Former National Democratic Movement (NDM) president Hyacinth Bennett said yesterday that while there is a role for spirituality in national leadership, Jamaicans should be wary of politicians who invoke the name of the Lord, but are nothing but Pharisees and hypocrites.

“I believe that there is a central place for spiritual leadership in the affairs of this nation. But, there are people who have a way of invoking the name of the lord and they are nothing but Pharisees and hypocrites,” Bennett warned as she gave the main address at the monthly meeting of the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP’s) Area Council One at the Undergrad Group of Schools, Dunrobin Avenue, East Central St Andrew.

“There is a distinct difference between the name Christian and the nature of Christians,” Bennett said, adding that there were clear differences between persons who call Jesus’s name in politics without meaning anything; use spirituality as a vote-catching ploy; or use spirituality to exploit the people and offer them some form of opiate to keep them quiet and cover up the excruciating pain they feel from frustrations, poverty and hopelessness.

Bennett’s comments come amid a swirling debate ignited by new prime minister, Portia Simpson Miller’s declared intention to get the church more involved in government affairs.

Simpson Miller has also attracted flak and support for her claim that she was appointed by God and as such Christians had a duty to support her.

Yesterday, Bennett did not mention Simpson Miller. But her sharp comments could easily have been interpreted as a warning to the prime minister whose campaign for the People’s National Party presidency Bennett gave tacit support just before the February 25 vote.

“Politicians, when you talk up that you are spiritual, make sure that your policies and programmes give substance to this spirituality,” Bennett said.

However, she said that she still believed that there was a major and central role for God in the affairs of the nation. According to Bennett, the problems the country has been having over decades have been rolled up into one big tempestuous ocean, and politicians and political parties would be foolhardy not to see the need for “an army of God”.

“You need an army whose real supreme leader is God almighty,” she said.

The JLP, Bennett added, is “blessed” to have a leader like Bruce Golding “who has blue chip understanding of the problem and blue chip solutions-oriented strategies”.

“These are some encouraging signs for your party, but if you think carefully you will agree with me that these indications and these developments, in and of themselves, will not guarantee the long sought after victory for the Jamaica Labour Party,” said Bennett.

“There are so many opportunities that have been missed, opportunities for us as a nation, us as a people to be truly great, a greatness endowed by God almighty on this country,” she said. But the problems do not have to continue, she added, and the picture does not have to continue to be so sombre.

“You, the Jamaica labour Party, upon looking upon the mountain of problems, you can chisel our building blocks of hope, of renewal and of change to build a new Jamaica,” said Bennett. “The kind of new Jamaica where economic and social opportunities will not just be available for the traditional few, but for all Jamaicans.”

She urged the JLP to revisit the question of its readiness to convince the nation that it can take charge and become united around its leader.

“Quite frankly, there is baggage that the Jamaica Labour Party has to lose, and listen to me, when you want to win something, you have to lose something first,” she said.

Among the things the party has to lose, Bennett said, was the tendency for “kass kass” and selfishness.

“Over the years, the JLP has had a public custom-built wash tub around which they load up their dirty linen, and you have to get rid of that public wash tub,” she said and advised the Labourites to lose the temptation to fight each other and fight, instead, for their place in history.

Referring to a statement made over a year ago in Parliament by the minister of national security Dr Peter Phillips, that both major political parties included persons implicated in the drug trade, she urged the JLP to ensure that there was no place for dirty money and drug money in its coffers.

“Our political parties must get to the stage where you give dirty money no abiding city,” Bennett said. “How can we, for example, fix crime and violence when at the root of some political parties and at the root of government are crooks and criminals?” she asked. “We have to get to a stage where the criminals and the crooks are identified and exposed and expunged from all political parties.”

She called on all politicians to publicly disassociate themselves from criminals and make sure that they come up with programmes to help people who are turning to crime.

“The hour is very late, the clock of destiny is ticking off on you,” said Bennett. “You must position yourselves for victory before it is too late and you can’t count on second chances. You got a lot of chances before. So you are going to have to jettison personal agendas, you are going to have to set aside personal and individual considerations. Getting the party united is the fist step to exorcising the curse of the bambinos over the Jamaica Labour Party.”

That unity, she added, “may very well include a blend of the old ones with the new ones and the blue ones”.

After the meeting, Bennett told the Observer that her mission at the meeting was to tell the JLP the truth. “Hopefully,” she said, “they will be objective enough and caring enough of their party and the destiny of their party to do some serious stock taking where they see deficits arising, to take some swift and possibly resolute matters to prepare themselves to take over the reigns of government.”

Asked whether she intended to join the JLP, Bennett said: “You will hear all sorts of rumours, but take it from me, I am still a member of the NDM, and right now I am on political watch. I love to watch the parties and comment on them.”

balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com