Christopher Burns

GOOD governance cannot always be measured in terms of economic advancement but its influence and scope can have an overarching and positive impact on achieving social and indeed, economic progress. Good governance recognises opportunities and takes the requisite steps to convert them into useful products that may alter the socio-economic landscape of any nation. Earlier this month, we celebrated emancipation, as well as our political independence, and had the honour of hosting one of our most accomplished and respected citizens, Louise Bennett-Coverley. Miss Lou's presence served as a balm for a nation divided and crying out for unity and inspiration. Her presence also provided an opportunity for government and citizens to rally around a common agenda of reconnection and of renewal.

There are enormous challenges ahead, challenges that will require our every resolve and this is the opportune time for government, Opposition, and civil society to bond together to defeat the socio-economic elephants that are taking up residence along the shorelines of this country. More than ever, our leaders must prepare themselves and the entire country to face these colossal and imposing elephants. In short, it is a litmus test for the administration to redefine itself and reconnect, with a view to motivating and empowering the people. The effects of high inflation, the scarcity of financial resources, and the short-sightedness of some government programmes have already begun their descent -- the pressure of which will become increasingly unbearable; it therefore behooves the government to start its public relations campaign immediately.

Regardless of the accomplishments, or the lack thereof of this government, many people are discouraged by the quality of its governance. Make no mistakes about it, good governance is increasingly one of the key factors that determines whether a country has the capacity to use resources effectively to reduce poverty, to create wealth and to improve the general safety of its citizenry. It is common, though challenging, to measure effective governance by understanding the linkages between development, and performance and use them (linkages) as benchmarks. If this approach is taken, the present administration would score well because it has really done an excellent job in transforming the physical infrastructure from the shambles of (in some cases) pre-independence to first-world status.

However, where the administration falls short is in the quality and style of its leadership. Increasingly, more and more people see it as weak and ineffectual. Government effectiveness is quintessential to achieving a quality society. Ineffectiveness, or the perception of such, is dangerous and counterproductive, especially at a time when an entire nation is looking to its leaders for vision and fixity of purpose. Take the recent bawl concerning economic growth, an effective and proactive administration would have seized the opportunity to communicate and explain the different circumstances in which growth can occur with or without increased employment. In a nutshell, good governance is predicated upon effective and vibrant communication.

Unlike many, this writer believes that this present administration possesses the requisite skill sets and the intellectual capital to formulate and implement sound policies; that it respects citizens and is mindful of its responsibility to them. This notwithstanding, government must have a voice and must demonstrate accountability to the people it serves. It cannot be that a government of the people, by the people and for the people appears fearful and equivocal in imposing, effecting and defending the rule of law. The same way we enjoy political stability, we can achieve an almost violence-free society. Jamaica is too small; too poor to have the kinds of murders and violent crimes it records annually. Lest we didn't know, political stability and lack of violence are two useful indicators in measuring good governance.

By time this article is published, national security minister, Dr Peter Phillips, would have presented a modified crime plan -- the second plan since his transfer to the security ministry. The minister's action is triggered, in part, by comments the police commissioner made concerning the failure of the crime plan to achieve reductions in serious crimes. If the police chief can enumerate failures, then he is unfit to continue as police commissioner. This is so because, by his own admission, he is accepting responsibility for being unable to plan and execute workable and winnable crime-fighting strategies. Accountability, government effectiveness, low levels of crime and violence, and the application of the rule of law are all prerequisites in measuring and monitoring good governance -- something we desperately need in this country and Dr Phillips must insist on this from his security chiefs.

Good governance involves citizen participation and as such we must become engaged in nation building. We are a people with vast potential and we have a vital role to play in the advancement of our country. Therefore, we must channel our energies toward productive endeavours. It's all well and good to demand good governance but we must begin to accept that citizenship comes with responsibility. Government alone cannot and should not advance the reconnection we desire; we must also make every effort to reconnect our communities and to level the vibes throughout the country.

The momentum has been set; it's now up to our leaders to capitalise on this heightened sense of country, reconnect, and level the vibes with the citizenry. There are no greater ways of eliminating the pervasive culture of hopelessness than for this administration to move with great dispatch to propel the new awakening towards achieving national development and a spirit of volunteerism. Again, this writer calls for a national mobilisation campaign, a campaign that includes the mobilisation of resources, both human and financial, a mobilisation geared towards resuscitating the concept of self-reliance and one that includes a national drive against crime and violence. Miss Lou has given us the balm; we must now apply it to the gaping wound that has been destroying us.

E-mail: Burnscg@aol.com

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