I think I duped myself into thinking that all would be coming up roses after last Sunday’s JLP leadership race. Well, what we got were ‘ramgoat roses’, as Audley Shaw and Andrew Holness butted heads over the question of whether or not Christopher Tufton and James Robertson had been duly nominated to be elected vice-presidents. The question that I have heard several times over the past week was, why was there such a rush to name the new shadow Cabinet? If there were issues to be settled, why not try to iron them out, and then make the announcement? Further, there is much controversy over the resignation letters, apparently ‘pre-signed’ by former Opposition Senate Leader Arthur Williams and former Senator Christopher Tufton.

There have been comments that the PNP may be feeling very comfortable to have Audley Shaw out of the picture. Indeed, one exasperated JLP supporter commented that the prime minister may have been waiting for this outcome to announce the reinstatement of Richard Azan as a junior minister. “Man-a-yard has been silenced,” he offered. “PNP feel safe to do anything.”

The question is though, regardless of how weak or strong one’s opposition may be, shouldn’t the ruling party try to practise good governance? My visit to Barbados last week left me embarrassed for Jamaica. Yes, I was happy that Shanique Myrie got justice after her terrible experience at that country’s airport, but I have to admit that governance was clearly seen as I took a tour of the island.

My taxi driver explained that everywhere looked so clean because “garbage is collected every day, from Sunday to Sunday”. He showed me signs indicating that the people of Barbados had access to every single beach in the island, regardless of the level of hotel located near it. I could see Barbadian families enjoying themselves on the beach beside our hotel, and not a single person approaching visitors to harass them.

We passed a busy Saturday market and there was order in the displays, and not a bit of litter on the street. He showed me a prominent sign reminding of a $5,000-fine for littering, “and this is well enforced” he said. The well-spoken gentleman said education was very important to successive governments since the country’s Independence in 1965. “If parents are found to be preventing their children from attending school between the ages of four and 16,” he said, “they face the possibility of imprisonment”.

Exemplary Dame Billie Miller

It was wonderful to renew acquaintance with a lady whom I deeply admire — Dame Billie Miller, former deputy prime minister of Barbados, and former minister serving in various capacities over the years. Dame Billie had led the International Planned Parenthood Federation Western Hemisphere Region to the organisation’s international conference in Delhi in 1993, at which the late Peter Myers and I represented Famplan Jamaica (Jamaica Family Planning Association). She stood tall among the brilliant leaders in the field, and has been a legendary contributor to nation-building.

As we dined at the exquisite Waterfront Café in the centre of Bridgetown, Dame Billie explained that the quaint row of buildings by the water, now bustling with upscale shops, were once plain warehouses. Her colleagues explained that she did not rest until the area became the sparkling gem it is, complete with a picturesque boardwalk along the much-photographed Heroes’ Square.

“It took seven long years, but we were determined to get it done,” she said. This lady continues to serve not only Barbados, but also the international community. She is one of the founders and the vice-president of the largest non-governmental organisation in the country, the Barbados Association of Retired Persons (BARP). She left our meeting of Caribbean seniors’ organisations to attend an International Conference on Population and Development gathering in Addis Ababa, then went on to Washington, DC for two other high-level engagements.

Instead of relaxing before her trans-continental engagements, Dame Billie spent a day and night with us, inspiring us to expedite the formation of a Caribbean seniors’ organisation, so we can use the power of our numbers to influence regional policy. “We should remember that today’s seniors are the ones who worked to build our respective countries,” she advised. “Elders have every right to expect a comfortable retirement; they have earned it.” She applauded heartily the work of her fellow Caribbean colleagues as we reported on our work. Such is the leadership and the empathy that builds a country that is literate and litter-free.

A time for inspiration

I have heard so many expressions of desperation over the past week, that I wonder if we, the hard-working taxpayers of this country, are going to stay silent about this preoccupation of our leaders with political power, while the country limps along in a dysfunctional daze.

I would like to submit that this is not a time for desperation, but a time for inspiration. There are several MPs who backed Audley Shaw in the recent elections. Should they be thinking of forming a well-needed third party, or revitalising the NDM? Would a third party not be the solution to breaking the back of this sick tribalism which demeans our people? In a Jamaica Observer report of the JLP election, a mature woman wearing a bikini and a mesh top, gave her name as “Bumper”, and said she wanted a certain leader to help teach his followers “how to behave themselves”. Ah, Miss Bumper, you have certainly revealed the leadership we have had, similar to that of the woman who, some years ago, pulled apart her clothes to reveal her very pregnant belly to declare, “Ah PNP baby dis!”

With that crucial year fast approaching, we need to be stricter with ourselves about building the foundation for Vision 2030 to make Jamaica “the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business’. Sincere leaders should know that this society is opening up, and that there are still enough decent Jamaicans who will support them if they prove themselves to be trustworthy, whether they remain under their traditional party banners or hoist another.

Disaster in the Philippines

We contacted one of the Filipino Brothers at Missionaries of the Poor (MOP) in downtown Kingston — scores of the brothers who serve Jamaica’s most marginalised are from the Philippines which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan. He said that only a few have heard that their relatives are fine — many have either not been able to get any news or, sadly, have been told that family members are missing. A group of the MOP brothers have left for their country in search of family members and to offer assistance. We can reach out to them and their overwhelmed fellow citizens of the Philippines through the Jamaica Red Cross or Missionaries of the Poor.

‘Franno’ Francis is recovering

The countless friends of Alfred “Franno” Francis are relieved to hear that this benevolent downtown businessman and founder of the internationally famous Reggae Marathon is recovering after a recent health scare. Let us keep him in our prayers.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com