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Mission impossible for the JLP
Mark Wignall
Sunday, November 21, 2010
AFTER Prime Minister-elect Bruce Golding had made his impressive post-election speech in September 2007, an MP — who is now a Cabinet minister — called me and sought my views on Golding's presentation.
I told him that if Golding could govern with the same conviction and passion as his words conveyed, he had a good chance of being Jamaica's best prime minister. A mere three years later, it is like that speech was never made.
GOLDING… does he want out?
1/1
The highly unpopular leader has scripted his own political demise, and in the process he is taking the JLP down with him. The PM and his administration spent 2008 as innocent bystanders as the world plunged into an economic mess. As they attempted to play catch-up in early 2009 — their best year — they cancelled off on the nation's business and instead paid homage to Tivoli don 'Dudus' by putting their best surreptitious foot forward in trying to stall his extradition. In the process the party and the machinery of government acted like truants in a brawl at the back of the school.
By the time the tissue of lies woven by the administration was slowly and embarrassingly coming apart, 2010 and its madness was upon us. Surely in that year, what we saw was a perfect lesson in how a country should never be governed. In the latter part and even as the JLP has its annual conference, I am sensing that the prime minister's body is with the party but his mind is somewhere else. I believe he wants out.
With recent polls showing the JLP an unsurprising 10 percentage points behind the Opposition PNP, the only thing the ruling administration has going for it is that as economies struggle and people feel the pinch of less disposable income and, in many cases, no income at all, incumbent administrations become the first target of the built-up frustration.
But even if the JLP still has the temerity to draw the 'global crisis' card, by its own admission it has said that in terms of the administration's readiness, its entire mindset was not attuned to facing the matter headlong. So, it went into hiding early and when it decided to face the music, the orchestra was in full blown cacophony.
Huge numbers of people in this country no longer trust the prime minister, as he proved himself the sort to be easily sidestepped by the wishes or suggestions of others in his party. Because the JLP has always tended to be a fractious mix of individualists, its leadership demands are mostly towards strong, highly centralised leadership. In Golding's case, it appears that three years on from that narrow win in September 2007, he is still trying to figure out who he is, what role he should play and which days of the week he should show up as leader.
While some in the party have suggested that Golding should demit the Western Kingston seat and head for one of the new ones in St Catherine, that alone will not stop the party from bleeding and losing support. The prime minister lied to the nation and many still believe that in his apology (in May) he was still fiddling with the truth. For this reason and the fact that people are hurting economically, the only real salvation for the JLP is its road works programme.
At the end of 2008, even before Dudus and Manatt, there were many people in this country who had committed the JLP to one term only. "Dem nuh know whey dem a do. One-term government," was the general viewpoint.
Is the PNP on easy street?
Various PNP leaders have been correctly telling their supporters that they should not watch the polls because they know that it takes organisation, hard work and money to win elections.
Nothing has changed much in the PNP team that misgoverned this country for 18 1/2 years, yet at this time there are many who would switch back to that poor governance instead of bearing the weight of the present plodders controlling Jamaica House.
All the PNP really has to do is allow the ruling administration to burn itself out. For sure that process seems to be well advanced and the Government will have no choice but to milk every month and every week of the time allotted it before it calls the next election. If the numbers hold positive for the PNP in 2011, it will not have to worry about funding as corporate Jamaica will always throw its money on winners.
The PNP has not said a single word about what it would do differently or better than what the JLP administration is now doing. It has not said a word about any grand plans it has for ramping up the economy and providing jobs -- the number-one concern in the country. It had better play it safe because there are no jobs to be had outside of what will come on stream through the JDIP.
And, because the JLP administration has painted itself into an inescapable corner, it will have no other choice but to crassly use the JDIP funds to purchase the next elections. It is, after all, a political party. If we assume that all of 2011 will be JDIP year and roadworks will be breaking out all over the country, to solidify the JLP base and attract three to four per cent of fence-sitters, the JLP may still believe that it has a chance.
Many of our people may be foolish and willing to swap votes for 'bullo wuk', but the wising up process is taking place on a daily basis. A reader e-mailed me a few months ago and said, "Remember, it is the second mouse who gets the cheese."
He is right. The JLP will be facing Hobson's choice. As it rolls out the JDIP there will be a lot of happy people taking home a regular pay cheque in the months leading up to the next elections. Many of the people will also know that if the JLP loses the next elections, the next PNP administration will have the remainder, a significant amount left to spend in the programme. With the political default mode of our people PNP, I cannot see the JLP reaping any benefits from here until the next elections.
The JLP had its chance and it blew it. Royally!
In all of that, we will have forgotten that we will not have advanced the country by much. All we will be doing is living off other people's upfront cash, in this case, the Chinese, and once that is done the next administration will go off somewhere else with its begging bowl in the hope that the next election can be bought.
Some progress in Early Childhood Education?
SENIOR personnel at the Ministry of Education have taken more than an interest in a column I recently wrote on the state of early childhood education. I had made some errors and they corrected me and I thank them for that.
In the latest transmittal from the executive director of the Early Childhood Commission more details are given.
“My name is Winsome Johns-Gayle and I am the executive director at the ECC since August 2009. I note with interest your concern and desire for action to be taken to fix the early childhood sector.
“I too concur with you that this is the area in education to which the greatest effort needs to be made so that we do not lose another generation of our children, but we cannot as a country give up as lost the other generations which are still in the system at other levels, and so a holistic approach needs to be taken by any responsible Government and I do believe that this Government is seeking to address it at all levels.
“Information on programmes in support of this approach are available at the MoE. I would, however, like to provide you with some information as to what is being done at the EC level. In order to do this I will make some fundamental assumptions as to your knowledge of the sector.
“The sector is now serviced by:
1. Infant schools and departments which are Government-owned and staffed and this accounts for the development of 3.8 per cent of the cohort.
2. Private institutions and Prep schools: 7.1 per cent of the cohort.
3. 65.4 per cent basic schools accounting for the balance.
4. Balance day cares.
“The ECC in July of 2010 assumed the responsibility for the development work in the EC sector. Prior to that it was the EC Unit in the MoE that was responsible for that area. As such the officers responsible were education officers and classified as such.
“The new development officers have only been in the field for four months and at a lower classification in the salary scale, and since then we have developed standardised lesson plans and resource material to be used in the field, trained over 3,000 practitioners in the use of the 0 - 5 years curriculum, conducted numerous training programmes in the 14 resource centres islandwide in each parish as well as in clusters in parishes for practitioners and principals in all ECC institutions across the sector, so that infant as well as basic schools teachers are trained in the curriculum and other areas of safety, health, physical, cognitive and emotional/social development for our children.
“The ECC is staffed by inspectors whose job is to inspect schools in relations to the 12 standards and provide them with a report of their status as well as development officers whose job is to provide support to the practitioners in the areas listed above as well as others to be introduced.
“At present the challenge exists in the basic schools as a number of the practitioners in these institutions are untrained. As a result, the ECC has embarked on a programme of upgrading of the teachers in the institutions in collaboration with HEART.
“In addition, the Government has a policy of upgrading the teaching staff in all schools to have one collegetrained teacher to guide the teaching process. This activity has been somewhat slowed as funds are limited to support the number that can be added annually.”
Again, if I should be allowed to dream out aloud, it would be to hear the education ministry telling the country that it has the funds necessary to deal with all of its needs in Early Childhood Education. But, reality must return and at some stage some will be left behind.
observemark@gmail.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz15vSCNhQN
Mark Wignall
Sunday, November 21, 2010
AFTER Prime Minister-elect Bruce Golding had made his impressive post-election speech in September 2007, an MP — who is now a Cabinet minister — called me and sought my views on Golding's presentation.
I told him that if Golding could govern with the same conviction and passion as his words conveyed, he had a good chance of being Jamaica's best prime minister. A mere three years later, it is like that speech was never made.
GOLDING… does he want out?
1/1
The highly unpopular leader has scripted his own political demise, and in the process he is taking the JLP down with him. The PM and his administration spent 2008 as innocent bystanders as the world plunged into an economic mess. As they attempted to play catch-up in early 2009 — their best year — they cancelled off on the nation's business and instead paid homage to Tivoli don 'Dudus' by putting their best surreptitious foot forward in trying to stall his extradition. In the process the party and the machinery of government acted like truants in a brawl at the back of the school.
By the time the tissue of lies woven by the administration was slowly and embarrassingly coming apart, 2010 and its madness was upon us. Surely in that year, what we saw was a perfect lesson in how a country should never be governed. In the latter part and even as the JLP has its annual conference, I am sensing that the prime minister's body is with the party but his mind is somewhere else. I believe he wants out.
With recent polls showing the JLP an unsurprising 10 percentage points behind the Opposition PNP, the only thing the ruling administration has going for it is that as economies struggle and people feel the pinch of less disposable income and, in many cases, no income at all, incumbent administrations become the first target of the built-up frustration.
But even if the JLP still has the temerity to draw the 'global crisis' card, by its own admission it has said that in terms of the administration's readiness, its entire mindset was not attuned to facing the matter headlong. So, it went into hiding early and when it decided to face the music, the orchestra was in full blown cacophony.
Huge numbers of people in this country no longer trust the prime minister, as he proved himself the sort to be easily sidestepped by the wishes or suggestions of others in his party. Because the JLP has always tended to be a fractious mix of individualists, its leadership demands are mostly towards strong, highly centralised leadership. In Golding's case, it appears that three years on from that narrow win in September 2007, he is still trying to figure out who he is, what role he should play and which days of the week he should show up as leader.
While some in the party have suggested that Golding should demit the Western Kingston seat and head for one of the new ones in St Catherine, that alone will not stop the party from bleeding and losing support. The prime minister lied to the nation and many still believe that in his apology (in May) he was still fiddling with the truth. For this reason and the fact that people are hurting economically, the only real salvation for the JLP is its road works programme.
At the end of 2008, even before Dudus and Manatt, there were many people in this country who had committed the JLP to one term only. "Dem nuh know whey dem a do. One-term government," was the general viewpoint.
Is the PNP on easy street?
Various PNP leaders have been correctly telling their supporters that they should not watch the polls because they know that it takes organisation, hard work and money to win elections.
Nothing has changed much in the PNP team that misgoverned this country for 18 1/2 years, yet at this time there are many who would switch back to that poor governance instead of bearing the weight of the present plodders controlling Jamaica House.
All the PNP really has to do is allow the ruling administration to burn itself out. For sure that process seems to be well advanced and the Government will have no choice but to milk every month and every week of the time allotted it before it calls the next election. If the numbers hold positive for the PNP in 2011, it will not have to worry about funding as corporate Jamaica will always throw its money on winners.
The PNP has not said a single word about what it would do differently or better than what the JLP administration is now doing. It has not said a word about any grand plans it has for ramping up the economy and providing jobs -- the number-one concern in the country. It had better play it safe because there are no jobs to be had outside of what will come on stream through the JDIP.
And, because the JLP administration has painted itself into an inescapable corner, it will have no other choice but to crassly use the JDIP funds to purchase the next elections. It is, after all, a political party. If we assume that all of 2011 will be JDIP year and roadworks will be breaking out all over the country, to solidify the JLP base and attract three to four per cent of fence-sitters, the JLP may still believe that it has a chance.
Many of our people may be foolish and willing to swap votes for 'bullo wuk', but the wising up process is taking place on a daily basis. A reader e-mailed me a few months ago and said, "Remember, it is the second mouse who gets the cheese."
He is right. The JLP will be facing Hobson's choice. As it rolls out the JDIP there will be a lot of happy people taking home a regular pay cheque in the months leading up to the next elections. Many of the people will also know that if the JLP loses the next elections, the next PNP administration will have the remainder, a significant amount left to spend in the programme. With the political default mode of our people PNP, I cannot see the JLP reaping any benefits from here until the next elections.
The JLP had its chance and it blew it. Royally!
In all of that, we will have forgotten that we will not have advanced the country by much. All we will be doing is living off other people's upfront cash, in this case, the Chinese, and once that is done the next administration will go off somewhere else with its begging bowl in the hope that the next election can be bought.
Some progress in Early Childhood Education?
SENIOR personnel at the Ministry of Education have taken more than an interest in a column I recently wrote on the state of early childhood education. I had made some errors and they corrected me and I thank them for that.
In the latest transmittal from the executive director of the Early Childhood Commission more details are given.
“My name is Winsome Johns-Gayle and I am the executive director at the ECC since August 2009. I note with interest your concern and desire for action to be taken to fix the early childhood sector.
“I too concur with you that this is the area in education to which the greatest effort needs to be made so that we do not lose another generation of our children, but we cannot as a country give up as lost the other generations which are still in the system at other levels, and so a holistic approach needs to be taken by any responsible Government and I do believe that this Government is seeking to address it at all levels.
“Information on programmes in support of this approach are available at the MoE. I would, however, like to provide you with some information as to what is being done at the EC level. In order to do this I will make some fundamental assumptions as to your knowledge of the sector.
“The sector is now serviced by:
1. Infant schools and departments which are Government-owned and staffed and this accounts for the development of 3.8 per cent of the cohort.
2. Private institutions and Prep schools: 7.1 per cent of the cohort.
3. 65.4 per cent basic schools accounting for the balance.
4. Balance day cares.
“The ECC in July of 2010 assumed the responsibility for the development work in the EC sector. Prior to that it was the EC Unit in the MoE that was responsible for that area. As such the officers responsible were education officers and classified as such.
“The new development officers have only been in the field for four months and at a lower classification in the salary scale, and since then we have developed standardised lesson plans and resource material to be used in the field, trained over 3,000 practitioners in the use of the 0 - 5 years curriculum, conducted numerous training programmes in the 14 resource centres islandwide in each parish as well as in clusters in parishes for practitioners and principals in all ECC institutions across the sector, so that infant as well as basic schools teachers are trained in the curriculum and other areas of safety, health, physical, cognitive and emotional/social development for our children.
“The ECC is staffed by inspectors whose job is to inspect schools in relations to the 12 standards and provide them with a report of their status as well as development officers whose job is to provide support to the practitioners in the areas listed above as well as others to be introduced.
“At present the challenge exists in the basic schools as a number of the practitioners in these institutions are untrained. As a result, the ECC has embarked on a programme of upgrading of the teachers in the institutions in collaboration with HEART.
“In addition, the Government has a policy of upgrading the teaching staff in all schools to have one collegetrained teacher to guide the teaching process. This activity has been somewhat slowed as funds are limited to support the number that can be added annually.”
Again, if I should be allowed to dream out aloud, it would be to hear the education ministry telling the country that it has the funds necessary to deal with all of its needs in Early Childhood Education. But, reality must return and at some stage some will be left behind.
observemark@gmail.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz15vSCNhQN
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