HONESTY, credibility, diligence, brilliance and service to country above self top the list of qualities that Jamaicans are demanding of their political leaders ahead of the next general elections, constitutionally due next year.

Beyond that, there are many who want leaders who not only have Christian values, are familyoriented and fit-looking, but who are also heterosexual and male.

These are the latest findings from Dr Herbert Gayle’s ‘Complete Snapshot’ study, undertaken for his radio programme — the Complete Picture — which is aired on News Talk 93 FM each Monday to Thursday, between 12 noon and 3:00 pm.

An equal number of Jamaicans — 41, or 31 per cent of the 120 sampled from St Mary, Westmoreland, St Thomas, St James, and Kingston and St Andrew between May 27 and June 10 — identified credibility and honesty as the primary qualities they require. The sample comprised 30 rural males, 15 of them between 18 and 34 years old and 15 of them 35 and over; 30 urban males, 15 aged 18 to 34 and 15 over 35; 30 rural females, 15 between 18 and 34 and the rest over 35; and 30 urban females, 15 of them between 18 and 34, and the other half over 35.

A leader with credibility, the respondents said, is someone they can believe, who usually tells the truth, who does what he promises and who does “not take us for idiots”, the study said.

Of the 120 sampled, 39, or 33 per cent identified ‘hard-working’ as a quality of choice, while 34, or 28 per cent of the sample pointed to brilliance/capability as the quality they required.

‘Hard-working’ was assessed by respondents as a leader being “known for his relentless efforts to get a task done”.

“Some of dem people we put in power too lazy,” the study quoted one respondent as saying.

“Dem always a fly go abroad and nuh duh nottin,” said another.

As to the ‘brilliant/capable’ leader, he is described as one who is able to perform the task he is given.

“Frankly, some of them people we have been asking to do things have no idea of that area and they are not very bright,” commented one respondent.

“Me nuh like fool-fool people to be representing me. Dem must be able to talk and can do what the PM (prime minister) ask dem to do,” said another.

At the same time, 33, or 28 per cent of the 120 sampled between May 27 and June 10 identified ‘stewardship/quality public service’ as the quality they want in their political leaders.

“I want someone who will always look out for the interest of the country,” said one respondent.

“Dem love only themselves and get fat off all a wi. I want someone who put people first, a kind of good father kind of person,” noted another.

These same qualities emerged on top when Gayle and his research team sampled an additional 240 Jamaicans from the same parishes, this time between June 12 and July 5.

“Sixty-one per cent of all the (240) respondents selected honesty as one of their two most important qualities. Eightysix per cent or 125 of these persons selected honesty as the very first quality. In other words, only 15 per cent of the respondents (who) selected honesty did so as the second critical quality. Many persons, especially educated males, expressed that honesty was more important than credibility ‘as honest people usually deliver what they promise and tell the truth’,” Gayle said.

“Seventy-five per cent of (the second set of) respondents selected either honesty or credibility as their first choice, making these two qualities the core of people’s concerns regarding political leadership. In other words, the remaining three qualities (hardworking, brilliance/capability and stewardship/quality public service) were primarily secondary concerns,” he added.

Women were “slightly more likely” to demand honesty and credibility of political leaders. The data showed that 54 per cent of women identified honesty and 52 per cent credibility as their requirement of their leaders.

“Men were found to be more forgiving,” Gayle said. “This may not seem important given the small difference, but other studies have found that even in business, women are less tolerant and loyal when the ‘representative’ or partner constantly fails or disappoints.”

At the same time, he said that while the education level of respondents was not required, “researchers noted with care that mature males (35+) of both rural and urban ecologies who were marginally literate or illiterate were the least likely to select honesty and credibility as their first choice”.

“They were most likely to demand that politicians be capable and good stewards,” Gayle said.

Meanwhile, of the 120 people sampled first, 14 pointed to the need for a politician to be religious, that is, “have Christian values or a strong sense of morals”.

Interestingly, 11 of the 120 noted that their political leader must be a family person.

“He must not be single. He must have a family, like in the USA,” said one respondent.

“Me hate to see single gyallis man dem in politics. When dem have family, it says dem responsible,” another noted.

An equal number of people pointed to their need for leaders to be heterosexual.

“It may sound funny, but it is what we want. Our leaders must be straight,” one individual commented.

“Mi not saying a gay person cannot work hard, but him must not lead me and my sons dem,” said another.

Ten people said that a political leader must be “fit looking”.

“Oh God, some of our leaders look sickening. They fat and old and don’t have any energy,” said one individual.

“Too much of the old men. We need fresh-looking, energetic people,” commented another.

Four others point to the need for a political leader to be male, noting that female leaders are “too cross”. Two people said political leaders must be local, that is, they must live in the area they represent.

Gayle said, in the interim, that the research team had gone to great pains to ensure that despite the small size of the sample, it nonetheless reflected the reality of the Jamaican society.

“The first 120 persons, 95 or 79 per cent had secondary and tertiary education. That means that only one-fifth of them were functionally illiterate. In the second sample, 199 or 83 per cent were functionally literate (that is) having secondary or tertiary education,” he noted in the research report.

“Given the importance of the matter, the research team was forced to have a sample that was proportionate with Jamaica’s 81 per cent literacy rate. In this way, we can rest assured that the small sample is truest to the way Jamaicans of all classes and education level would think about their political representatives,” he added.

“Given that education does not necessarily mean class or SES (socio-economic status), the team sought to collect 50 per cent of all the data from persons who were poor and the other 50 per cent from near-poor (lowermiddle class) and upper and middle classes. The result is that despite the small size of the study, it included roughly all critical groups — all age, geo-social, and SES boundaries of political importance included,” the anthropologist of social violence said further.

The findings of Gayle’s research come in the wake of the Dudus/Manatt Enquiry which saw many Jamaicans glued to their television sets each day as the proceedings were broadcast islandwide. The enquiry, the public hoped, would unravel the truth of what happened in the lead-up to the extradition of former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke, which led to more than 70 Jamaicans losing their lives as the security forces invaded that community in search of him last May.

After 44 days of testimony at the enquiry and the commissioners’ report on the proceedings since then, many Jamaicans still feel that they are in the dark and are now, more than ever, suspicious of politicians, many of whom they consider liars.

One of Gayle’s own ‘Complete Snapshot’ studies has seen Jamaicans labelling politicians not only as liars, but also as ‘deceitful’, ‘horrible’ and ‘corrupt’ in the wake of the enquiry.

As though that were not enough, the image of politicians — such as the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s Everald Warmington and even Prime Minister Bruce Golding, along with former member of the Opposition People’s National Party Sharon Hay-Webster, among others — has also suffered a battering, thanks to the dual citizenship saga.

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