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The dawn of a new era
Rev Raulston Nembhard
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
The election of the JLP to power by the people of Jamaica has signalled the dawn of a new era for the country. The mandate was not as overwhelming as one would have wished, but it is a mandate nevertheless, and the party must now govern with vigour, impartiality and with great respect for the dignity of the Jamaican people.
There is a great deal of work to be done and there will be no honeymoon for the new government. Bruce knows this. There has to be a clear break with the status quo as we have known it under the PNP. The new government will be overwhelmed initially by the amount of house-cleaning that has to be done. For the first 100 days in office, its work will be largely janitorial as it seeks to clean up the mess left by years of PNP maladministration, corruption and bungling incompetence.
Then they will have to deal with the vision they have outlined in their manifesto to build a peaceful and prosperous country. There is no doubt that we can do better than we have been doing. We can do better than saddling our people with $1 trillion in debt. We can do better than an average two per cent growth in the economy each year for 18 years. We can do better than using the resources of the state for the chosen few. Some get richer by the day while the majority is increasingly being impoverished. Need I go on?
Recently, I was elated to participate in the 45th anniversary celebration of Trinidad's independence put on by the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Central Florida (TTAC).
The ceremony was impressive, but what impressed me even more was a video presentation called "Vision 20/20." It was based on Trinidad being a developed country by 2020. The country has already put in place certain strategies that they hope will fulfil this dream by that time. Prime Minister Manning wrote a message for the occasion which said, among other things: "We recognise the creativity and genius of our people and are pursuing our transformation into a knowledge-based, technology-driven, competitive society. We are taking on this human resource challenge through the implementation of a massive, revolutionary thrust in education."
He recognises that the linchpin in this thrust to a developed society has to be an educated and technologically sound populace. You may say that this was mere political talk, but last year Trinidad's economy grew by nine per cent. You may say that Trinidad has oil and natural gas so they can do it.
But he placed the accent on the education of the people, on the development of the human mind, on the need to harness the precious human resources which is the best resource that any government has to work with.
I reflected on our own paltry attempts at developing the information technology sector; the blunders and rank incompetence that have characterised our government's efforts in this area. I was sad that we have not gone farther in developing a literate populace ever since Michael Manley's vaunted attempt at literacy in the 1970s. I was saddened at the utter contempt that succeeding governments have had for the integrity and dignity of the Jamaican people and the ways in which we have belittled their intelligence, deadened their spirits and impoverished them in order to make them pawns in some political game. If you see a tear on this paper, know that it is one that has been shed for all the opportunities that we have squandered and which would have taken the country on a path to prosperity.
Better will come only when we begin to treat people with respect and when the poorest among us can have governors who truly care about their welfare. Not ones who give them handouts in the heat of a political season, but who are prepared to understand the true meaning of servanthood; that they are elected to wait upon the people as their servants and not their masters. What our servants should be concerned about is creating the prosperous nation that we know is possible, given the legendary resilience and innate intelligence of the Jamaican people.
I believe that we now have the chance for a new beginning. There is always a certain level of optimism that attends the start of a new government. It is no less the case with the JLP's ascendancy to power. As long as they govern with respect for the dignity of the Jamaican people and recognise the value of moral probity in what they seek to do on behalf of the people, they will have the support of this writer. They will be kept under the same withering scrutiny that the PNP administration was held under. They will be held to the highest canons of accountability. The people of Jamaica demand nothing less. In the meantime, we wish the new government well and hope they will govern in the best interests of all the people of Jamaica.
Rev Raulston Nembhard
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
The election of the JLP to power by the people of Jamaica has signalled the dawn of a new era for the country. The mandate was not as overwhelming as one would have wished, but it is a mandate nevertheless, and the party must now govern with vigour, impartiality and with great respect for the dignity of the Jamaican people.
There is a great deal of work to be done and there will be no honeymoon for the new government. Bruce knows this. There has to be a clear break with the status quo as we have known it under the PNP. The new government will be overwhelmed initially by the amount of house-cleaning that has to be done. For the first 100 days in office, its work will be largely janitorial as it seeks to clean up the mess left by years of PNP maladministration, corruption and bungling incompetence.
Then they will have to deal with the vision they have outlined in their manifesto to build a peaceful and prosperous country. There is no doubt that we can do better than we have been doing. We can do better than saddling our people with $1 trillion in debt. We can do better than an average two per cent growth in the economy each year for 18 years. We can do better than using the resources of the state for the chosen few. Some get richer by the day while the majority is increasingly being impoverished. Need I go on?
Recently, I was elated to participate in the 45th anniversary celebration of Trinidad's independence put on by the Trinidad and Tobago Association of Central Florida (TTAC).
The ceremony was impressive, but what impressed me even more was a video presentation called "Vision 20/20." It was based on Trinidad being a developed country by 2020. The country has already put in place certain strategies that they hope will fulfil this dream by that time. Prime Minister Manning wrote a message for the occasion which said, among other things: "We recognise the creativity and genius of our people and are pursuing our transformation into a knowledge-based, technology-driven, competitive society. We are taking on this human resource challenge through the implementation of a massive, revolutionary thrust in education."
He recognises that the linchpin in this thrust to a developed society has to be an educated and technologically sound populace. You may say that this was mere political talk, but last year Trinidad's economy grew by nine per cent. You may say that Trinidad has oil and natural gas so they can do it.
But he placed the accent on the education of the people, on the development of the human mind, on the need to harness the precious human resources which is the best resource that any government has to work with.
I reflected on our own paltry attempts at developing the information technology sector; the blunders and rank incompetence that have characterised our government's efforts in this area. I was sad that we have not gone farther in developing a literate populace ever since Michael Manley's vaunted attempt at literacy in the 1970s. I was saddened at the utter contempt that succeeding governments have had for the integrity and dignity of the Jamaican people and the ways in which we have belittled their intelligence, deadened their spirits and impoverished them in order to make them pawns in some political game. If you see a tear on this paper, know that it is one that has been shed for all the opportunities that we have squandered and which would have taken the country on a path to prosperity.
Better will come only when we begin to treat people with respect and when the poorest among us can have governors who truly care about their welfare. Not ones who give them handouts in the heat of a political season, but who are prepared to understand the true meaning of servanthood; that they are elected to wait upon the people as their servants and not their masters. What our servants should be concerned about is creating the prosperous nation that we know is possible, given the legendary resilience and innate intelligence of the Jamaican people.
I believe that we now have the chance for a new beginning. There is always a certain level of optimism that attends the start of a new government. It is no less the case with the JLP's ascendancy to power. As long as they govern with respect for the dignity of the Jamaican people and recognise the value of moral probity in what they seek to do on behalf of the people, they will have the support of this writer. They will be kept under the same withering scrutiny that the PNP administration was held under. They will be held to the highest canons of accountability. The people of Jamaica demand nothing less. In the meantime, we wish the new government well and hope they will govern in the best interests of all the people of Jamaica.