PORTIA? PORTIA? PORTIA?

By Delano Seiveright

As if things have already not spun out of control, Portia Simpson-Miller is actually resolute about becoming the next President of the PNP and in her and her supporters eyes the next Prime Minister of Jamaica.

One seriously ponders whether Portia assumes that she has the capabilities needed to lead such a complex country. Does she actually believe that her performances in her varying Ministerial portfolios are even commendable? Does she believe that her so called compassion and empathy for the poor will sail her in? Is she under the false conviction that she has a credible and comprehensive enough vision on the way forward for Jamaica? Has she forgotten the type of government/party that she is a very senior member of? And who are the members of her much over hyped team of high profile technocrats and advisors? Tonnes more questions are there to ask Sista P, however due to limited space one has stop here.

An analysis of Portia Simpson-Miller’s performance and the regime she has been an integral part of is more important. We must be presented with the truth on Portia and not be besieged by gobbledygook.

PART OF THE PROBLEM
Portia Simpson-Miller has been a part of the Peoples National Party since the 1970s. She has been a Member of Parliament since 1976 and a Minister of Government since 1989. She has been an integral part of inarguably the most malicious, corrupt, incompetent, imprudent and wasteful government ever in the history of this country. Mrs. Simpson-Miller has as a very senior member of the Government and the PNP gone along with all their ruinous policies and positions of the government. She hasn’t, with the exception of one public relations stunt in Parliament, ever challenged or censured her colleagues for their malicious and maladroit handling of the affairs of our country.

She probably had no moral authority to do so simply because her portfolio responsibilities are also in a mess, I will go on to speak about this later. She has simply watched as her country briskly sinks into a pit of depravity.

FIRE SERVICE PREDICAMENT
The Jamaica Fire Brigade under this administration has been belittled to a Ramshackle Fire Brigade. The Brigade is severely under equipped. Houses, business establishments and most sorrowfully lives have been lost-Remember that crippled elderly lady in Norbrook and the many other heart wrenching tragedies. The Fire Brigade has become an ineffective operation. This is primarily due to the fact that the Service is grossly underfunded. The Minister in charge of this essential service, Portia Simpson-Miller, has been highly ineffective in garnering funds from her own colleagues in the cabinet. Her Ministry saw a massive budget cut recently. This could be argued to be an illustration of Portia’s ineffectiveness in securing such critically needed funds.

She must have heard the cries of Jamaicans on the daily evening news, as citizens lament the gross inefficiencies of the Fire Service. How many more people would have to die, or how many more properties would have to go up in flames before Portia wakes up out of her slumber and tackle this grave dilemma in the interest of Jamaica.

NSWMA DISGRACE
Formidable allegations of massive misappropriation, fraud, corruption and cronyism to the tune of $2Billion dollars has crippled the National Solid Waste Management Authority [NSWMA], a state agency to which Portia Simpson-Miller is directly responsible for. The handling of the matter by the Minister was sloppy and illustrates a high level of managerial incompetence. Mrs. Simpson-Miller must have been cognizant of the alarming fact that the Agency had not produced any audited financial reports to the Auditor General over the last 2 YEARS, in direct violation of the Public Bodies Accountability Act.

Further yet all those expensive SUVs bought by the agency. This did not seem to concern the lady who wants to be Prime Minister of Jamaica. It took her after weeks of uproar by concerned citizens, the Opposition and the media for her to call in the police to conduct investigations. Matters were exacerbated by the fact that a self-acclaimed genetically linked PNP supporter made of with $84million from a contract [that was not put up for tender].

Is Portia Simpson-Miller sincere about altering the local political landscape, so as to put the best interests of Jamaicans at the forefront? As a matter of fact has she ever given the impression to you that she is absolutely sincere about eliminating corruption, mismanagement and incompetence that have characterized Jamaica’s political landscape? Further yet does the sloppy, lethargic and nonchalant handling of the NSWMA affair by her, augur well for someone who wants to lead our beloved country?

AN INACTIVE LABOUR MINISTER
Portia’s performance in other portfolio areas illustrates her generally abysmal managerial skills. The overarching point is that her performance is similar to her fellow colleagues in terms of the management of their respective portfolios. She has undoubtedly been a failure.

Does the average worker in Jamaica believe that Portia Simpson-Miller’s past tenure as Minister of Labour has brought a fair enough amelioration of working conditions or a general improvement in the rights of workers? I wonder what the thousands of security guards in Jamaica would have to say about her tenure as Labour Minister. They have pretty much been working in slave like conditions for years.

I also wonder what other workers with a similar status would say. This is quite ironic for a woman who is said to be a passionate advocate for the working classes.

TOURISM MESS
Her performance as Tourism Minister has also been ridiculed in many quarters. Relations between her Ministry of Tourism and the Jamaica Tourist Board [JTB] were at best tense. Things were further complicated by a major mismanagement and multi-million dollar fraud scandal to rock JTBs New York City office. Her handling of this huge scandal, which saw the JTB being slapped with a US$20 million lawsuit by an employee, was seen in many quarters as inept and indecisive. As if things could not have gotten worse, business tycoon Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart levied criticism on the JTBs, “rank incompetence and chaos”.

All in all Mrs. Simpson-Miller had to be moved from this sensitive and weighty responsibility in a cloud of immense controversy and possible incompetence.

HER CONSTITUENCY… SHAMEFUL
South-West St. Andrew to which she has been MP for approximately two decades is inarguably one of if not the most underdeveloped, poverty ridden and crime-infested section of our nation. The living conditions of residents in this garrison constituency are appalling. Is she not disturbed by the fact that in the 21st century many of her residents have no access to proper sanitary conveniences or even running water? The constituency is frankly hell on earth. Mrs. Portia Simpson-Miller being such a powerful government official should be ashamed.

IS THE PNP HER BIGGEST ENEMY?
Ian Boyne stated that some in the PNP believe that, “Portia is not intellectually competent to deal with the gargantuan task of steering 21st century Jamaica through the rough, turbulent seas of globalisation.”(In Focus Sunday Gleaner FEB 6/2005). By all indications it is becoming more and more apparent that tensions are rising fast within the PNP and these tensions will simply have a detrimental impact on the affairs of Jamaica.

DON’T BE BAMBOOZLED
It is more than apparent that Portia Simpson-Miller is not suitable to becoming a Prime Minister of Jamaica. Her becoming Prime Minister of Jamaica would be just as devastating as the current Prime Minister of Jamaica. It would be a catastrophe therefore if Simpson-Miller is considered for the top job. Jamaica has arrived at a critical political juncture and is faced with two options: a) continuing on the path of destruction, hopelessness, increased corruption, mismanagement, nonchalance, and a perpetuation of the existing political order orb) turning unto the path of vision, prosperity and good governance.

Frankly all contenders for leadership in the PNP have given the distinct impression that they will log on to option (a).

PJ Patterson's Appaling Economic Legacy

By Delano Seiveright

Prime Minister PJ Patterson says that he will throw in the towel by the end of February 2006.

Many Jamaicans have been involved in heated and perhaps premature debates about PJ Patterson’s legacy. From what many others and I have gathered, PJ Patterson’s legacy is marked by widespread failure. Patterson sympathizers will, as expected, argue otherwise. However, their arguments are frequently fallacious. Patterson sympathizers for example tend to piteously argue that there are more cars and cellular phones. They also spout the virtues of Mr. Patterson’s so called non-confrontational style, his achievement of freeing up the media and allegedly reducing poverty.

As a 21-year-old Jamaican university student I cannot afford to be neither hypocritical nor ‘nice’ in analyzing our PMs performance. Young Jamaicans like myself will unfortunately have to bear much of the consequences of our Prime Minister’s poor leadership.

Older Jamaicans have either been left on the wayside or for the lucky few,gotten their cut of the diminishing pie.

In any debate about Mr. Patterson’s legacy one must highlight the performance of the Jamaican economy. The performance of any nation’s economy tends to directly influence the performance of other key sectors such as education, national security and healthcare. It would then be remiss of any commentator to exclude intensive discussions of the economy when examining a Prime Minister’s legacy.

THE DETERIORATING ECONOMY
Where does one start? His handling of the economy can best be summed up as abysmal. Economic growth over the last 13 years has been negligible. Since 1993 a mere 3% growth in the economy still proves elusive. The Jamaican economy is then by far one of the most stagnant and sluggish economies globally.

Our Anglo-Caribbean neighbour’s growth rates are on average three to five times ours. Much of Jamaica’s poor economic performance is due to PJ Patterson’s terrible leadership, lack of vision, an underperforming and reckless Finance Minister, widespread governmental incompetence and mismanagement. Did you know that the 1990s saw the longest global economic boom recorded? Many countries of the developing world grew magnificently; their proficient governments successfully rode the wave of globalization.

As intimated earlier, the Jamaican economy pretty much stalled during this globally prosperous period. According to the recent publication of the Survey of Living Conditions, approximately one in every five Jamaicans live in abject poverty. Imagine then the number living in ‘normal’ poverty.

THE SKYROCKETING NATIONAL DEBT
The national debt has skyrocketed. The total national debt at the time the PNP took office in 1989 hovered around J$30 billion. Today, September 2005, it is already over J$800 billion. Our Debt to GDP ratio exceeds 140%, ranking us amongst the four most indebted countries in the world to the likes of Malawi and Lebanon. The devastating toll of the national debt on our economy is absolutely astounding. Sixty six to seventy cents of every dollar in the national budget goes to servicing debt.

The deleterious effects of the debt crisis extend even further. It is an economic fact that our nation’s ballooning public debt has been the unswerving cause of little or no economic growth over the last decade. By borrowing excessively, the government has continued to crowd-out the borrowers in Jamaica’s productive sectors. By sopping up such considerable quantities of capital, the Government has caused interest rates to go to sky-high levels that remain sky-high despite recent reductions.

CATASTROPHIC HIGH INTEREST RATE POLICY
The high interest rate policy of the Patterson government has then led to the lethargic state of the Jamaican economy. It has also brought about a rapidly widening gap between rich and poor.
According to former PNP MP, Deacon Ronald Thwaites, the governments’ interest rate policy has brought about the most massive transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich since the abolition of slavery. Noted Jamaican sociologist and Gleaner columnist Peter Espeut stated once that Jamaica has the fastest growing and 11th widest gap between rich and poor in the world. Any drive around Kingston displays the above points.

Pricey SUVs, luxury sedans, ritzy hang out spots and fortress like multi-million dollar Kingston 6, 8, 10 & 19 mansions and townhouses mix precariously in a city trapped in a vortex of extreme poverty, crime and despair.
Yet our Prime Minister’s unperturbed style gives the impression that things are cool. PJ Patterson I am sure reminds many of us of the Roman Emperor, Nero. The high interest rate policy of the Patterson regime spurred the development of a J$300 billion money market industry to the disadvantage of Jamaica’s productive sector. Virtually all investments are channeled into government paper. PJ Patterson has, in essence, created an economic climate hostile to productive investment. It is better to place your money in Government paper than to invest productive enterprise. That explains why hundreds of good businesses in the productive sector closed down. This caused thousands of thousands of Jamaicans to lose their jobs, businesses and livelihoods.

In Spanish Town, for example, 40 factories have closed over the past decade, causing 27,000 jobs to vanish. Added to Mr. Patterson’s legacy is the ‘achievement’ of ensnaring Jamaica into a vicious cycle of seemingly eternal dejection, economic stagnation and poverty.

THE FINSAC DEBACLE
Remember, the massive demise of the financial sector in the mid-1990s, popularly known as the “FINSAC affair”? It is argued that the governments’ high-interest rate policy, its incompetence and the weak regulatory framework at the time contributed significantly to the collapse of the financial sector. It is important to note that the collapse was not limited to the financial sector but extended to hundreds of businesses and individuals.

The debacle caused the national debt to increase by $140 billion or 40% of GDP.What angers me about this preventable disaster is the fact that so many powerful indigenous institutions were obliterated and the lives of so many budding Jamaican entrepreneurs were wiped out.
Proud Jamaican companies like Mutual Life (established 1844- co-founded by national hero George William Gordon), Island Life, the Eagle Group, Citizens Bank, Workers Bank, National Commercial Bank, Century National and many others collapsed. The Commercial banking and insurance industries are now almost entirely owned by Trinidadian, Barbadian and other foreign interests. Jamaica only has one local owned commercial bank it being First Global, the smallest commercial bank in Jamaica.

THE FALL OF BLACK BUSINESS
It is a fact that many black owned businesses failed during the economic turmoil of the mid-1990s. Jamaica’s emerging black bourgeois was nearly decimated. The economic disaster had devastated the dream of having more successful businesses being owned by black Jamaicans. There goes another embarrassing addition to Mr. Patterson’s legacy, a man who doesn’t hesitate to proclaim his blackness. The disaster also decimated many other Jamaican owned businesses. Unfortunately for many black businesspersons, they lacked the wealthy family and social networks to navigate successfully out of a crisis like the financial meltdown of the mid-1990s.

CALAMITY
All in all Mr. PJ Patterson’s management of the Jamaican economy has been a catastrophe. I haven’t even mentioned the devastating toll of extreme crime, mismanagement and corruption. On the other hand ask the average Jamaican and they’ll tell you that they feel worse off today compared to the year before. Jamaica is becoming increasingly unaffordable for many of its ordinary citizens.

Even middle and upper-middle income citizens are feeling the effects of a depressed economy. These classes of Jamaicans are overwhelmed with soaring utility bills, escalating grocery bills, high security costs, irritating mortgage payments, rising inflation and a plethora of other agonizing expenses.

It is distressing to see so many proud middle and upper-middle income Jamaicans so obsessed with saving money. Air-condition units are used less, many are avoiding unnecessary driving, regular vacations have been reduced and bulk shopping is now the rave. Case in point: the crowds at Mega-Mart. If middle and upper-middle income Jamaicans are behaving like this one cannot even imagine how the average poor Jamaican earning $2000 to $5000 a week survives. Bus fares alone can hover around $1,200 per week, average. Now imagine utility bills, groceries, school fees, rent and other unbearable financial obligations.

No wonder Mr. Patterson appears so green about the gills when a discussion on the state of the economy begins.

Dr. Peter Phillps' Glitz and Glamour

By Delano Seiveright

ALL GLITZ AND GLAMOUR
'Glitz and glamour but little substance'. That was the impression made of
Dr Peter Phillips’ official launch recently to many of us. Not surprisingly though I and surely many others were neither enthralled or even the least bit gratified with his vision for leading a new generation for a new Jamaica.

FAILURE
Dr. Phillips has failed to motivate most Jamaicans and more specifically the youth population for the following five main reasons:

1)He is and has been a very senior and consequently powerful figure within the PNP and the current government for the last near 17 years. He is therefore a part of a regime that has failed this country in far too many areas.

2)His key leadership team is made up of M.Ps and/or Cabinet Ministers whose performances in their respective portfolios leave much to be desired.

3)The crime dilemma under his stewardship as Minister of National Security has worsened dramatically since appointed. Jamaica is now the murder capital of the world. The difficulty of one’s Ministerial portfolio is no excuse for failure.

4)His agenda though commendably focusing on ameliorating Jamaica’s dreadful social and economic conditions for the masses, fails to incorporate critical areas such as constitutional reform and the propulsion and institutionalisation of good governance principles, and;

5)His address contained several politically tribal and inflammatory innuendos. This was particularly disappointing.

RIVALS JUST THE SAME
In fairness his rivals are just as run of the mill particularly in regards to their grossly inadequate visions and their mediocre Ministerial performances.

VISION LACKING
On the other hand Dr, Phillips’ vision for Jamaica has little chance of success if it is not buffered by wide ranging constitutional reform, commitment to the principles of good governance, strong leadership, reduced arrogance and a cadre of effective and progressive colleagues who are unswerving in their love for country.
Hyper corruption, mismanagement, poor leadership and all in all bad governance will continue to figure prominently -as it has under the current regime- if a paradigm shift in visions articulated by the contenders for the top job is not accepted.

BRUCE CERTAINLY GOT IT!
Frankly, Bruce Golding again comes out way ahead of the lot in this regard.

Police Stations in Disrepair

By Jamaica Observer

The Opposition affiliated group, Generation 2000 (G2K), said yesterday that 70 per cent of Jamaica's 172 police stations are in disrepair and would require about $4 billion to fix.

The government could find the money to undertake the job, G2K said, from the savings to be gained from the PetroCaribe facility, under which Jamaica will pay cash for 60 per cent of the oil it buys from Venezuela, with the other 40 per cent being converted to long-term loans at interest as low as one per cent. The island is expected to save up to US$180 million (J$11.52 billion).

The Jamaica Labour Party group, which is made up of young professionals, also suggested that the government use the proceeds from the sale of additional mobile telephone licences to purchase technological aids for the police, such as the much-touted computer-based statistics analysis software and related hardware, CompuStat as well as a new radio communications system, to replace the one that has been in use since the 1980s.
The police radio system, G2K vice-president, Warren Newby told reporters, is now "gross inefficient to deal with the demands of the current crime wave".

The government recently received bids for a mobile phone licence that was given back by America's Cingular. However, experts say the government is unlikely to fetch the big bucks it received when it first auctioned cellular licences at the start of the decade.The government got US$90 million for the first two licences it sold and earned US$6 million for the third.

G2K's proposal came as it announced the findings of a recent audit of police stations, whose decrepit state, the organisation said, helped impede the ability of the constabulary to fight Jamaica's serious crime problem.
"G2K's audit of the state of police stations across the island indicates a range of problems, from a need for totally new structures in Bath, St Thomas, Cave Valley and Alexander in St Ann, Falmouth, Trelawny and Port Maria in St Mary; to leaking roofs in Admiral Town, Rollington Town and Rockfort in Kingston; to an inadequacy furniture at the newly-built Annotto Bay station in St Mary," Newby said.

At least 120 stations were in need of substantial repair."Preliminary estimates indicate that some $4 billion will be needed to overhaul the physical facilities of the police force and given the priority which must be placed on crime fighting, the organisation is calling on government to make this ($4 billion) a priority," Newby said.
G2K leader, Senator Chris Tufton, said the audit was done to emphasise the problems faced by the police in tackling crime in a country where there were nearly 1,700 murders last year and to show his organisation's concern for the problem.

Responding to the observation that some police stations were being repaired, Tufton charged that government has in the past announced plans to build and repair stations without anything being done."We are not impressed with intentions to perform we are interested in performance," Tufton said. "The question is, what is the government doing about it?. The equipment of police stations is fundamental as you can get."

(Jamaica Observer report Jan. 12, 2006)

G2K Welcomes Planned Overhaul of Justice System

Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professionals arm of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), has welcomed the government's announcement that it will begin a process to comprehensively overhaul the country's justice system.

According to G2K president Senator Chris Tufton, the organisation is "relieved to hear the Government finally accepting what has been an obvious fact for a long time, that the proper and effective administration of justice in the country has been hampered and undermined by a litany of deficiencies that have accumulated over the years and have led to too many cases of justice being delayed and denied".

He said a recent G2K audit of state facilities and personnel charged with the administration of justice showed that for the period April 2003 to March 2004 a total of 553 cases were listed during the Christmas term of the Circuit Court but only 205 (37 per cent) were disposed of, while in the Summer term 504 cases were set for trial, of which only 210 (41.6 per cent) were disposed of. In the Easter term, of the 503 cases set for trial only 216 (42.9 per cent) were completed.

"In the Supreme Court (Criminal Division), less than 40 per cent of the cases pending are disposed of during the year, which means over 300 cases pending trial are carried forward, or over 300 accused persons, innocent until proven guilty, may well be locked up from term to term and, possibly, from year to year," Tufton said.

He attributed these delays to a number of deficiencies in the system including:
. a lack of stenographers and computerisation of cases;

. inadequate and dilapidated court houses and support facilities;

. inadequate staffing at the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions; . inadequate legal aid support for poor litigants and accused persons; and

. an ineffective witness protection programme.Tufton's comments follow on those of JLP spokesman on justice Delroy Chuck who, in response to the not guilty verdict in the Crawle murder trial, said that the system was in crisis and in need of an inquiry to identify and remedy weaknesses.

The December 20 Crawle verdict, which absolved five policemen of murder in the shooting deaths of four persons in Crawle, Clarendon in 2003, as well as the acquittal a fortnight before of three other policemen accused of murdering 15 year-old Jason Smith, earned the ire of the JLP and rights groups.

Yesterday, Tufton called on the government to treat the problems in the justice system as priority in its proposed overhaul, and suggested that the administration:
. Computerise the entire court system, type out court transcripts at the end of each day's court proceedings, network all the court rooms so that the relevant information can be transmitted immediately to the relevant court employee(s) to retrieve court documents, and have e-mail access so that lawyers can communicate instantaneously with the court employee(s);

. Expand and upgrade court buildings and facilities for a safer and more effective working environment;

. Implement plea bargaining into the justice system. This will have an immediate positive impact on clearing the backlog of criminal cases presently in the courts;

. Abolish the practice of unsworn statements from the dock as was done in the United Kingdom in 1982;

. Put in place the infrastructure and require each alleged offender and deportees who have committed serious crimes to give his or her DNA and fingerprints to be stored in a central data base. This will allow for crime to be solved by matching DNA and or fingerprints taken at a crime scene with those stored on the said database; and

. Assign special police investigators to murder cases where there have been no arrest(s) within 48 hours. This would require the recruitment and training of a cadre of special police investigators whose sole job is homicide investigations.

These legislative and infrastructure reforms, Tufton said, "would go a far way in addressing the country's crime problem and restore confidence in the justice system".

He also urged the prime minister to ensure, as a sign of his sincerity of purpose, that the proposed overhaul is irreversibly set in motion before he demits office.

(Jamaica Observer report Jan. 9, 2006)

Welcome to Jamrock

By Delano Seiveright

Come on let’s face it a ghetto education is basic and most a yutes dem waste it and when dem waste it, dem tek guns replace it,
Then dem don’t stand a chance at all, Dats why a nuff likle yute have up some fat matic wid di extra magazine inna them back pocketAll who nah lock glocks, them a lock rachetThem will full you up a current like a short circuitThen run a roadblock which part the cops block itAnd from now till a mornin no stop clap itIf they run outta rounds a bruk back ratchet
(From Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley’s single Welcome to Jamrock)

CRAZY
These particular lyrics of Damian “Junior Gong” Marley’s global hit Welcome to Jamrock,came to mind whilst I keenly read veteran Educator Dr. Ralph Thompson’s analysis of the 2005 CXC results in the Sunday Gleaner (October 2, 2005). Is it just not mortifying to know that in 21st century Jamaica 95.7% of our Non-traditional high school students either failed or weren’t even sent up for CXC Mathematics?
In light of an overall improvement in the pass rate, the overwhelming majority of our nation’s high schools are performing poorly. This includes many of the traditional or ‘name brand’ high schools. As a matter of fact, only a few of our name-brand institutions are performing well. Unfortunately, not every Jamaican child can get into Campion, Immaculate or Bishop Gibson High School.

CLASS DIVIDE
In truth, the students at these institutions are predominantly from the middle to upper income brackets/tier. On the other hand, non-traditional high schools cater almost exclusively to the children of the poor, namely Trench Town, Edith Dalton St. James High School etc. Judging by the results of all non-traditional and many traditional high schools, one gets an understanding as to why we seem to have such a horrendous crisis in regards to poverty and crime – the resulting factors. Further, it gives an understanding as to why our labour pool is so largely uneducated, unskilled and as expected, unemployable.

According to Dr. Thompson’s analysis only 4.3% and 12.8% of the non-traditional high school student cohort attained passes in CXC Mathematics and English Language respectively. So out of the nearly 20,000 non-traditional high school students cohort this year, only 849 and 2,521 of them attained passes in CXC Mathematics and English Language respectively. As such, what will happen to the thousands of failing students who make up the overwhelming majority of our high school population? Will they go the route of criminality as Junior Gong indicated or will they become gainfully employed? The latter seems quite unlikely.

If there remains indecision as to what to do with the expected J$10 Billion per year savings from PetroCaribe, perhaps pumping it in the early childhood education may be of the utmost benefit to our educational sector. The least we can offer to the upcoming generation(s) is an education system that actually educates people – as a matter of carrying out its intended duty/objective; and so, by extension, giving them a bright future to look forward to.

PROGRESS WITHOUT LITERACY?
How can our nation progress or function with tens of thousands of semi-literate youths departing from our high schools each year? To make matters worse, our economy has been flat over the last decade and a half. The government has also failed over the last 16 years to make the fundamental reforms that our education system so desperately desires.

WHAT ABOUT OUR CUT?
With the minds of our young people being almost completely if not completely permeated by the West’s culture of bling or materialism, do we really think they will like Jamaicans of past generations be satisfied with their lot in life? Educated and uneducated young people alike, are for the most part intent on getting a cut of the ‘pie’ whether legitimately or unfortunately illegitimately. The sad truth for Jamaica is that with over a decade of economic stagnation, the ‘pie’ is diminishing very quickly. Furthermore, the broadening social inequities existing in Jamaica coupled by frustration with the existing social order adds fuel to the fire brewing in our many inner cities. An illustration of this is the fact that the hottest reggae and dancehall hits are becoming vehemently anti-status quo/‘protest oriented’. Vybz Kartel’s chart topping hit ‘Emergency’ is currently tearing up the airwaves, dances and even uptown sessions. Current anti-status quo/ ‘protest oriented’ hits from Turbulance, Wayne Marshall, Assassin, Kip Rich, Twins of Twins and others add fuel to the spreading flames – “Quite So.”

REVOLUTIONARY FERVOUR
Formidable efforts must be now made to cool the extreme levels of frustration transfixing Jamaicans. If not, there will be a major social explosion. Signs of this ominous explosion are already apparent with the gradually increasing break down of law and order across many parts of Jamaica, particularly in our larger urban centers. Economic uncertainty, soaring prices, increasing hopelessness, skyrocketing crime and violence that goes beyond human comprehension and an almost lack of confidence by Jamaicans in the current ruling administration are other indicators.

A BREATHER
All in all a change of government tends to deflate extreme and rising social tensions in many countries. This PJ Patterson led administration has lost all moral authority to lead. I implore you to take a look at all the scandals to rock this administration over the last couple years. Mismanagement, corruption and incompetence are the hallmarks of this administration. All to the disadvantage of our nation’s best interest. New government will certainly give the Jamaican people a ‘breather’.

Let Good Sense Prevail

By Delano Seiveright

THOSE INEPT ARTICLES
“Portia, in a class by herself” and “Portia’s key cards” were the headlines of Dawn Ritch’s and Carolyn Cooper’s columns respectively in the Sunday Gleaner of November 13, 2005. Kindly note that, Dawn Ritch was once one of Jamaica’s most revered columnists but it seems that her recent writings have descended into drivel.
She and now Carolyn Cooper continue to robotically endorse Portia Simpson-Miller for the Presidency of the PNP and possibly the next Prime Minister of Jamaica.

INCONSEQUENTIAL
Whether or not you are able to supposedly bring out 7,000 non-weed smoking comrades to attend your launch is inconsequential. The same applies to whether Simpson-Miller is fluent in “Jamaican” and English as Mrs. Carolyn Cooper gratuitously pointed out.

BEST FUTURE
Jamaica’s best future lies in a leader who has an awe-inspiring record of managerial competence, dedication to constitutional reform, commitment to effecting principles of good governance, savoir-faire and an effective and believable vision.

THE TRUTH
Portia Simpson-Miller in our humble opinion has failed in all regards. She has been a PNP Member of Parliament intermittently since 1976 and a senior government Minister since 1989. She has also been a senior member of an administration that has driven Jamaica into a plethora of seemingly obdurate economic, social and environmental crises. There is hardly any other country in the world in which there is prolonged economic stagnation, unbridled criminality, a paucity of vision, a general sense of hopelessness and bad governance like Jamaica.

WHY?
Why then in heavens name will any intelligent human being endorse a senior member of the Patterson administration to sail Jamaica into safe waters? And what exactly is Portia running on other than an endearing personality and a fanatically tantilising charisma?

INTELLIGENT JAMAICANS
Hopefully well thinking Jamaicans will recall Mrs. Simpson-Miller’s management of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, the NSWMA scandal, the hubbub and mess at the Tourism Ministry, the gross lack of support to the much better managed Parish Councils, the dreadfully deprived conditions of her constituency and several other significant failures. Worst yet we must scrutinize her lightweight vision and the invisible team of bigwig technocrats and advisors we all hear so much about?

HOT AIR
With all due respect Ms. Ritch and Mrs. Cooper we are of the conviction that you ladies are getting a bit ahead of yourselves and blowing just too much hot air. Please at least in the best interest of young Jamaicans like ourselves allow good sense to prevail.

'12 Killed in a Day'

That was the headline on the Gleaner front page of September 15, 2005. Certainly that story will remain etched in the minds of many Jamaicans for some time. Police records now indicate that someone is murdered in this country every six hours and that over 1,670 murders have been committed in 2005. There is also seemingly marked increases in carjackings, brazen shootings, stabbings and even ransom-oriented kidnappings.

In all this mayhem one seriously wonders where this country is going. Though one cannot reasonably allocate all blame to the Minister of National Security Dr. Peter Phillips, he still bears a significant amount of responsibility. Notwithstanding the launch of much vaunted initiatives like Operation Kingfish, the media savvy Minister has failed to stymie the crime scourge annihilating our country. Excellent yet deceptive PR is skillfully veiling his poor performance.

In regards to short-term measures, there is a need for an immediate assessment or reassessment of the role of the Jamaica Defence Force; the members of the JDF should after appropriate retraining become more integrated into the crime fighting process. The competence levels of our senior police officers and the structure of the Jamaica Constabulary Force should also be assessed. Most Jamaicans have lost all confidence in the capabilities of the JCF. Though they suffer from a severe and impairing resource shortage, far too many criminals are just slipping through. The acute levels of corruption are also suppressing the publics’ confidence in the Force.

Finally, the government must accept and acknowledge the fact that it was under their watch that Jamaica is this year on track to becoming the most murderous country on earth. They must also acknowledge that there is a rapidly continuing collapse of law and order across our beloved nation. It is in the nations interest for the ruling administration to take deep-seated measures, without the abrogation of basic human rights, to hopefully stem a grave crime dilemma.

The Truth about the PNP and Crime

In 1972 the Peoples National Party (PNP) led by Michael Manley won the General Elections to become government in Jamaica for the first time since independence. The murder rate in Jamaica at the time was 172 persons for the year.

Fast forward to 1980 and after 8 years of PNP rule Jamaica found itself in a virtual state of civil war, law and order had broken down almost completely and a staggering 888 persons would have been murdered by the end of the year representing a 516% increase during those years when the PNP had responsibility to maintain law and order in Jamaica and provide security for the Jamaican people.

The 1970’s was the time of Democratic Socialism, economic decline, the Green Bay Massacre, the 1976 State of Emergency, the Gold Street Massacre and PNP government.

During the years 1981 to 1989 the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) formed the Jamaican government, the murder rate fell from the peak of 888 in 1980 to an average of 446 during the 1980’s, as a matter of fact at no time during the 1980’s did the Jamaican murder rate go above 495. The economy grew during this period as it had not done since the previous JLP government of Donald Sangster / Hugh Shearer between 1962 and 1972, the JLP restored the rule of law to Jamaica and the country slowly recovered from the turbulent times of the socialist 1970’s.

In 1989 Michael Manley once again led the PNP to power, and was succeeded by his comrade in arms PJ Patterson in 1992. After having an average of 446 murders a year under the JLP from 1981 to 1989, the PNP led government presided over a state of affairs where the murder rate moved to over 500 for the first time in a decade in 1990, to 629 in 1992, to 779 in 1995, 927 in 1996, 1039 in 1997, and in 2004 there were over 1,469 Jamaicans murdered under the watch of the PNP government.

From 1989 to 2004 the murder rate under the PNP government has increased by over 328%! Governments are elected to provide security for the Jamaican people and it is with them that responsibility and accountability for crime management ultimately lies.

Just when we thought crime could not get any worse under this PNP government, Jamaica recorded nearly 1,700 murders in 2005 and now has the highest murder rate in the world.

Murder Statistics Unravelled
YEAR NUMBER OF MURDERS
1972 172
1973 230
1974 199
1975 269
1976 373
1977 414
1978 384
1979 350
1980 888
1981 495
1982 403
1983 426
1984 486
1985 437
1986 454
1987 447
1988 420
1989 447
1990 552
1991 562
1992 629
1993 651
1994 691
1995 779
1996 927
1997 1039
1998 947
1999 845
2000 886
2001 1139
2002 1045
2003 975
2004 1469
2005 1670+

1972 – 1980 PNP Government led by The Most Honourable Michael Manley
1980 – 1989 JLP Government led by The Most Honourable Edward Seaga
1989 – 1992 PNP Government led by The Most Honourable Michael Manley1992 – 2006 PNP Govenrment led by The Most Honourable P J Patterson


By any reasonable standard the PNP has failed the people of Jamaica and continue to sit by as women and children are murdered at a higher rate than in any other nation in the world.

Whether it is little Sacha-Kay who burnt to death on Maxfield Avenue in PNP Minister Portia Simpson-Miller’s garrison constituency, or the teachers shutting down schools in protest over crime in PNP Minister Omar Davies garrison constituency of Arnett Gardens, or the gun violence in Mountain View in PNP Minister Maxine Henry Wilson’s garrison constituency, or the gang warfare in PNP Minister Phillip Paulwell’s garrison constituency, or the unabated crime in PNP Minister Peter Phillips’ garrison constituency – the PNP has a long history of being soft on crime and Jamaica is not a safe place with them in government.

WHAT Is The MCYL ABOUT?

The Mona Campus Youth League is the University of the West Indies, Mona arm of Generation 2000 [G2K]. Generation 2000 [G2K] is the young professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party.

The MCYL is primarily concerned with the intellectual enrichment of political thought for the student population at the U.W.I Mona. To this end the League functions as a conduit through which an increased level of political, social, economic and environmental awareness can be achieved.

The aim of the organization is realized in several ways, the most prominent of which involves weekly meetings and discussions about issues of national interest. Prominent members of Jamaica’s political directorate generally address our weekly meetings. These include Opposition Spokesman on Education Andrew Holness MP, Opposition Spokesman on Youth, Community Development and Sport James Robertson MP, President of G2K Senator Dr. Christopher Tufton. During this academic year meetings will be complemented by leaders in business, diplomacy, entertainment and the environment.

In that regard we realize that persons will be better able to influence the political process and more specifically, change its execution, if they better understand the dynamics that are at work.

The MCYL not only facilitate discussions on topics of national interest but also topics of an international scope. The MCYL understands that in today’s globalized world there must be some amount of discourse on issues such as globalization, the environment and the CSME to name a few.

MCYL participates in volunteer initiatives. We strongly believe that every privileged Jamaican must give some time, effort and assistance to those less fortunate than us. It is noble efforts like volunteering that will pull Jamaica from the rut it currently finds itself in.

The MCYL believes in youth coming together in relaxed settings. We therefore encourage our members to participate in sessions, drink-ups and other easygoing social gatherings. The MCYL will in this academic year host and collaborate in several hype sessions, drink-ups and cocktail receptions both on and off campus. These events not only allow members to have fun but to also establish those crucial linkages that are needed to survive in the 21st century.

Being a member of MCYL/G2K is a mutually rewarding experience. You are able to most importantly directly influence the future trajectory of our beloved country and better yet liaise on a one to one basis with our political, business and other civil society leaders. You will also begin to understand the realities of Jamaica’s political landscape and so be better able to navigate and find feasible/pragmatic solutions to critical issues that plague our society.

The Time For Change is Now Young People.

YOUTH EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ACTION