THE Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), according to our Monday edition, is planning to recommend that the upcoming law on party and campaign finance reform not require the naming of campaign donors, except — as some sort of punishment, we suppose —in cases where false declarations are made.

As we understand Professor Errol Miller, the ECJ chairman, the underlying rationale for said recommendation is the protection of party financiers from possible repercussions associated with our intolerant political culture.

This is understandable, but downright unacceptable, especially within the context of corruption charges levelled at both the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) and the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Given our torrid past, the last thing our political system needs right now is another closet. Those who would get involved, through contributions and otherwise, must understand that the political process is not a private one. They must understand that the public interest in knowing who is putting money into the hands of those who have such a powerful jurisdiction over our lives are funded, is bigger than any discomfiture they may feel at being labelled as a supporter of this or that party.

For our intolerant political culture is not indelible, and should not be treated as such. As we mature, it is not inconceivable that the day may come when the bugbears of ignorance and depravity which fuel the intolerance of which Professor Miller speaks, are slain. In the meantime, it is our duty to starve them out through an unrelenting insistence on transparency in every area of public life, from the head of the stream, the prime minister down. Otherwise we are going to find ourselves even further up the creek than we already are as far as the current leadership crisis is concerned.

Let us not forget that as things stand now, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is still waiting on full disclosure on the part of Prime Minister Bruce Golding in relation to his role in the Manatt, Phelps and Phillips affair, before resuming those critical social transformation talks with his administration.

Indeed in Monday’s edition, Mr Joseph Matalon reiterated the importance of full disclosure in respect of the governance of our country.

Yet, according to Mr Golding’s last statement on the matter, he has no intention of being distracted by the issue anymore.

So unless somebody backs down, those talks which were sold to us as being a critical factor in the country’s progression to prosperity, are going to die a quiet, if not unnatural death.

Our unsolicited advice to Profesor Miller and the ECJ members — which comprise representatives from the JLP and the PNP, is that they regard these proposals as a working draft that needs to go back to the drawing board.

That said, we endorse their historic effort at dealing with the long-standing problem of managing campaign financing, which has been at the core of much of the corruption bedevilling us as a nation.