Observer EDITORIAL: If Mr Golding truly wants back his J'can

[Karl]

If Mr Golding truly wants back his J'can bride...
Wednesday, May 19, 2010

MR Bruce Golding will continue as prime minister and his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) will continue to form the Government. This is the political reality which emerged from the 'Dudus' affair and deliberations over the weekend.

But the Jamaican body politic appears healthy. Because the PM's apology and commitment to do what is right was not a result of the JLP coming to its senses or any light of revelation on the road to Vale Royal.

Mr Golding was baptised by public opinion forcefully articulated by civil society organisations armed with the facts which the PM and the JLP were compelled to reveal, after the intervention of the Opposition People's National Party (PNP). The media too, in all its forms, kept up relentless pressure on the Government. All this augurs well for the future of democracy because politics is too important to be left to politicians.

For Mr Golding, as we stressed yesterday in this space, it must be deeds, not words, henceforth. We suggest that if he wants to win back his Jamaican bride, he must urgently address the following five points:
* Speedy and transparent completion of the extradition process for Mr Christopher Coke, in which Mr Coke should be allowed his full legal rights. Jamaica's international co-operation must be streamlined and reinforced so that there is sustained and cerebral diplomatic dialogue, no legal ambiguities, inadequate information exchange or political interference.


* The raft of legislation, reforms and administrative measures visualised and promised by Mr Golding since the days of the National Democratic Movement must be efficaciously drafted, debated and implemented. The institutions that monitor the transparency and integrity of governance must have their powers strengthened, their independence entrenched and their operations adequately funded.


* A genuine bi-partisan consensus must be forged between the JLP and the PNP which must bring crime and violence within limits that allow a civilised society to flourish. Jamaica must sever the nexus between criminals and politicians which finds its most dangerous expression in garrison politics. Nothing less is required to rescue the land we love from the tipping point of rivalry between parallel systems of legal and illegal governance.


* A concerted international campaign must be launched to rebuild Jamaica's reputation and to maintain the tourism sector which is now the life blood of the economy. Jamaica's reputation, already badly tarnished by violence and ganja, hit a new low where we are being described as a pariah state governed by the dons of transnational drug cartels rooted in the ghettoes of Kingston and assorted "deep rural" communities. Mr Golding's renowned eloquence and intellect could be invaluable in this endeavour.


* The economic programme in collaboration with the IMF must be kept on track and sustained for the entire course. This is difficult, given the technical weakness of the Ministry of Finance and the absence of a tradition of fiscal discipline. Sticking to the programme will only bring growth if crime is brought under control.

We, the people, must demand the highest standards of our politicians, hold them to account and, as recent events have demonstrated, exercise our influence in ways other than only through voting in elections. As a society, we must accept that certain things have to be done, even if painful.

And it's time to end the political point-scoring.


http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...-bride_7627311

[ReggaeMike]

But how the Observer expect any of these things when we still have one of the laziest parliaments in the Commonwealth? If I'm remember correctly (even vaguely) the British and Indian parliaments meet something like two or three times as often as ours does (which is something like one or two days a week essentially).

And does anyone remember how parliament looked on the first sitting after Golding's apology? Were the government benches full? If not how would Golding expect to get any of his legislative agenda done if hardly anybody from his government shows up?

[Lazie]

But how the Observer expect any of these things when we still have one of the laziest parliaments in the Commonwealth? If I'm remember correctly (even vaguely) the British and Indian parliaments meet something like two or three times as often as ours does (which is something like one or two days a week essentially).

And does anyone remember how parliament looked on the first sitting after Golding's apology? Were the government benches full? If not how would Golding expect to get any of his legislative agenda done if hardly anybody from his government shows up?

Mike, yuh nuh easy! Were the gov't members in Parliament on that day? Boy!

[ReggaeMike]

Mike, yuh nuh easy! Were the gov't members in Parliament on that day? Boy!

There is a difference between:

"were the government benches FULL?"

and

"were there government members in parliament?"


I asked the former. You somehow read the latter.

The former is important because it touches on the issue of having a quorum for certain issues and for the government to be able to conduct business. When the opposition walked out were there enough members of parliament left in there to constitute a quorum (16)? Were there enough government members of parliament in there at all in order for Golding to start passing those bills on crime and corruption and term limits and so on that he promised (again) recently?

[Lazie]

There is a difference between:

"were the government benches FULL?"

and

"were there government members in parliament?"


I asked the former. You somehow read the latter.

The former is important because it touches on the issue of having a quorum for certain issues and for the government to be able to conduct business. When the opposition walked out were there enough members of parliament left in there to constitute a quorum (16)? Were there enough government members of parliament in there at all in order for Golding to start passing those bills on crime and corruption and term limits and so on that he promised (again) recently?

Count fi yuhself!

[ReggaeMike]

Good. 20-odd. So what did they do that day with a quorum and no opposition blocking them?

[Lazie]

Good. 20-odd. So what did they do that day with a quorum and no opposition blocking them?

Still trying to find a way to point fingers at them huh? I can bet if they had pushed through any bills in the absence of the termites, y'all would be climbing up the wall.

[Jawge]

The above is bullshit! Bruce is "crippled" (as X said) and cannot even command his constituency. I don't know why they keep making excuses to keep Bruce on. he needs to resign. All the signs were there long before but they all cheered him on saying he's intelligent and eloquent. This is the worst in Ja's history of politics. Had it not been for the treaty Ja would have benn officially in Haiti and Somalia's company.

The worst part is that they tried to bring the bribe and bs (in the name of lobbying) to the whitehouse onmatters of national security. It's obvious they have no regard for the intelligence of the populace of Ja.

Time you clock out and leave.

[ReggaeMike]

Still trying to find a way to point fingers at them huh? I can bet if they had pushed through any bills in the absence of the termites, y'all would be climbing up the wall.

If that's what you want to think. I'm not the one that promised "legislation to aid in fighting crime and corruption; an independent commission to investigate abuses by the security forces; fiscal responsibility legislation to among other things exert control over our fiscal deficit and accumulation of debt; reform of the libel laws to enable greater transparency and accountability in government.." and I didn't promise to "put the following measures on fast-track: measures to reverse the institutionalization of political tribalism and garrisons...., provisions for the impeachment of public officials; term limits for the office of prime minister; vesting constitutional authority in the contractor-general and electoral commission; laws to regulate political party financing; enacting into law certain provisions of the political code of conduct with appropriate oversight and penalties for violation; criminal sanctions for breaches of the award of contracts; parliamentary oversight into the appointment of certain statutory positions" or "to seek parliamentary approval for the anti-crime bills, the DNA evidence act, and new criminal gang legislation to strengthen our capacity to fight crime including measures to prevent the award of government contracts to individuals linked to criminal activities."

Even if we assume that only the fast-tracked agenda is intended for 2010-2012 he has at least 8 bills on his plate aside from normal government business (such as dealing with unreasonable public servants and dealing with the IMF and other things like education, roadworks, EDIT: pushing for Jamaica to become a financial centre, etc) and his other promised reforms (amount to at least 9 bills in all likelihood) but with only 1-2 sittings per week and about 35-36 more weeks left in the year plus another 52 for 2011 and 34 for 2012 he has 122 weeks to do it, but unfortunately any unfinished business in one legislative year has to start from scratch in the following year (that's how it works in all legislatures in real democracies, places like China not included). That may seem like a lot of time, but given that only rubber stamp parliaments in places like China (communist) or Myanmar (military dictatorship) ever just pass bills without really reading them he will be amazed at how quickly time will slip away.

A lot of these things were promised in 2007 and a lot of them are being re-promised in 2010. If in 3 years some of these things haven't even gotten off the ground due to other government business (budgets, IMF, etc) having to be dealt with why would any sitting from here on in be allowed to go to waste?

[Lazie]

If that's what you want to think. I'm not the one that promised "legislation to aid in fighting crime and corruption; an independent commission to investigate abuses by the security forces; fiscal responsibility legislation to among other things exert control over our fiscal deficit and accumulation of debt; reform of the libel laws to enable greater transparency and accountability in government.." and I didn't promise to "put the following measures on fast-track: measures to reverse the institutionalization of political tribalism and garrisons...., provisions for the impeachment of public officials; term limits for the office of prime minister; vesting constitutional authority in the contractor-general and electoral commission; laws to regulate political party financing; enacting into law certain provisions of the political code of conduct with appropriate oversight and penalties for violation; criminal sanctions for breaches of the award of contracts; parliamentary oversight into the appointment of certain statutory positions" or "to seek parliamentary approval for the anti-crime bills, the DNA evidence act, and new criminal gang legislation to strengthen our capacity to fight crime including measures to prevent the award of government contracts to individuals linked to criminal activities."

Even if we assume that only the fast-tracked agenda is intended for 2010-2012 he has at least 8 bills on his plate aside from normal government business (such as dealing with unreasonable public servants and dealing with the IMF and other things like education, roadworks, EDIT: pushing for Jamaica to become a financial centre, etc) and his other promised reforms (amount to at least 9 bills in all likelihood) but with only 1-2 sittings per week and about 35-36 more weeks left in the year plus another 52 for 2011 and 34 for 2012 he has 122 weeks to do it, but unfortunately any unfinished business in one legislative year has to start from scratch in the following year (that's how it works in all legislatures in real democracies, places like China not included). That may seem like a lot of time, but given that only rubber stamp parliaments in places like China (communist) or Myanmar (military dictatorship) ever just pass bills without really reading them he will be amazed at how quickly time will slip away.

A lot of these things were promised in 2007 and a lot of them are being re-promised in 2010. If in 3 years some of these things haven't even gotten off the ground due to other government business (budgets, IMF, etc) having to be dealt with why would any sitting from here on in be allowed to go to waste?

Gwaan twist and turn Mike, yuh need fi tek up dancing. Have you ever listened to a session in Parliament? Maybe you should encourage the opp to boycott more, because all they do is waste time with grandstanding, then they go on PNP talk the following morning and complain how nothing is being done in Parliament.

[ReggaeMike]

Gwaan twist and turn Mike, yuh need fi tek up dancing. Have you ever listened to a session in Parliament?

Yes, it's quite boring at times. Sad at others. And sometimes humorous. If you have listened to parliamentary sessions then you should know exactly what I am talking about when I say they don't have time to waste. But then I guess anybody pointing fingers at the loves of your life don't understand anything don't?

By the way, shouldn't you already know that I have listened, no, not even just listened to parliamentary sessions but actually watched them? Didn't you ask or tell people that it was important to watch budget debates and I said I did (however disappointedly I am with the outcomes most times)?

Maybe you should encourage the opp to boycott more, because all they do is waste time with grandstanding, then they go on PNP talk the following morning and complain how nothing is being done in Parliament.

They should boycott more and save the country time, but unfortunately it doesn't seem like the government has the sense to take advantage of the opportunity (now twice presented by Portia and her crazy gang). After all I haven't seen it reported that any of those promised fast-tracked legislations were even debated or tabled among the government side, but we do have news about legislation for Jamaica to become a financial centre......

[Mosiah]

Maybe you should encourage the opp to boycott more, because all they do is waste time with grandstanding...

The grandest stand of all was the one done by Liad Bruce that got us into all this mess!

[Islandman]

Dat a nuh grandstand, dat a bleachers!