G2K divided on JLP leadership
The executive of Generation 2000 (G2K) appears divided on how the young professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) should treat the inevitable issue of leadership succession inside the Labour Party. One view is that the group should endorse a candidate, the other is that members should be free to support contenders regardless of who the group is backing.
That, as well as their views on how the group is viewed within the party, the necessity for a second JLP-affiliated youth group and local government came to the fore in an interview the Sunday Observer’s Earl Moxam had last week with three members of the G2K executive – the president, Dr Ronald Robinson; Ian Hayles, vice-president for membership and organisation; and Dr Christopher Tufton, general-secretary.
This week, the group is celebrating its third anniversary with a variety of activities under the theme ‘Confronting the challenges of the 21st Century’.
Moxam: What’s the mission of the G2K?
Robinson: G2K’s mission is to assist Jamaica going forward in a positive way through an effective Jamaica Labour Party. With that kind of a mission, you’ll find that G2K is embedded heavily in terms of trying to make the structure of the Labour Party more efficient, more modern and more fitting to the time.
Moxam: Historically, the JLP has been described as being not as well organised as the PNP and that the party has suffered as a consequence in various ways, in elections and when it comes to conflict resolution within the party. If you agree with that premise, how is that to be corrected? Do you think the G2K can lead that process of change?
Robinson: The JLP does in fact have structures that work, but that does not say that these structures cannot be improved and modernised. And G2K has done quite a bit over the last three years to do that. We have spent quite a bit of money to put in place a new database management system to deal with the electoral list, which has worked out very efficiently. We can find the discrepancies in constituencies in less than five minutes, which goes a far way in a political organisation. G2K has also assisted with public relations; we’ve assisted in streamlining the youth vote. So we’ve done quite a bit and in moving forward, G2K will be doing quite a bit to strengthen the structure of the party. These are structures which will be very essential for us to take government and make the required changes in the country.
Moxam: There might some suspicions regarding the intentions of these bright young people in the G2K. How do you overcome such reservations?
Robinson: In G2K we see ourselves as being friends to all; we look at issues and not personalities. For instance, in our seminars, there’s a whole mix of individuals that we invite to participate, we don’t necessarily think of individuals taking a particular side. So we are friends to all, we have to establish our credibility to achieve that change. Over the last three years we have shown that we are straight down the middle, dealing with issues, structures and that sort of thing, and we are about making the party’s life better. So at this point in the G2K we enjoy a very good relationship with all and those suspicions are subsiding.
Moxam: Ian Hayles, how does the G2K define itself alongside Young Jamaica? Does it compete for membership? How does it see itself in the context of being just one of several groups within or affiliated to the JLP?
Hayles: We start from the perspective that we’re one family, whether it be Young Jamaica, Young Labour, or G2K. We have a system that is set up whereby we met with Andre Franklyn who is the president of Young Jamaica. And we said we were going to go out and recruit new members and we agreed that Andre would get a certain amount in Young Jamaica, and G2K would get a certain amount.
Moxam: Is there a profile of the G2K member versus the Young Jamaica member?
Hayles: No, there isn’t. In G2K all are welcome, we don’t discriminate, all are welcome. It’s not us against them in any way, it’s more a family working together, streamlining the whole process. If they need workers over there we’ll give them workers. If we need assistance with manpower they’ll give it to us.
Moxam: The word out there is that the G2K represents middle-class Jamaica; the traditional youth organisation represents the grassroots and that the political parties need both if they’re going to be successful, and the idea is to establish that sort of separation in order that both can be successful in their own sphere. Is there a logic to that sort of separation?
Hayles: I don’t think so. When we started this year with the new secretariat we said that we wanted to open ourselves to all Jamaicans, rich and poor alike and not just be an organisation that represents the middle class. We want to go downtown and see what’s happening with the downtown people, just like we want to go uptown, because at the end of the day it’s one Jamaica.
Moxam: So what’s the justification then for the two separate entities?
Hayles: Well, Young Jamaica is a big part of the JLP. Now G2K has come on board and there’s no doubt that we are a vibrant organisation – we streamline our processes each day and try to increase membership, dialogue out there with the Jamaican people. Young Jamaica has taken a different approach. I don’t know whether that is right or wrong, but it’s not a middle class thing, it’s a downtown thing and an uptown thing; it’s about going out into the rural areas talking to people, so there’s room for both organisations.
Tufton: I agree with Ian. However, I would add that the separation between both organisations, based on past activities, would probably be the functions, the areas of emphasis by both organisations. Certainly, since inception, G2K has placed a lot of emphasis on intellectual stimulation and policy discussion, both within the JLP by submission of discussion papers and the contribution to the manifesto, as well as nationally through public forums. So while it is true that G2K is open to all who are interested in nation building through a more effective Jamaica Labour Party, it is true that over the past three years the G2K has focused on certain specific functions, which in a sense, has distinguished this organisation from Young Jamaica, because Young Jamaica has focused more on being a sort of grassroots recruitment organisation, again supporting the party. But as Ian said, we’re one big family, we work together and we hope to continue doing so in the future.
Hayles: This year we have a total of 24 public forums for the first six months of the year. We’re starting off (this week) with the future of local government – the transformation process that needs to take place so we can have effective local government across this country. We basically want to engage the nation in a national debate on local government and the economy, as well as crime. So over the next six months you’re going to see us having seminars, town hall meetings across Jamaica.
Moxam: What’s your own fundamental stance on local government?
Robinson: We need to make local government a serious issue, we need to make it very attractive so that people will lock into it in a way that they’ve never done before. And if you really think about it, it’s what your garbage collection is about; it’s about your streets, your street lights, all of these things. And so we need to highlight that and make it a more important issue. Our feeling on local government is that it should be done in a very structured way. The election of mayors separately is an issue that we need to talk about in our forums across the country.
Moxam: The Government has come out and announced a policy decision to facilitate the direct election of a mayor for Portmore. What is the G2K’s position on that initiative?
Robinson: Well, that particular initiative is a far-reaching one because it challenges the system that we’ve had from before Independence. We’re not afraid of that, let’s see how it works. Suppose it does in fact work in Portmore, then it is something that we might want to implement across the country.
Tufton: We believe fundamentally that part of the apathy and the failure of our politics has been the inability of the political process to address the issues at the very local level. People are turned off; you hear it on the talk shows every day. Additionally, in the last election, the analysis showed that persons tended to vote based on their representative, rather than the presidential trends which have taken place over the years. We feel that is significant and as a result of that we see the need to reform the local government process to allow for more engagement of people at the local level, to influence the process, to hold your representatives accountable.
Regarding the directly elected mayor, that certainly is in keeping with that philosophical framework because what you’re actually doing is that people at the local level now have the choice to decide who the chairman of their local organisation is.
Moxam: Since the G2K is so interested in the local government reform process and since you see your organisation as an instrument for change, would you like to see a G2K member being the JLP’s candidate for the Portmore mayoral race?
Tufton: Well, we’ve taken a position that G2K represents a body of persons and a part of that is preparing ourselves for leadership in various ways. And therefore we encourage our members to offer themselves for leadership. Now, if you take it from that philosophical perspective, then certainly it would be a good thing if a G2K member could be a mayoral candidate, but don’t forget that we are part of a larger organisation, the Jamaica Labour Party, and the Labour Party has a process in determining who become candidates at the local level and otherwise. Therefore, while we will attempt to influence that process, at the end of the day, whatever decision is taken will get our support.
Moxam: Are you interested in engaging your counterparts from the PNP – the Patriots – in debates?
Tufton: Sure! It’s healthy and we consider it a part of our mandate to make contending views flow. We are hoping that we can contribute to a process of information, education, persuasion and engagement. Because ultimately I believe it is in our interest to understand the issues that confront us as a country.
Moxam: At some point in the future there will be a eadership succession within the Labour Party. Is the G2K planning to, as a unit, endorse one of the candidates, or will members be free to choose?
Hayles: I think, as a body, at the appropriate time we will endorse someone. who is for change; someone who is for building the Jamaica Labour Party. for building Jamaica. And at the end of the day we should be able to say that this is the individual we’re going to endorse going forward because this person stands for things or opinions we stand for as a group.
Moxam: By what process did you come to that conclusion?
Hayles: Within our organisation, it’s democracy, we all vote.
Tufton: I think the issue of endorsing an individual. we have contending views about whether you should endorse a particular person or whether you should just offer a platform for contending interested parties to give their easons why they would want to become leader of the JLP. Some argue that it might be better to allow the G2K, in the spirit of building the party and democracy, to offer a platform for those contending views.
Moxam: But I thought a decision had been made as to the approach that would be taken!
Tufton: G2K has always been about consultations. From the inception of the G2K we met with a lot of different interest groups within the Labour Party and talked with them, and that has been our history – talking, consultations, analysis, debate, that’s our history. Obviously at that time when individuals put themselves up for leadership, of course we’re going to talk to them, of course we’re going to try and find out what are the things they’re going to try and implement. Are they in keeping with what we want, and what we think the rest of Jamaica wants. And it is within this process of debate and analysis, and putting forward a platform that we can come to a decision, albeit if individuals wish to support one or the other, G2K is like that. very flexible, very open.
Moxam: Let me get this straight. The G2K as an organisation might come out and endorse a candidate, but liberate its individual members to vote their conscience.
Robinson: Of course! It might sound contradictory, but the fact of the matter is that G2K is for freedom of speech and if an individual wished to support someone else, that’s their right and we should respect that.