People shouldn’t be afraid of their government. Governments should be afraid of their people.

— Alan Moore

“THE folk tales of Jamaica are the Anancy stories which came from the Gold Coast. The central character is Brer or brother Anancy, the spider-man, the name come from the Twi, ananse meaning a spider, his wife Crooky which is possibly an alteration of the Twi word Konnore and Tacooma, his son, a local rendering of ntikuma.

“Anancy himself is a legendary figure whose main characteristic is trickery. He is small, weak and no match physically for the animals who play a part in these fables, such as Brer Tiger — they are almost all brers; Alligator, Monkey, Hog, Puss, Owl, Cow, even Brer Death — but Anancy relies on guile [he can change his appearance at will], he ‘works his brains’ and almost always gets the better of the other fellow.” — Clinton V Black, eminent Jamaican historian, Jamaica Guide.

Our politics is founded upon ‘Anancyism’, the fruits of which we are reaping today with respect to knavery and nepotism in the administration of State resources. This did not start in the 1970s [they were perfected then], but had their genesis in the stone-throwing episodes from the 1940s, and some scholars say even before. Thereafter, the systematic arming with guns and the dividing of people one against the other was pursued with apostle-like conviction. That too many of us have been reduced to mere political automatons is partially our fault — since a wolf will only serially prey on that which it knows does not have a formidable defence. In our case, for decades our two-tiered education system guaranteed a ready reservoir for political carnivores. They, having tasted the sweetness of our blood, cannot overcome the addiction, and simultaneously far too many of us cannot overcome being ‘addicatable’ to the noise of their snarls.

This Administration, like no other, has demonstrated that they eat, drink and sleep the Anancy traits. How else can we explain the relentless plundering of the pockets of the Jamaican taxpayers with impunity? The dreams and hopes of ordinary Jamaicans are being destroyed at great speed by a wretched Government that cares only about its own perpetuation. The waste of $4 million to hire a private jet to transport Yasin Abu Bakr, 73 year old leader of the Jamat Al Muslimeen to Trinidad and Tobago [when he had a return first-class ticket] for fear apparently that he could radicalise us to the point of a coup d’etat tells us in clear terms that this Administration is frightened of its own shadow and does not trust even its own praetorian guard to ensure its longevity. Indeed, this Government has enhanced and increased conditions which are pinnacled upon mistrust, and the natural consequences of that are being exposed daily.

The unconscionable use of taxpayers’ resources to rack up millions in cellular bills by 11 ministers and their subordinates when many Jamaican cannot tell where their next dinner is coming from, and in an age where most 10-year-olds can name scores of platforms that can achieve the same or better technology and cost-effectiveness reminds us that, like in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the majority of us are being used like Boxer. The Napoleons and Snowball types live high on the hog. It has long been evident to me that Jamaica can no longer afford this kind of parasitic politics and those who seek to perpetuate it.

The recent exposure of the Outameni ‘ginnalship’ is a symptom. The disease of Jamaican politics has infected and affected every strand of our lives, generally in the negative. The performance of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller reinforces the fact that she is not in charge of even those responsibilities that are directly placed in her portfolio. The PM said in parliament last Tuesday that she heard about the Outameni transaction in the media last month, almost a year after what looks and smells like a political bailout was a fait accompli.

A few questions immediately come to mind: Does the National Housing Trust (NHT) board send quarterly reports for the PM? This is another example of the aimless drift of the Jamaican ship while the skipper fiddles and doddles. Does the PM realise that since the purchase of Outameni, the transaction has lost nearly $20 million? Those dollars could have been used to assist at least 12 poor Jamaicans [for whom the Trust was established by Michael Manley] to start even a one-room in many rural parts where poverty is ravaging families because of the ruinous effects of policies of this Government. Does the PM know that 300 years after the abolition of slavery, 40 per cent of Jamaicans are living as squatters? Moreover, if houses were to be built on this property, which NHT contributor would be able to afford one? Does the PM know that only 30 per cent of those who contribute to the Trust receive a benefit? But, then again, what does the PM really know and when did she know it? Her theatrics in parliament did not engender much confidence, and her obvious lack of understanding of the core issues of the transaction tells a story which can only have a sour ending.

We have a prime minister who knows more and more about less and less, consistent with her own admission, albeit a Freudian slip, that the Administration she leads has done less with more. I now believe her, totally.

The smell released from the Yallahs Pond last Thursday and Friday is now dwarfed by the pungent fumes coming from the NHT/Outameni deal. You cannot fool all of us all the time. Contrary to Anancy folklore, which many of those in politics use as their handbook, larger numbers of us, soon to reach a critical mass, can think. Unlike Brer Alligator, Monkey, Hog, Puss, Owl, Cow, even Brer Death, there are those of us who recognise guile, theatre and tomfoolery at the drop of a hat. We also recognise that we, the ordinary citizens, collectively are far more powerful than Anancy and his/her minions who, like adhesive, have placed themselves deep into the core and sub-structures of the power bases which have and are causing government in this country to become an enemy of the people.

I declare that I am now very fearful of this Administration. Why? Because I scarcely believe any pronouncements from it. The days of Anancy ‘working his brain’ and always winning are near an end. My impression is that Jamaicans are wising up, and faster than Anancy thinks.

The entire NHT board needs to resign immediately!

No incubator at Mandeville Regional Hospital

No parent wants to die before his or her child. While NHT has spent just over $200 million on white elephant number two out in Trelawny, a child died at what the Wednesday Observer called a ‘top health facility,’ when an incubator could have possibly saved a life. Why does this happen in Jamaica in 2014? Simply because the politicians don’t have to use our local health care facilities.

While I am not advocating that our politicians live and retire as paupers — similar to the Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, called the poorest president in the world — the vulgar disparity in how they situate themselves and how the vast majority of us live needs immediate change.

‘Commish assures Chinese of crime-free Christmas’

The recent rise in crime, with last October being one of the bloodiest in many years, is already having many — including me — question the choice of Dr Carl Williams to replace Owen Ellington. His assurances to the Chinese Ambassador Don XiaoJun, during their tour of Princess Street in downtown Kingston last week, weaken whatever little confidence I have in him.

“We nuh matter again. Dis a Chinese country now,” said one woman selling agricultural produce on Princess Street in response, as reported in the media. That utterance captures the sentiments of maybe most of us who read the story. Dr Williams, you are on the wrong footing and that is a bad start. Your job as commissioner is to make all of us safe, not just the Chinese.

The heaviest penalty for declining to rule is to be ruled by someone inferior to yourself. — Plato, The Republic

Garfield Higgins in an educator and journalist. Comments to higgins160@yahoo.com.