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The PNP must not let its limbs grow stiff and cold
CHRIS BURNS
Monday, July 20, 2009
Quite a number of people who responded to my last column, "PNP's plights predate Portia's presidency", drew inferences from my lines of reasoning that I ostensibly support Mrs Simpson Miller's presidency of the People's National Party. One email writer went as far as to encourage me to "continue the fair assessment of her stewardship of the party". Yet, several other emailers asked, point-blank: "So, you support Portia?" While the majority requested that I state my opinion on a way forward for the PNP, but to comment specifically on the style of leadership and organisational format that could drive the reformation process, should the PNP decide to embark on one.
First things first and just to clarify: my interest in having a strong and properly reconstituted PNP ought not to be confused with any misconception there may be about any dislike of the JLP or inflexible love for the PNP, even though we are free to embrace different political ideologies and preferences. My interest in Jamaican politics transcends both political parties. It is more concerned with organisational relevance and readiness, combined with quality and competent leadership that I believe could direct and inform future governments to find equitable solutions, and to take credible ameliorative actions. So, if the JLP was facing similar organisational and leadership struggles (as it did in the past), I would be just as unhesitant to share perspectives and recommendations.
And, as to the imprecise assessment of bias towards Mrs Simpson Miller, I hereby reaffirm the position I took at the beginning of the 2005 PNP presidential election because it was a principled position by which I have stood consistently and unapologetically. In a 2005 article, I wrote: "Prejudice and blind admiration are never sufficient grounds on which to excuse foolishness or ignore incompetence. They should not form the basis on which to elect individuals who might possess a combination of negative traits such as incompetence, crabbiness, intellectual biliousness, arrogance and laziness, to the position of party president, or by extension to the prime minstership of Jamaica."
Furthermore, as I said then, and now reiterate, "It would be patently irresponsible to endorse either Portia, Peter, Omar, or Karl, without first hearing a vigorous articulation of a set of policy positions or seeing a cogent blueprint of how each intends to achieve meaningful change in Jamaica. Nothing that I have read or seen so far has provoked a sense of excitement about new prospects for a better Jamaica under their leadership. And so I would only be party to the vulgar legitimisation of a political culture that promotes and seeks to institutionalise the practice of re-electing members from the same old clique - most of whom don't have even a scintilla of achievement to showcase - to lead the affairs of the Jamaican state." The same principle applies to the leadership of the governing Jamaica Labour Party.
Since then, and on several other occasions, I have expressed an unyielding preference for a new and energetically reliable leadership cadre to emerge from inside or outside the PNP to guide it through the rebuilding process and into the future. I have also been unequivocal in declaring that neither the current party president, chairman nor any of the former vice presidents should hold the post of president, chairman or any other senior position at the officer core of the party; beyond 10 months following the next annual conference. So, as PJ Patterson is accustomed to saying; "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
In underscoring the importance and scope of the kind of organisational restructuring, philosophical change and focus that must guide the rebuilding of the party, it would be incumbent upon the PNP to exercise good judgement in identifying and electing its next leader and to avoid the garden of temptation by "pouring new wine in old wineskins". Simply put, the impact of promoting the wrong people could potentially bring calamitous consequences to bear on efforts to re-organise and re-position the party. Still, the PNP cannot let its "limbs grow stiff and cold" - to borrow from The Red Flag - because Jamaica cannot afford it.
Suffice it to say, achieving new and dynamic leadership cannot be a mere exercise to recycle a pack of renovated political mannequins that spring from the same tainted bench, which hitherto accommodated some of the most glaring examples of governmental ineptitude. And it must be borne in mind too that the bad experiences are indelibly etched on collective consciousness of voters - any attempts to foist old products on them could prove counter-intuitive.
As I have often said, successful leadership is very much about successful followership. Therefore, the next leader of the PNP must be visionary and transformational. People will follow a leader who inspires them and can inject enthusiasm and energy. It makes good sense then, that visionary leaders are more likely than not to achieve great things. However, it all begins with the development and articulation of the vision - one akin to the kind Norman Manley exuded - and a view of the future that not only excites, but can also convert potential followers. If nothing else, real transformational leadership is lacking at the political directorate level. It should come as no surprise why achieving consensus has been so arduous, however essential to national development.
In addition to the issue of leadership, the need for a new organisational framework is fundamental as a vehicle to transport the leader's vision. This new organisational paradigm should not only solidify the original intent, aims and objectives of the PNP as laid out by its founding fathers, but also fortify and advance the core values of the party. The party's mission should then emphasise and link trust, pragmatic strategies, fundamental fairness, synergy, probity and commitment to purpose, people-focus, idea-centricity, volunteerism and financial nimbleness to leadership as it builds the bridge to transfer key ideas to the business of governance. Staffing this new organisation must be as strategic as it is tactical, but most important, it must be transparent and
well structured.
Disappointments and frustrations notwithstanding, I continue to have an abiding faith in the capacity of my Jamaican brothers and sisters to demand the very best of those who seek our confidence, support, resources and ideas. Complementarily, I am confident in the ability of our leaders, great and small, present and future, to "reflect-in-action" and adjust where necessary. For in the final analysis, it matters not whether it is the PNP or the JLP. It is all about a better Jamaica.
burnscg@aol.com
CHRIS BURNS
Monday, July 20, 2009
Quite a number of people who responded to my last column, "PNP's plights predate Portia's presidency", drew inferences from my lines of reasoning that I ostensibly support Mrs Simpson Miller's presidency of the People's National Party. One email writer went as far as to encourage me to "continue the fair assessment of her stewardship of the party". Yet, several other emailers asked, point-blank: "So, you support Portia?" While the majority requested that I state my opinion on a way forward for the PNP, but to comment specifically on the style of leadership and organisational format that could drive the reformation process, should the PNP decide to embark on one.
First things first and just to clarify: my interest in having a strong and properly reconstituted PNP ought not to be confused with any misconception there may be about any dislike of the JLP or inflexible love for the PNP, even though we are free to embrace different political ideologies and preferences. My interest in Jamaican politics transcends both political parties. It is more concerned with organisational relevance and readiness, combined with quality and competent leadership that I believe could direct and inform future governments to find equitable solutions, and to take credible ameliorative actions. So, if the JLP was facing similar organisational and leadership struggles (as it did in the past), I would be just as unhesitant to share perspectives and recommendations.
And, as to the imprecise assessment of bias towards Mrs Simpson Miller, I hereby reaffirm the position I took at the beginning of the 2005 PNP presidential election because it was a principled position by which I have stood consistently and unapologetically. In a 2005 article, I wrote: "Prejudice and blind admiration are never sufficient grounds on which to excuse foolishness or ignore incompetence. They should not form the basis on which to elect individuals who might possess a combination of negative traits such as incompetence, crabbiness, intellectual biliousness, arrogance and laziness, to the position of party president, or by extension to the prime minstership of Jamaica."
Furthermore, as I said then, and now reiterate, "It would be patently irresponsible to endorse either Portia, Peter, Omar, or Karl, without first hearing a vigorous articulation of a set of policy positions or seeing a cogent blueprint of how each intends to achieve meaningful change in Jamaica. Nothing that I have read or seen so far has provoked a sense of excitement about new prospects for a better Jamaica under their leadership. And so I would only be party to the vulgar legitimisation of a political culture that promotes and seeks to institutionalise the practice of re-electing members from the same old clique - most of whom don't have even a scintilla of achievement to showcase - to lead the affairs of the Jamaican state." The same principle applies to the leadership of the governing Jamaica Labour Party.
Since then, and on several other occasions, I have expressed an unyielding preference for a new and energetically reliable leadership cadre to emerge from inside or outside the PNP to guide it through the rebuilding process and into the future. I have also been unequivocal in declaring that neither the current party president, chairman nor any of the former vice presidents should hold the post of president, chairman or any other senior position at the officer core of the party; beyond 10 months following the next annual conference. So, as PJ Patterson is accustomed to saying; "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
In underscoring the importance and scope of the kind of organisational restructuring, philosophical change and focus that must guide the rebuilding of the party, it would be incumbent upon the PNP to exercise good judgement in identifying and electing its next leader and to avoid the garden of temptation by "pouring new wine in old wineskins". Simply put, the impact of promoting the wrong people could potentially bring calamitous consequences to bear on efforts to re-organise and re-position the party. Still, the PNP cannot let its "limbs grow stiff and cold" - to borrow from The Red Flag - because Jamaica cannot afford it.
Suffice it to say, achieving new and dynamic leadership cannot be a mere exercise to recycle a pack of renovated political mannequins that spring from the same tainted bench, which hitherto accommodated some of the most glaring examples of governmental ineptitude. And it must be borne in mind too that the bad experiences are indelibly etched on collective consciousness of voters - any attempts to foist old products on them could prove counter-intuitive.
As I have often said, successful leadership is very much about successful followership. Therefore, the next leader of the PNP must be visionary and transformational. People will follow a leader who inspires them and can inject enthusiasm and energy. It makes good sense then, that visionary leaders are more likely than not to achieve great things. However, it all begins with the development and articulation of the vision - one akin to the kind Norman Manley exuded - and a view of the future that not only excites, but can also convert potential followers. If nothing else, real transformational leadership is lacking at the political directorate level. It should come as no surprise why achieving consensus has been so arduous, however essential to national development.
In addition to the issue of leadership, the need for a new organisational framework is fundamental as a vehicle to transport the leader's vision. This new organisational paradigm should not only solidify the original intent, aims and objectives of the PNP as laid out by its founding fathers, but also fortify and advance the core values of the party. The party's mission should then emphasise and link trust, pragmatic strategies, fundamental fairness, synergy, probity and commitment to purpose, people-focus, idea-centricity, volunteerism and financial nimbleness to leadership as it builds the bridge to transfer key ideas to the business of governance. Staffing this new organisation must be as strategic as it is tactical, but most important, it must be transparent and
well structured.
Disappointments and frustrations notwithstanding, I continue to have an abiding faith in the capacity of my Jamaican brothers and sisters to demand the very best of those who seek our confidence, support, resources and ideas. Complementarily, I am confident in the ability of our leaders, great and small, present and future, to "reflect-in-action" and adjust where necessary. For in the final analysis, it matters not whether it is the PNP or the JLP. It is all about a better Jamaica.
burnscg@aol.com
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