We want and deserve more

Jamaica is ill-served by a public bureaucracy that has retreated from its responsibility to manage. The problem is compounded by politicians who believe not only that the job is theirs but that they are capable of doing it.

The result is abject failure, exemplified by the embarrassingly small economic growth since Independence, deepening poverty, high levels of crime, poor performance in education, a decrepit justice system, inadequate infrastructure as well as social and physical decay. There is, too, our intensely competitive and divisive political process that often breeds violence and has difficulty in fostering consensus.

While our politicians stumble around in management roles that were not designed for them and for which most have neither skill nor training, their core policy functions are poorly handled or left largely unattended.

The executive has become, at once, formulators and implementers of policy in a system that lacks real oversight or accountability. Parliament operates inefficiently. Constituency representation is often weak and, in some cases, ‘outsourced’ to, if not outright criminals, people who operate close to the margins.

These, of course, are not new problems. Nor are they limited to any specific party or administration. But Jamaicans are fed up. They want and deserve better. The environment is ripe for change.

Listening to the people

The transformation must start with our leaders engaging in a frank conversation with the people, listening to our ideas, being willing to act decisively for the good of the country. Small parliamentary majorities can’t be held up as the reason for failing to do what is right; and should appropriate policies be predicated on their impact on the next election?

In other words, our call is for a leadership that is beyond declarations of integrity, but a readiness to respond to the hard tests when they come – such as extraditing accused criminals, whatever their status in a political constituency, or how strategic their support may be considered to a party.

Time to mount efforts

It requires, too, that politicians and their critical supporters stop exploiting the ignorance of portions of our population. It is also time for our leaders to mount credible efforts to dismantle political garrisons.

This restructuring must also include reform of the legislature. The Senate must no longer be used as a place to reward the hard-core party faithful or those who fail at the hustings. Its members should be bright people, allowing the Upper House to operate as a serious, deliberative chamber and from where governments can appoint key ministers.

Sweeping changes

The legislature is not only inefficient, but expensive to operate. We propose that the seats in the House of Represen-tatives be cut from 60 to 45, the size of the Cabinet radically reduced, and better use made of backbenchers in the legislative process.

For two decades, Jamaica has talked local-government reform but has achieved little. We should cut the number of parish councils and consolidate their operations.

Parliamentarians must be paid decently but their remuneration should be linked to performance and a system of accountability. We must also introduce state-financed political campaigns, with clear limits on what parties can spend.

At the bottom line, we insist on a political process that is prudent and responsible, offering adequate representation to its constituents. It should be so structured to attract the best talent and the confidence to hold itself accountable for performance.