Wins, warnings and watchdogs
Heart to Heart
Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Dear Reader,
While there are those of us who disagreed with the quality and climate of the election, even conscientious objectors like myself are obliged to respect the will of the people. After all, it is the very essence of the democratic process, like it or not.
People’s National Party supporters celebrate the party’s general election victory last Thursday.
1/1
The Jamaican people have spoken and congratulations are in order for the victor, the People's National Party (PNP). Baggage aside, the party must be given credit for winning the hurriedly called 'hand-to-hand' combat with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
What I find particularly interesting is the way in which the results completely discredited the veracity of the opinion polls. It goes to show that people can tell you whatever they want beforehand, but the proof of the pudding is what happens in the voting booth on "D-Day".
As the PNP takes its victory lap, just like an athlete, the party will have to hit the track in a short space of time for the next race — one that is even more formidable than the JLP — a mortally wounded economy and a population hungry for hope, help and happiness.
The mettle of the new Government is going to be severely tested and there is no time for orientation. The sluggishness of the four-year opposition vehicle will have to be traded in for a sturdier and more reliable automobile, and for the petrol needed to power-up the "JEEP" or any other type of transportation required to pull the country out of the deep ditch it is in at the present time.
This is an appropriate time to remind those who are contaminated with the disease of "entitlement" that the gravy-train politics of the past has basically come to an end. There is definitely no more room for the 'politics of plenty'. The PNP Government is going to have to put its shoulder to the wheel, and those elected who think that they can substitute hard work and honesty for profiling and public relations must know that they are going to be governing under an intense microscope.
The days of "politics for profit" are over, and that message must be transmitted loud and clear to those in leadership. The PNP Government must be made to declare that the end of corruption begins with this newly installed regime, and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller must make it clear to her Cabinet that becoming wealthy, or for some, wealthier, is a product of the private sector and not the public administration.
I would hope that Mrs Simpson Miller understands from her previous stint as prime minister that her Government is as good as her Cabinet and the advisors who are a part of her inner circle. Her inability the last time around to frontally and decisively tackle the allegations and concerns of corruption cost her the 2007 election.
Interestingly, some of those "checkered characters" remained stalwarts and contenders for PNP leadership and will be sitting in Parliament once again. It's going to be instructive to see how Prime Minister-elect Simpson Miller will deal with the Turks in her new administration.
Mrs Simpson Miller's ability to lead will be critical for a country described by one of her predecessors as "ungovernable", and "irredeemable" by one of her colleagues. If the newly elected prime minister doesn't know or understand how singularly decisive, on the one hand, and how embracing on the other, her leadership will be, I predict that we will be in for a rough ride.
Some very tough decisions are going to have to be made by the new administration and the new commander-in-chief is going to have to balance the demands of the poor and working classes with the desires of the middle and upper echelons of the society. In a tough, domestic and international environment, there is no room for mismanagement, mistakes or mediocrity. It is said that nations rise and fall due to the quality of political leadership. That test is now set for the incoming PNP Government.
But the administration is not only as good as its Cabinet, the greater truism is that the Government — any government -- is only as good as its citizens, which means that each of us has an important role to play. Admittedly, we are a people who refrain from advocacy, and even rarer, from organised protest.
That type of apathy must end. In an economic environment where there is very little wiggle room, the power of the people is critical in pressuring the Government to put the interest of the people first. An unchallenged administration leads to apathy and arrogance. Human history has proven that reforms have almost always been the result of public pressure.
More importantly, we the people must be the anti-corruption watchdogs. Jamaica is in a crisis not because of a lack of human and physical resources. We are at the bottom of the economic and social ladder because of corruption and incompetence.
At this the start of a new year and with a newly elected Government, our country has the opportunity to set right what has been wrong. Let us resolve to work together to play our part in governing ourselves righteously, and insist that those who lead us do the same.
Happy New Year!
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1iPUTEQnD
Heart to Heart
Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Dear Reader,
While there are those of us who disagreed with the quality and climate of the election, even conscientious objectors like myself are obliged to respect the will of the people. After all, it is the very essence of the democratic process, like it or not.
People’s National Party supporters celebrate the party’s general election victory last Thursday.
1/1
The Jamaican people have spoken and congratulations are in order for the victor, the People's National Party (PNP). Baggage aside, the party must be given credit for winning the hurriedly called 'hand-to-hand' combat with the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
What I find particularly interesting is the way in which the results completely discredited the veracity of the opinion polls. It goes to show that people can tell you whatever they want beforehand, but the proof of the pudding is what happens in the voting booth on "D-Day".
As the PNP takes its victory lap, just like an athlete, the party will have to hit the track in a short space of time for the next race — one that is even more formidable than the JLP — a mortally wounded economy and a population hungry for hope, help and happiness.
The mettle of the new Government is going to be severely tested and there is no time for orientation. The sluggishness of the four-year opposition vehicle will have to be traded in for a sturdier and more reliable automobile, and for the petrol needed to power-up the "JEEP" or any other type of transportation required to pull the country out of the deep ditch it is in at the present time.
This is an appropriate time to remind those who are contaminated with the disease of "entitlement" that the gravy-train politics of the past has basically come to an end. There is definitely no more room for the 'politics of plenty'. The PNP Government is going to have to put its shoulder to the wheel, and those elected who think that they can substitute hard work and honesty for profiling and public relations must know that they are going to be governing under an intense microscope.
The days of "politics for profit" are over, and that message must be transmitted loud and clear to those in leadership. The PNP Government must be made to declare that the end of corruption begins with this newly installed regime, and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller must make it clear to her Cabinet that becoming wealthy, or for some, wealthier, is a product of the private sector and not the public administration.
I would hope that Mrs Simpson Miller understands from her previous stint as prime minister that her Government is as good as her Cabinet and the advisors who are a part of her inner circle. Her inability the last time around to frontally and decisively tackle the allegations and concerns of corruption cost her the 2007 election.
Interestingly, some of those "checkered characters" remained stalwarts and contenders for PNP leadership and will be sitting in Parliament once again. It's going to be instructive to see how Prime Minister-elect Simpson Miller will deal with the Turks in her new administration.
Mrs Simpson Miller's ability to lead will be critical for a country described by one of her predecessors as "ungovernable", and "irredeemable" by one of her colleagues. If the newly elected prime minister doesn't know or understand how singularly decisive, on the one hand, and how embracing on the other, her leadership will be, I predict that we will be in for a rough ride.
Some very tough decisions are going to have to be made by the new administration and the new commander-in-chief is going to have to balance the demands of the poor and working classes with the desires of the middle and upper echelons of the society. In a tough, domestic and international environment, there is no room for mismanagement, mistakes or mediocrity. It is said that nations rise and fall due to the quality of political leadership. That test is now set for the incoming PNP Government.
But the administration is not only as good as its Cabinet, the greater truism is that the Government — any government -- is only as good as its citizens, which means that each of us has an important role to play. Admittedly, we are a people who refrain from advocacy, and even rarer, from organised protest.
That type of apathy must end. In an economic environment where there is very little wiggle room, the power of the people is critical in pressuring the Government to put the interest of the people first. An unchallenged administration leads to apathy and arrogance. Human history has proven that reforms have almost always been the result of public pressure.
More importantly, we the people must be the anti-corruption watchdogs. Jamaica is in a crisis not because of a lack of human and physical resources. We are at the bottom of the economic and social ladder because of corruption and incompetence.
At this the start of a new year and with a newly elected Government, our country has the opportunity to set right what has been wrong. Let us resolve to work together to play our part in governing ourselves righteously, and insist that those who lead us do the same.
Happy New Year!
With love,
bab2609@yahoo.com
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/colum...#ixzz1iPUTEQnD
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