Dear Reader,

As usual, when outsiders point to the things that are wrong with our country, what they say somehow has a different ring to it. So Transparency International was reported in the news last week to have said that Jamaica is in clear and present danger of state capture. And state capture broadly defined by them is the mix of corruption and crime coalescing for the benefit of a few.

Transparency International’s use of the word “capture” is a term quite familiar to Jamaicans, since we are accustomed to talking about “capture land”, “capture house” “capture goods” and many other forms of “capture”. I suspect that as far as the ordinary person out there understands it, “state capture” is just several rungs higher than the phenomenon of say, “capture land”, something that is pretty common in the society.

But even while the term “state capture” has an easy resonance with Jamaicans, it is chilling to hear it coming from the mouths of foreigners, and for those who may still be living in “La-la land”, Transparency International’s pronouncement ought to be a sober reality check.

There is a saying that “the view of the sinking ship is clearer from the outside”, and that is precisely what seems to be happening here. Over the last several months, Jamaica’s report card in various critical subject areas has been graded by an assortment of overseas experts – all of them pointing to a growing crisis in the country. From youth illiteracy and unemployment to poor fiscal management and “downgraded” credit ratings – from corruption and now to “state capture”, the barks of the international watchdogs have been loud and consistent.

The question is, are we listening, or are we in a perpetual state of complacency and denial? What is interesting is that the warnings of the overseas observers are in stark contrast to the rhetoric of our local politicians. In fact, the analyses and outlook are as far apart as night and day. So while the foreigners point to the hazards and pitfalls, our politicians are busy telling us that things are not so bad and that in a short while things will be better.

So successful is the political con game that there are many Jamaicans who have been lulled into believing that the impending IMF agreement will solve most, if not all of the country’s problems. Although there have been tepid and sporadic attempts at articulating a vision of production and hard work, the general message coming from the political directorate is that the IMF is the best medicine available right now and once we drink it we will feel better.

Transparency International is dead right. There is a clear and present danger of state capture, and the events of the last several days are proof positive of the accuracy of the statement. Within a matter of hours, a policeman was murdered in broad daylight, two minibuses collided killing four and injuring dozens, a seven-year-old was murdered in a drive-by shooting, again in broad daylight, and a rogue policeman and his cronies engaged his fellow police officers in a high-speed chase and shoot-out.

There is no doubt that the country is under siege. Not a day goes by without news of killings all across the land. There was a time when it was mainly Kingston and St Andrew where most of the murders took place. Now other epicentres have emerged – St James, Clarendon and Manchester. In fact, there is not a single parish where murders are not occurring and some of the remotest rural areas are becoming enclaves of the deadly scourge of criminality.

Of note is the increasing trend of non-gun murders. People, including children, are killing each other using knives, machetes, any other available weapons and what I describe as the “four-wheeled” murder machines called motor vehicles are adding exponentially to the rising death toll. All in all, it’s a very, very grim picture.

Those of us who are not in denial and are not wearing partisan blinkers know that we didn’t get to the point of state capture overnight. The writing was on the wall a long time ago, but like the numerous examples in human history, those with the wherewithal and influence to change the declining course of their societies chose instead to pursue self-interest and self-aggrandisement and sacrificed long-term security for short-term gains. In that regard, Jamaica’s history is no different from countries like Haiti, Liberia and many others.

I continue to be befuddled by the paradox of Jamaican society. How is it that a country full of the brightest minds and creative genius, and with more churches per square mile than any other place on the planet, find itself in the mess that we are in? Why haven’t decent, hardworking Jamaicans stepped up to the plate and provided the kind of leadership required at every level? Why, with so many brilliant people, is the country’s civil society movement so weak and fractured? Most important, who is going to rescue Jamaica?

I’m not sure if what most of us are suffering from isn’t an acute case of the

“too-close-to-see” syndrome. It is true that the view is always clearer when one steps back and looks from the outside in. That is the view captured by Transparency International, and the picture they see led them to the conclusion that there is a clear and present danger facing Jamaica of state capture. So, what say we?

With love,bab2609@yahoo.com