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EDITORIAL - Governance and real politik
published: Thursday | September 13, 2007
A week ago, on September 6, we called in this space for greater effort in the clean-up of public spaces in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean. We note that in his inaugural address to the impressive King's House ceremony and the nation at large, Prime Minister Golding echoed our call when he said he would shortly announce a Hurricane Dean clean-up day, inviting civic and community-based organisations to join the effort islandwide.
Staging such an effort would be a practical and useful signal to launch the first 100 days of a new administration with more than a bagful of promises to keep. The Prime Minister himself has made the point that the 100-day targets he envisages would include matters not requiring major financial expenditure. Cleaning up hurricane debris would not only give a Facelift to the physical environment, but also enhance national spirit at several levels.
Apart from the recovery of loss in hurricane damage there is the less tangible hurt from political defeat in the recent campaigning. In that area, Mr. Golding widened the "platform of magnanimity" he cited after the preliminary count on election night; his inaugural invitation to "sit with Portia" and "talk about Jamaica" was yet another indication of the inclusiveness he seeks to strive for as the nation's eighth Prime Minister.
We are well aware that these ploys are no invitation to coalition. The realpolitik of democratic governance will guarantee that policy differences will survive this transition phase before the new administration takes over with the naming of Cabinet ministers and whatever reshaping of the public service infrastructure is necessary.
We are aware also that magisterial recounts need to be completed. There is also the unfortunate matter of the missing ballot boxes that needs to be sorted out.
A recurring theme in some of the reactions to the Jamaica Labour Party's victory in the elections is that the slim margin of success does not constitute an overwhelming vote of confidence. Rather, some view the effectiveness of a well-executed election campaign skilfully exploiting 18 years of PNP performance in which crime and other negatives remained as pressing problems.
Those problems now become the responsibility of the new administration with a smaller parliamentary margin with which to operate - Mr. Golding's reach for "inclusiveness" notwithstanding.
At his swearing-in speech, Mr.Golding reiterated his commitment to tackling the monster of corruption that is leeching public funds; to impose criminal sanctions for breaches of the rules governing the award of government contracts, and to establish a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute persons involved in corruption. This is another aspect of the national clean-up that must be undertaken with steadfast commitment. It would appear that Mr. Golding's remarks refer to the future rather than any retroactive probe as to what may have transpired under the watch of the previous administration.
While we do not in any way wish to see any witch-hunts, it does not speak well to good governance that where criminal breaches are discovered the perpetrators remain unpunished. Nobody should be led to believe that they have a right to use public funds for personal or partisan gain, and be allowed to slip away quietly into the night. The challenge is to have investigations done in such a way that the public at large has the assurance that the new administration is committed to the transparency in public life of which it speaks.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
published: Thursday | September 13, 2007
A week ago, on September 6, we called in this space for greater effort in the clean-up of public spaces in the aftermath of Hurricane Dean. We note that in his inaugural address to the impressive King's House ceremony and the nation at large, Prime Minister Golding echoed our call when he said he would shortly announce a Hurricane Dean clean-up day, inviting civic and community-based organisations to join the effort islandwide.
Staging such an effort would be a practical and useful signal to launch the first 100 days of a new administration with more than a bagful of promises to keep. The Prime Minister himself has made the point that the 100-day targets he envisages would include matters not requiring major financial expenditure. Cleaning up hurricane debris would not only give a Facelift to the physical environment, but also enhance national spirit at several levels.
Apart from the recovery of loss in hurricane damage there is the less tangible hurt from political defeat in the recent campaigning. In that area, Mr. Golding widened the "platform of magnanimity" he cited after the preliminary count on election night; his inaugural invitation to "sit with Portia" and "talk about Jamaica" was yet another indication of the inclusiveness he seeks to strive for as the nation's eighth Prime Minister.
We are well aware that these ploys are no invitation to coalition. The realpolitik of democratic governance will guarantee that policy differences will survive this transition phase before the new administration takes over with the naming of Cabinet ministers and whatever reshaping of the public service infrastructure is necessary.
We are aware also that magisterial recounts need to be completed. There is also the unfortunate matter of the missing ballot boxes that needs to be sorted out.
A recurring theme in some of the reactions to the Jamaica Labour Party's victory in the elections is that the slim margin of success does not constitute an overwhelming vote of confidence. Rather, some view the effectiveness of a well-executed election campaign skilfully exploiting 18 years of PNP performance in which crime and other negatives remained as pressing problems.
Those problems now become the responsibility of the new administration with a smaller parliamentary margin with which to operate - Mr. Golding's reach for "inclusiveness" notwithstanding.
At his swearing-in speech, Mr.Golding reiterated his commitment to tackling the monster of corruption that is leeching public funds; to impose criminal sanctions for breaches of the rules governing the award of government contracts, and to establish a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute persons involved in corruption. This is another aspect of the national clean-up that must be undertaken with steadfast commitment. It would appear that Mr. Golding's remarks refer to the future rather than any retroactive probe as to what may have transpired under the watch of the previous administration.
While we do not in any way wish to see any witch-hunts, it does not speak well to good governance that where criminal breaches are discovered the perpetrators remain unpunished. Nobody should be led to believe that they have a right to use public funds for personal or partisan gain, and be allowed to slip away quietly into the night. The challenge is to have investigations done in such a way that the public at large has the assurance that the new administration is committed to the transparency in public life of which it speaks.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.