THE GOVERNMENT is pleased that the IMF Agreement to provide budgetary support (aka a loan) has been finalised. A full-page advertisement posted by the Jamaica Information Service advises us that this is a “new beginning” and “the way forward is exciting”.

The prime minister advises, however, that “the way forward will not be without its challenges, but if we make this fundamental shift in how we conduct business, we will meet those challenges and we will be victorious.” He reminds us also that “this programme needs the support and sacrifice of every Jamaican”.

It is the duty of leaders of countries or armies to rally the troops to respond to the demands of the times. The advertisement puts the PM in that position, for rally we must. The sense of drift has gone on too long and we have to get it together or be lost. I want to be part of a victorious Jamaica, but the difficulty I’m having is that I’m not quite sure what I’m being called on to do, besides the obvious of “putting shoulders to the wheel and hand to the plough”.

The JIS ad seems to suggest that there is a wider vision but in the absence of it being articulated, there is a strange sense of disconnect around us at this time. People seem to be holding their breath waiting for something to happen. Part of the hesitancy has to do with the back and forth process which has gone on over the signing of the IMF Agreement. The target date was reset any number of times. No sooner had one press release come out with a date then another followed, setting the deadline further. By the time it did happen, people had begun to lose interest.

The biggest deterrent to enthusiasm or a sense of engagement is that we still do not know the details of the package. There was a time when such things may not have mattered much to people but we live in an age of expecting to know. Fibre optic cables bind us to the rest of the world and our lives have become an open Facebook.

We have been assured that we’re dealing with a new and improved IMF. Some have even used the designation “user-friendly”. If that is so, then why couldn’t we have heard the details of the arrangement before it was signed in our name? I heard someone say that we have dealt with the matter like a householder entering into a hire-purchase agreement without seeing the fine print and then acting surprised at what the final document required. We were not helped either by the Opposition who called for parliamentary debates on the matter then shot itself in the foot by failing to act when the opportunity was provided.

I DON’T KNOW if both sides of the House know how disillusioned people on the street have become. Perhaps parliamentarians live in some kind of insulated capsule which forces them to hear what they think they’re hearing, with the result that they seem to be giving answers to questions which were not asked.

We have been led to believe, as another adage goes, that “not everything good fe eat good fe talk”. It has never been clear to me if it is the IMF which demands silence on the negotiations or whether the embargo is imposed from our side, for reasons best known to them. The result is that even people of good intent begin to feel that there is something sinister in a process which excludes the very people who will have to bear whatever burden it demands.

The concept of victory at the end of whatever is ahead, is one which should appeal to all of us. However, one han’ cyaan clap. If we’re to engage in the battle for survival, our leaders have to trust us more. We have a right to know. If the IMF doesn’t understand that too, then somebody should enlighten them. This is a far different Jamaica from the last time that the IMF came to town, but the bitter taste left behind from that experience has not dissipated entirely.

POOR LOVEBIRD: Once again we have a timetable for the execution.

April 1 – All Fool’s Day, among other dates. This time, a debt to the Internal Revenue Service of the United States of America is one of the charges being laid. Anyone who knows what indebtedness to the IRS means can only pray for a last-minute reprieve.

Spare a thought for the workers being slowly tortured by months of not knowing how and when it will end. No wonder some of them snapped in Montego Bay yesterday morning and made a small defiant gesture to show that they’re not totally ready to lie down and die. There are still questions to answer. When did we realise that Air J owed the US taxmen? And… if we sell the two planes, what is Caribbean Airlines buying?

RESPECT! If Mr Delroy Chuck can bring off his intended reining-in of the juvenile delinquents who are turning Parliament into a schoolyard for “leggo beasts”, then he will deserve all respect due… While there are problems on both sides of the aisle, popular opinion is that the real challenge is the trio of bullies who persist in behaving as if they have escaped from an adult correctional centre. Rein them in, Mr Speaker.

BIG HONOUR: When Parliament honours the life and work of Professor Rex Nettleford in a special sitting of the House on Tuesday afternoon, it will be a historic event. It is believed that it will be the first time that “a civilian” – not a parliamentarian or head of state – will be so commemorated for contribution to the life of the nation.

PEOPLE ARE ASKING: Why was “the Prof” cremated instead of being brought home for all to see? And why the small University Chapel for the funeral service? ANSWER: These were among his stated wishes. We must respect that.

gloudonb@yahoo.com