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Now that they have apologised.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
There are some people, we are sure, who have greeted with great scepticism the apologies issued this week by state ministers Robert Montague and Everald Warmington for the inappropriate comments they made from political platforms last week.
It's a natural reaction to the utterances of politicians, particularly in a country devoid of a culture of accepting responsibility for wrong and where public officials often regard the people as subjects instead of citizens.
Both men, undoubtedly, may well be trying to reduce the damage already done to their reputations and that of the Government, which came to office a mere three months ago promising integrity in governance.
Messrs Montague and Warmington have both acknowledged that what they did was wrong and, in Mr Montague's case, he asked the Jamaican people for forgiveness and sought to assure the country that he had learnt his lesson.
How they function in their jobs from here on will no doubt give us a measure of their sincerity. For both men are assigned to ministries that impact heavily on the lives of ordinary Jamaicans and from where political patronage can easily be distributed - Mr Montague at local government and Mr Warmington at water and housing.
Unfortunately, the warning issued by both men to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters in Portland and Old Harbour Bay, St Catherine that they would withhold state benefits and services if constituents did not vote for JLP councillors in the December 5 local government elections is not novel to the politics practised in Jamaica.
We saw it in the campaign leading up to the September 3 general elections when Mr A J Nicholson admonished people in St Elizabeth North East that they would not get water if they did not vote for the People's National Party candidate, Mr Kern Spencer.
What made that one particularly egregious was that at the time, Mr Nicholson was the attorney-general and minister of justice.
In the current case, despite declarations by Messrs Montague and Warmington that their statements ran counter to the vision of consensus-building and good governance articulated by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, we are not fully convinced that that vision is shared by everyone in the Government.
For had that been so, Mr Delroy Chuck, who while the JLP was in Opposition served as the party's spokesman on justice, and is now the Speaker of the House of Representatives, would not have gone on Nationwide radio defending Mr Warmington's disgusting statement as 'exuberance'.
But, as we have said before in this space, Mr Warmington did not surprise us, as he holds the view that people who do not participate in the electoral process by voting should not expect service or benefits from elected representatives.
So clearly, Mr Warmington does not adhere to the principle of democracy which gives individuals the right to vote or not to vote.
Quite frankly, people who hold such views have no place in representational politics, and the JLP would do well to seriously reconsider his association with the party.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
There are some people, we are sure, who have greeted with great scepticism the apologies issued this week by state ministers Robert Montague and Everald Warmington for the inappropriate comments they made from political platforms last week.
It's a natural reaction to the utterances of politicians, particularly in a country devoid of a culture of accepting responsibility for wrong and where public officials often regard the people as subjects instead of citizens.
Both men, undoubtedly, may well be trying to reduce the damage already done to their reputations and that of the Government, which came to office a mere three months ago promising integrity in governance.
Messrs Montague and Warmington have both acknowledged that what they did was wrong and, in Mr Montague's case, he asked the Jamaican people for forgiveness and sought to assure the country that he had learnt his lesson.
How they function in their jobs from here on will no doubt give us a measure of their sincerity. For both men are assigned to ministries that impact heavily on the lives of ordinary Jamaicans and from where political patronage can easily be distributed - Mr Montague at local government and Mr Warmington at water and housing.
Unfortunately, the warning issued by both men to Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters in Portland and Old Harbour Bay, St Catherine that they would withhold state benefits and services if constituents did not vote for JLP councillors in the December 5 local government elections is not novel to the politics practised in Jamaica.
We saw it in the campaign leading up to the September 3 general elections when Mr A J Nicholson admonished people in St Elizabeth North East that they would not get water if they did not vote for the People's National Party candidate, Mr Kern Spencer.
What made that one particularly egregious was that at the time, Mr Nicholson was the attorney-general and minister of justice.
In the current case, despite declarations by Messrs Montague and Warmington that their statements ran counter to the vision of consensus-building and good governance articulated by Prime Minister Bruce Golding, we are not fully convinced that that vision is shared by everyone in the Government.
For had that been so, Mr Delroy Chuck, who while the JLP was in Opposition served as the party's spokesman on justice, and is now the Speaker of the House of Representatives, would not have gone on Nationwide radio defending Mr Warmington's disgusting statement as 'exuberance'.
But, as we have said before in this space, Mr Warmington did not surprise us, as he holds the view that people who do not participate in the electoral process by voting should not expect service or benefits from elected representatives.
So clearly, Mr Warmington does not adhere to the principle of democracy which gives individuals the right to vote or not to vote.
Quite frankly, people who hold such views have no place in representational politics, and the JLP would do well to seriously reconsider his association with the party.
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