contemplate job creation for that pool of labour with that consideration determining the overall economic policy. Golding has to consider the following, as put forward by a Jamaican academic residing overseas: "What has not been clear to policymakers on both sides is that job creation is a result of increased investment and economic expansion, not the other way around. The focus should therefore be on the latter, and the jobs will come.
Singapore did this to the point where they are literally at full employment and are importing labour from the Philippines (eg for household helpers). Jamaica is importing labour from China, Haiti, and even Eastern Europe, not because we have full employment, but because our labour productivity and price of labour is relatively high."
Even if Golding is criticised on the mechanics (crucial) of the overall economic policy, so far the criticism has not yet been made of him that he does not know what he is doing. This time around, unlike in Simpson Miller's time, there is a leader in the house. The problem is, based on his stance when a live demonstration of leadership was necessary and he stood up and delivered, now, we want him, expect him to be in touch with us for the purpose of engaging us all.
PJ Patterson ran for too long and won not because he was an excellent communicator, but because the PNP's machinery had pretty much sewn up Jamaica. Knowing this, the last third of his time at the bat was the sort of leadership associated with 'auto pilot'. Simpson Miller could not follow his lead, nor did she create any podium space for herself. At no time in her role as prime minister did we ever determine what she stood for, apart from her telling us that she loved the poor and reminding us that they love her.
Golding can learn even from those whose leadership was disappointing in the extreme. Patterson retreated in the latter days of his reign. Simpson Miller was never sure where her footing was. In both instances, they failed to engage the people because they believed that they could win without too much fuss. Golding has no such luxuries.
He has to tackle the pressing matters of corruption in the last administration, but it has to take the priority of a sideshow when the other main objectives are enumerated. Somehow I sense that in his rush to show up on all fronts and get his ministers up to fuller speed, he has forgotten that we need to hear from him at regular intervals.
Where is he on addressing the plight of that large pool of unemployed? The fact is, these people will not be suddenly walking into $10,000 (US$141) per week jobs. Looking one year down the road, I still cannot see any economic space opening up for those who missed the education and training boat.
The advantage that Golding has is what the JLP promised in its campaign. His leadership is the only factor going for the JLP. After 18 years of the PNP rule of arrogance and the many instances of corruption, which sprang up in the government like water hyacinth in a brackish pond, the people are not in a mood to second-guess the JLP government's move.
Golding outdistances both PJ Patterson and Simpson Miller in terms of his leadership. We need to hear more from him before that rock-hard barrier becomes a reality.
observemark@gmail.com
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