The young businessman described his dilemma. He could allow his business to go down the drain, depriving his staff and contractors of a livelihood, or he could include a popular though controversial individual in his programming to attract sales. As a true believer in a wide and varied media landscape, I knew I should hear out Cliff Hughes on why he embraced the raucous Ragashanti after he had parted company with Newstalk.

I know people who were so disgusted at the move that they stopped listening to Nationwide altogether. Cliff says he had warned Ragga and he had responded to all calls from the Broadcasting Commission, an organisation with which he had hitherto had an excellent relationship. Well then, I said to him, how in heaven’s name were there 18 breaches of the BCJ guidelines? Turns out that the breaches had not been aired on radio, but had been carried on the internet broadcast – a delayed broadcast device was not installed on the internet feed. Of course, Cliff should never have placed such a programme on daytime radio – and he now agrees that this was an error of judgement. At the same time, the surveys showed higher listenership around Ragga, spilling over into neighbouring programmes, and bringing bigger advertising bucks.

Clearly, Cliff Hughes’ story is a metaphor for the larger struggle between values and interests that is played out in all spheres of life. It is this struggle that has fuelled two expensive enquiries running concurrently in Jamaica. My friend Elon Beckford, chairman of the ill-fated Horizon Bank, outlined his organisation’s demise in the 90s at the Finsac enquiry and said the outcome would have been far more positive for him and the other players, had interest rates not been allowed to spiral out of reach.

Former US Ambassador to Jamaica Sue Cobb sent me a commentary on the subject of interests and values by John Hamre, president of the non-partisan US-based CSIS (Centre for Strategic and International Studies). In commenting on the crises in several Middle East countries, he said, “We always opted for ‘interests’ over ‘values’ because stability was prized in a region that produces so much energy resources for the world. Now our interests and values in Egypt overlap as we try to find ways to make the Egypt “revolution” a success…By contrast, we send in military forces to fight on behalf of a Libyan insurgency where we have very little hard-core interests and virtually no knowledge about the values espoused by the insurgents.”

Even in sports, there is this ambiguous attitude to values. Two weeks ago, Don Anderson launched a book about his epic journey From Seoul to Beijing, giving interesting behind-the-scenes accounts of his work with our Jamaican teams on six consecutive Olympic outings. It was interesting to watch video footage of our two wonderful stars, Grace Jackson and Juliet Cuthbert, being beaten by two US athletes, the late Florence Griffiths-Joyner (Flo-Jo) and Marion Jones, both of whom had heavy shadows over their careers. We still ask ourselves – to whom did those gold medals really belong?

Last week, we received copies of two important speeches made at the First Regional Law Enforcement Anti-Corruption Conference, by Contractor General Greg Christie and Prof Trevor Munroe, Chairman of the National Integrity Action Forum (NIAF). They were of one voice on the need for political will to introduce stronger penalties for corruption. Both called for the establishment of a single Independent National Anti-Corruption Agency for Jamaica. Our fresh-faced young politicians should know that they carry an exceptionally heavy burden, as we are looking to them to arrest the corruption which is damaging the very foundation of our country. Small businesses like mine who refuse to deal “under the table”, suffer from corruption at every turn.

Christie observed, “At this stage, corruption can be likened to an aggressive cancer and is characterised as institutionalised or systemic corruption. The phenomenon of systemic corruption is significantly related to poor standards of governance, accountability and transparency in government.”

We will never have a perfect state – none exists in the world. But we should hang our heads in shame when we consider Prof Munroe’s words at the conference: “How come in so many Caricom states, there is prima facie evidence pointing to irregular procurement procedures, bribery payments as well as kickbacks and improper expenditure of public funds, yet there is little or no successful investigation, prosecution and conviction of persons in high places?”

Later, he asked, “How many Auditor General’s Reports exposing irregularities and corrective measures are followed by the punishment of those guilty of the breaches?”

For the European Union to become a reality, it took the collective vision of a future bigger than the egos of insular leaders. It also required a willingness to submit oneself to scrutiny beyond one’s borders. If this is why we in the Caribbean do not yet have a CCJ, if this is why there is so much bickering about the treatment of each other at the various airports, then clearly, our leadership is in an atrocious state. No wonder we are all escaping to the state of Facebook, population 500 million (only surpassed by China and India)! May we use this critical mass to organise ourselves and promote the values that will build a legacy of superior governance.

Good going, Owen James

The innovative Owen James recently celebrated his 60th birthday and can look back with satisfaction at a career of excellence in print and broadcast media. He was one of our first working journalists to create his own tech-savvy media production house. His daily radio and television business news, weekly television features and website www.allmediaservicesltd.com have gone a far way in demystifying the world of business. An incurable optimist for his country, Owen created the TVJ feature A Ray of Hope, and has mentored some of our brightest stars in the communications profession. We wish him and his supportive wife, Denise, many more years of good health and happiness.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com