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Of impatience and political expectations
Rev Raulston Nembhard
Saturday, November 17, 2007
AFTER 18 years of unnecessary suffering and pain, the Jamaican people are impatient for change in their personal situations. Some have become unrealistically critical of the new government which, it must not be forgotten, has just been in office for two months. But the level of impatience is an index of their thirst for change and also an indictment of the PNP governance for the greater part of 18 years.
The impatience that is being shown ought to be put in context, as well as the present government's ability to deal creatively in delivering the goods to meet the pent-up expectations of the Jamaican people. There are some things that clearly need to be done by the present government. To begin with, it must give a clear, unambiguous and unvarnished presentation of the state of the country as the administration found it. Not to do so is to open itself to unnecessary criticism and to allow blame that rightfully belongs to the last administration to be thrown in its direction.
They must level with the people and tell them the truth. The truth cannot hurt more than the hardships that the majority of the Jamaican people have suffered over the past 20 years. These are early days yet, and time will be required to ferret out corruption, which was no doubt skilfully covered by the previous administration. We must not forget the theft of the computer at the Ministry of Finance and the orgy of paper shredding that seemed to have gone on in the waning days of the PNP administration.
To find the truth and expose it is not political witch hunt or recrimination. It is a duty that any decent government must perform. There will be howls of protest from those who do not want the truth to be revealed, but it must be revealed in the interest of the people of Jamaica. Once revealed, the chips must be allowed to fall where they may, if even as a warning to those who betray the public's trust and who believe that they have a natural entitlement to the people's patrimony. Let us remind both the PNP and the JLP that they serve the people's interest and as such must become stout defenders of the resources of the people. They have an almost sacred duty to protect and defend these resources, and those who fail to do so must feel the heavy hand of the law - the final vindicator of the people's patrimony. Nothing less should be required.
Those who say that the government must get on with the business of governing and to stop harping on the past or the misdeeds of the PNP are doing the people of Jamaica a disservice. They are either unwittingly or wittingly participating in cover-up.
It is important that the forensic audit ordered by the Ministry of Finance be done. Even the former minister of finance, Dr Omar Davies, would grudgingly, and no doubt silently, concede that the ministry did not operate with the transparency and optimum efficiency that was desired. The former minister seemed to have been a law unto himself. The perception is that he was king of all that he surveyed at the ministry and he was not a man to suffer fools gladly. He seemed to have shown great confidence in his own abilities, which is not bad in itself. But there is a sense in which supreme confidence in one's ability can lead to arrogance, and it is no doubt that this arrogance was a factor in the demise of the local financial sector and the ballooning of our national debt to almost $1 trillion.
It is instructive and necessary that the Trafigura matter be settled. Certainly the light bulb scandal must be brought to rest. One could not have expected less from the general secretary of the PNP, Mr Donald Buchanan, than to declare that there was no fraud in the project. It is not a determination for the PNP to make, but the independent arms of government that are mandated with this task. One can be certain as time transpires that there will be other issues to address. Those who know they did no wrong have nothing to fear. Those who know that they were faithful servants of the people need not fear their wrath. Mistakes can be forgiven, but deliberate acts of criminality, which are assaults against the conscience of the people, must be punished by law.
If I were to be presumptuous and trespass on the prerogatives of the PNP by advice, I would urge them to tone down the rhetoric and allow the independent bodies to do their work. Too much howling and protest is suggestive of culpability, or at the very least that one has something to hide. There is work to be done in asking deep and searching questions and finding answers to what has become of the PNP. No member of the party who wishes it well can be proud about what the party has become, for it is a mere shell of its former self, and this is regrettable.
I criticise the PNP because it will one day again form the government of this country. It is in my interest and that of the people of Jamaica for it to become a vigorous and active opposition. But it is in need of reform, and one is not convinced that the present leaders of the party are conscious of the urgency of the reform that needs to be undertaken. The vision that once informed a vibrant and relevant political party in the Jamaican political landscape needs to be recalibrated. The party must go back to the drawing board. They must renew themselves.
stead6655@aol.com
Rev Raulston Nembhard
Saturday, November 17, 2007
AFTER 18 years of unnecessary suffering and pain, the Jamaican people are impatient for change in their personal situations. Some have become unrealistically critical of the new government which, it must not be forgotten, has just been in office for two months. But the level of impatience is an index of their thirst for change and also an indictment of the PNP governance for the greater part of 18 years.
The impatience that is being shown ought to be put in context, as well as the present government's ability to deal creatively in delivering the goods to meet the pent-up expectations of the Jamaican people. There are some things that clearly need to be done by the present government. To begin with, it must give a clear, unambiguous and unvarnished presentation of the state of the country as the administration found it. Not to do so is to open itself to unnecessary criticism and to allow blame that rightfully belongs to the last administration to be thrown in its direction.
They must level with the people and tell them the truth. The truth cannot hurt more than the hardships that the majority of the Jamaican people have suffered over the past 20 years. These are early days yet, and time will be required to ferret out corruption, which was no doubt skilfully covered by the previous administration. We must not forget the theft of the computer at the Ministry of Finance and the orgy of paper shredding that seemed to have gone on in the waning days of the PNP administration.
To find the truth and expose it is not political witch hunt or recrimination. It is a duty that any decent government must perform. There will be howls of protest from those who do not want the truth to be revealed, but it must be revealed in the interest of the people of Jamaica. Once revealed, the chips must be allowed to fall where they may, if even as a warning to those who betray the public's trust and who believe that they have a natural entitlement to the people's patrimony. Let us remind both the PNP and the JLP that they serve the people's interest and as such must become stout defenders of the resources of the people. They have an almost sacred duty to protect and defend these resources, and those who fail to do so must feel the heavy hand of the law - the final vindicator of the people's patrimony. Nothing less should be required.
Those who say that the government must get on with the business of governing and to stop harping on the past or the misdeeds of the PNP are doing the people of Jamaica a disservice. They are either unwittingly or wittingly participating in cover-up.
It is important that the forensic audit ordered by the Ministry of Finance be done. Even the former minister of finance, Dr Omar Davies, would grudgingly, and no doubt silently, concede that the ministry did not operate with the transparency and optimum efficiency that was desired. The former minister seemed to have been a law unto himself. The perception is that he was king of all that he surveyed at the ministry and he was not a man to suffer fools gladly. He seemed to have shown great confidence in his own abilities, which is not bad in itself. But there is a sense in which supreme confidence in one's ability can lead to arrogance, and it is no doubt that this arrogance was a factor in the demise of the local financial sector and the ballooning of our national debt to almost $1 trillion.
It is instructive and necessary that the Trafigura matter be settled. Certainly the light bulb scandal must be brought to rest. One could not have expected less from the general secretary of the PNP, Mr Donald Buchanan, than to declare that there was no fraud in the project. It is not a determination for the PNP to make, but the independent arms of government that are mandated with this task. One can be certain as time transpires that there will be other issues to address. Those who know they did no wrong have nothing to fear. Those who know that they were faithful servants of the people need not fear their wrath. Mistakes can be forgiven, but deliberate acts of criminality, which are assaults against the conscience of the people, must be punished by law.
If I were to be presumptuous and trespass on the prerogatives of the PNP by advice, I would urge them to tone down the rhetoric and allow the independent bodies to do their work. Too much howling and protest is suggestive of culpability, or at the very least that one has something to hide. There is work to be done in asking deep and searching questions and finding answers to what has become of the PNP. No member of the party who wishes it well can be proud about what the party has become, for it is a mere shell of its former self, and this is regrettable.
I criticise the PNP because it will one day again form the government of this country. It is in my interest and that of the people of Jamaica for it to become a vigorous and active opposition. But it is in need of reform, and one is not convinced that the present leaders of the party are conscious of the urgency of the reform that needs to be undertaken. The vision that once informed a vibrant and relevant political party in the Jamaican political landscape needs to be recalibrated. The party must go back to the drawing board. They must renew themselves.
stead6655@aol.com