It has been my contention and that of many others I have spoken to that the first two years of this government’s mandate has been highly unspectacular.

Apart from the prime minister’s after-midnight confession in Parliament in September when, among many other bits of bad, stale news, he told us of our chronic indebtedness – “So burdensome is the total debt that for the last 10 years our interest costs and principal repayments have exceeded our total revenues. For this year our interest costs and principal repayments total $325 billion, while our total revenue is estimated at $310 billion” – the general tenor and approach of his governance has been one where he comes across quite well in relating to us what ails us, but stops short on declaring that he has the cojones to lead us out of our mess.

No sensible person expected the JLP administration to reverse 18 1/2 years of PNP omissions in two years. What our people were hoping for in Golding was a man fully charged with the importance of his moment, our moment in history. We were hoping that in similar fashion to how he placed his stamp of authority during the debate with Portia Simpson Miller prior to the 2007 elections, he would have been the ‘take-charge’ man, the hands-on PM, just one step ahead of us as he fully engaged us in the direction he wanted to take this country.

One person wrote me, “After 9/11 the US government, with 535 members of Congress (House and Senate), passed the most sweeping crime and anti-terrorist legislation in the nation’s history; parts of it, some say, infringe on civil rights, nevertheless it was passed and made law in 60 days. A similar law was passed in Britain in a little bit under four months. In Britain now the police can detain a suspect for up 42 days before charging that person. How come in Jamaica the politicians can’t seem to be able to pass commonsense crime laws that will help the police do their jobs even after years of talking about it? How come?

“The irony is, the prime minister has done what no other prime minister before him has done, that is, have a monthly Q&A radio show. The downside has been that the Golding appearing on those shows has all the right answers but still can’t quite get it up to speed in his governance. In essence, he talks the talk but seem quite unable to walk the talk.

“In recent weeks doom and gloom has taken over, and on a daily basis those who supported the Government have been calling me and asking me about the prime minister. One lady asked, ‘Why does he not seek advice from Seaga? Golding has simply made mention of civil service cuts and he has left it there hanging as if he expects it to sort out itself. If it were Seaga, he would have done something about it long time.’

“Even more depressing is the hint, loudly given by none other than our ‘chief servant’ that he may be looking backward to find his forward gear. He wants to debate the leaders of the previous PNP government, not, I believe, with a view to charting the way forward but apparently to get his ‘Aha’ moment when he can say, ‘See, you messed up. I am doing no worse.'”

By the Government’s own admission, its first year in office was close to a wasted one. Ministers found the time to sit at their desks and have staff waiting to fulfil their directives. They spent the time getting used to their perennial security detail and people calling them ‘minister’. They left their homes in the morning and arrived in fine style at their offices, to do what? For many, it was simply to occupy the power space and to bask in it.

The firing of the Central Bank governor and the puerile excuse given gave us more than a hint that Prime Minister Golding is not up to the job of batting in fine style or demonstrating strength. While it became obvious that the Government was simply dislodging Latibeaudiere so that it could put in place its own man (I have no problem with that), the PM simply did not have the leadership fortitude to plainly tell us that policy coherence in the finance ministry was the objective and that the former Central Bank boss would have been seen as a hindrance to that goal.

Worse, it took two whole years to do it and after it was done, even a ninth grader could see that the reasons given were quite childish ones. The prime minister eased out Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin and, again, seems set to have the JLP’s man put in place.

The criticisms of this government have not been so much its lack of attainments, but its disorientation in governance and its general approach. “What can we do?” said a minister to me recently. “Do you want us to tell you point-blank that we will have to send home 25,000 civil servants, that if we give one more government worker a one-dollar increase, we may have to lock down the country? Is that what you want us to tell the country?”

“There are ways to deliver bad news,” I said to him. “It’s covered under something called leadership.”

My main problem with this administration is the ease with which it has allowed itself to lose the paltry political capital it had in 2007 – in just two short years. It is now asking us, subtly, to forget about the previous two years because it is now ready to lead. After two years of sitting, waiting and watching on the job, the problem is, no one is listening anymore.

And all this in a country gone badly adrift.

Anxious on FINSAC

When one listens to former finance minister Omar Davies as he sounds off on FINSAC, one gets the impression of a man professionally and politically secure in what he did.

It seems lost on him that his monetary policy is, in the main, what destroyed the financial sector in the mid-1990s, led to the formation of FINSAC and the destruction of the lives of many who believed enough in this country to put their money in launching ventures where others merely placed their mouths.

Some committed suicide as the interest rates crippled their lives and ruined them. One man who was brought to his knees under this evil monetary policy (which saw interest rates rise from 20 per cent to 70 per cent) received a call from his wife while he was ‘on the road’ trying his best to scrounge up enough funds to make a payment on his house before he lost it.

“My wife sounded drunk on the phone and that was strange to me. We had been married 18 years and I know that she never drank.” He rushed home.

They had done well for themselves, but the businesses which employed 200 persons were falling apart due to the evil and usurious interest rates which seemed to be climbing as Omar Davies moved heaven and hell to contain the pressure on the dollar, the exchange rate.

As he pulled into the driveway, he heard loud music coming from inside the house. Again, something strange. He walked through the house and headed for the back where he saw her seated by the poolside, a drink in her hand and her licensed firearm on the nearby table. He froze.

As he walked up to her gingerly, he said as many soothing words he could think of. She picked up the gun. Her life was crumbling too. They had spent many long years in the cold of Britain working hard and in the process they had done well. After a marriage and two children, they decided to return home not to retire, but to invest and feel pride in employing their fellow Jamaicans.

The house had been advertised for auction. Everything else had been lost and now she was facing him, her husband who had against her will convinced her that they should do more than just put their funds in a bank and live off the hefty interest payments.

‘Dear,’ he said to her. ‘I’m coming over. Let’s talk. Just put down the gun and let’s talk.’ She faced him and there was a smile on her face but tears were flowing. As he walked over to her, slowly at first, she placed the gun to her head and blew him a kiss with one hand. Then she pulled the trigger.

Another FINSAC statistic.

I congratulate the government on the FINSAC Enquiry and would love to hear from Dr Omar Davies. The other person I would have liked to have heard from was Neville Boxe who had formed a group representing 400 ‘Finsac-ked’ persons. Unfortunately Neville succumbed to pressures, not the least of which was the reality of FINSAC.

Another FINSAC statistic.

Eager to hear from Don Crawford

No enquiry into the operations of FINSAC will be meaningful without the full involvement of Don Crawford, head of what was then known as the Century Group. All of the major affected players must participate fully without fear or favour.

The participation of Century National’s Donovan Crawford is needed for the following reasons:

1] The fallout of the financial sector, specifically the banks, was recklessly blamed on Century by certain politicians and some media personnel.

2] The CNB Financial Group comprised the third-largest commercial bank, the second-largest merchant bank, and the second-largest building society in the country.

3]The CNB Group non-banking sector comprised Jamaica’s largest hotel – the 750-room Jamaica Grande – and Jamaica’s largest health-care carrier – Blue Cross Blue Shield of Jamaica, among other prime assets.

4] The group represented the first truly indigenous, and perhaps the last, given the utter destruction and obliteration brought about by the world-class finance minister Omar Davies and FINSAC. Under Davies’ watch, Jamaicans of pride, colour, dignity, hope and ambition have been dealt a vicious and long-lasting brutal blow.

5] Altogether the group accounted for the employment of over 10,000 persons directly and indirectly, and countless numbers of families who depended on it, to ”put bread on the table”.

6] Reports of widespread ‘irregularities’ and lack of transparency in the disposition of the group’s assets at cents in the dollar, primarily to foreigners and associates of persons ‘umbilically connected’ to those in the halls of power.

7] The group’s assets exceeded $14 billion in 1996, or over $50 billion in today’s value.

For these and other reasons, it is imperative that the contribution of Don Crawford be heard in a public setting.

My hope is that there is no intimidation or action in place to deter his presentation. If there is, the question as to why must be asked loudly.

Lie detector tests for all policemen

A reader, an ex-member of the JCF, writes, “I have always said that polygraph testing ought to be a prerequisite for all applicants to the JCF. In fact, what is needed is a disbandment of the force now. Have our military fall into place without the fanfare and make them visible in all parishes and squares of every town and village.

“With their presence even at higher numbers within the garrisons, you’d see the change. Let the military presence continue and have new applicants to the JCF take a compulsory polygraph test. This should be within all ranks – in fact, even Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin himself did one prior to his appointment as commissioner.

“Polygraph testing should, in my opinion, be a part of the Jamaican policeman’s policewoman’s career lifespan within the JCF. That’s about the best approach to getting to the problem of corruption within the ranks. The test itself is simple but can be intimidating. You answer “yes” or “no” to all questions.

“Harsh and unpleasant measures they might be, but only a strong military presence and compulsory polygraphs for future JCF members can make some tangible change to our situation.”

The members of the PSC must step out to the batting crease and declare themselves independent of politics. The next commissioner must be subject to a polygraph test, or he should not be given the job.

Jamaica not unfixable, say some

Even in the midst of doom and gloom and threats to journalists, there are those who believe that Jamaica is not a failed state.

As I said in my last column, some years ago when Scotiabank’s Bill Clarke called Jamaica a failed state, I disagreed with him then and even cited the contradiction of him being a success story in Jamaica and his freedom to express such negative sentiments as Jamaica being some way from that sorry state.

A reader wrote, “Your column today hit the nail on its head! I really wish the rest of Jamaica could see that it is the corruption that is holding us down. Crime is a huge deterrent for investment and economic growth. And as long as the police and Government officials are involved then it cannot be fixed.”

Another wrote, “I just finished reading your latest Observer (November 19) column. I enjoyed it. I am a regular subscriber to The Economist and read the article on Jamaica carefully. There are many nations with Jamaica’s problems. Are they also unfixable? We all know Jamaica has serious problems, but there is a solution, not a very palatable one, but still a solution. However, due to politics, crime and the tentacles of international and domestic organised crime, it will be hard to wrest Jamaica from its present state and repair her. But it is not impossible.”

It sounds like a stuck record, but effective political leadership which recognises Jamaica’s domestic problems and where we stand in the wider global picture can begin the process of reversing the societal slide which has been with us for too long, but which has been freshly brought into focus in the last year under the JLP leadership.

observemark@gmail.com