I will not spend too much time bemoaning our sad state of
affairs as a nation. I opt not to launch
off into any long winded narrative replete with statistics aimed a
demonstrating our status as a “failed state”. Who cares about an exchange rate
of 113 JD : 1 USD. The decline has
slowed down! But that has had zero
effect on our grocery bill. We have certainly become very innovative in our bid
to continue feeding ourselves and our families.
Good stuff! Now that we know the definition of employment (to be
considered as employed you must have engaged in one hour of income generating
activity in the week prior to the survey), who cares about the latest
employment statistics that show that the employment rate has improved by 2.7%
year on year in April 2014 to a whopping 86.4%! The fact that this
administration claimed that Jamaica had 31 cases of Chik-V is great
news…despite the fact that those of us in the productive sector are faced
with very real manpower issues as our
teams remain at home, reporting “Chik-V like symptoms”. Let’s not focus on that. The Prime Minister
spent 70 minutes addressing Comrades and the wider public at the bashment that
is the PNP Annual Conference. She listed
her administration’s successes over the past 2 ½ years and insisted that the
PNP continues to “pass the people’s tests.”
There has not been a whole lot fact checking with respect to
her claims. The print and electronic
media have simply by and large reported her statements. Poor job, Media Peeps. Two days after her speech, Nationwide Radio,
having been chastened ion this regard by commentator Kevin O’Brien Chang, did a
fact checking feature on PSMs speech.
Better late than never I suppose.
The youth arm of the Opposition JLP, G2K did something in this regard,
although I would hardly term their efforts at fact checking “robust”:
“The organisation also noted the false portrayal of the PNP
taking office in a period of 14 consecutive quarters of negative growth and would
like to point out that in 2011, when the PNP took the reins of government; the
country was on a growth path of over 1.5%.
Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller must remember that this sort of
analysis destroys her credibility and makes it more difficult for her to unite
Jamaica to lead it down a truly transformational path,” added G2K
Vice president, Matthew Samuda.” (https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=708914739157307).
It felt like the obligatory, predictable response from a party in opposition
that is expected to rebut:
“The Prime Minister’s presentation reflected a Party leader
needing to ‘whip up’ her base but not a Prime Minister interested in the
mandate of the people or the real issues affecting people. She dodged the
issues of crime, the cost of electricity and even the current health epidemic!
How can you then say you passed the peoples test?”
He went on to lament the impending JPS fee hike and
inflation and its impact on families trying to cope in today’s Jamaica. All
true, Mr. DGS, but hardly breaking news.
We live it. We feel it. We see
it. We live in Jamaica too, Mr. Gordon
and the JLP, and we heard the Prime Minister. Trust me when I tell you that we were more
than able to come to our own conclusions as to the credibility and relevance of
her pronouncements.
Former PM Bruce Golding defended the JLP against PSMs
accusation of
4 missing years . I’m all
for setting the record straight, and I agree that PSM is entitled to her own opinions,
but certainly not her own facts. But
establishing fact is only the beginning.
We need more from the Opposition party. I suggest that they issue a specific mandate
to the bright young resources of G2K to create a center for fact checking any
and every claim made by the Party in Power.
Create and maintain a data base in this regard. Very easy;
very, very important. That’s the
first step. But more importantly, we
need for the JLP to move beyond this very basic (albeit important) task of
keeping the facts straight. What Jamaica needs is a viable, credible
alternative to what we now have. Repeating to us what we already know adds
absolutely no value to the process and renders you irrelevant.
I believe that the PNP is the default setting for Jamaica.
The JLP is the override button. One only hits the override button if something
has gone drastically wrong. More often than not, we hit restart, opting to
start again with the same settings.
Think on these things, JLP. You
have to present a compelling reason for Jamaica to choose you. That the PNP is not handling our business
properly does not automatically mean that you’re it!
The JLP’s last press release as reflected on its website (
http://www.jamaicalabourparty.com)
is dated July 21, 2014. The home page
has a statement attributed to Dr. Baugh about Chick-V dated Sept 6. There is an
option to look at the JLP’s position on a number of issues of national
importance. Again, comments where they do exist (there is nothing under “crime”
for example) feel platitudinous at best. I looked for something along the lines
of “The JLP's Vision for Jamaica”. You
see, I am in search of an alternative. A
credible alternative does not merely pick holes in their opponent’s
arguments. A credible alternative does
not merely sit back and criticize the other party’s every move and misstep. We
can and do do that already. A credible alternative
is just that: an option that presents a better way forward. All I see on the JLP
website by way of an articulated vision for our beloved country is a link to
their 2007 manifesto and their 2012 local government manifesto. What is the JLP really offering Jamaica? How does Jamaica look and feel under a Labour
Party administration? How will the
quality of our lives change under the JLP? How will they do it? This is what we
want to hear from the JLP.
In between rattling off the usual rhetoric to do with
Jamaica being better off under the PNP and of course, the fact that the PNP
will most certainly win the next local and general elections, Madam PM
repeatedly referenced that fact that we had passed IMF tests. Yet 52 years post independence, I can't help
feeling let down that we monitor with such alacrity an agenda imposed on us.
And yes, perhaps we are here because of how we have (mis)managed our own
affairs. But monitoring our performance against an IMF agenda does not
mean that we have to discard Vision 2030.
Where does the Labour Party stand on Vision 2030?
Let us reframe the narrative around our politics. Success must be defined as more than one girl
from the country now sitting in Jamaica house.
Success must be considered as more than simply winning power. We know success when we see it and feel it,
and we aren’t doing either right now. I invite the labour party go beyond their
present modus operandi , the ethos of
which is summed up in Dr. St. Aubyn
Bartlet’s very telling tweet in response to an entirely reasonable plea from a
citizen on Sept 21 2014 :
@tonispencer: PSM, where is the opportunity for the average
Jamaican? Those of us NOT in
politics???? #PNPConference #Leadership #JLP
@drstab56: @tonispencer @fayvalwilliams ask the PNP #MAMMA P
Dr. St. Aubyn Bartlett is a
former Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) member of
parliament for Eastern St Andrew, and he is reportedly seeking to represent the
party in a Manchester constituency in the next parliamentary elections. Dr. Bartlett and the JLP: We heard what Mama had to
say. We feel and live under the conditions resulting from her
administration of our country's affairs. We want to know what the JLP is
offering. You, Sir, passed up an opportunity to convince us that the JLP
is a credible alternative.
Jamaica needs a credible alternative. But the JLP obviously
loves being in opposition.
Labels: alternative, Bruce Golding, Chik V, JLP, Opposition., PNP, Vision 2030
