Society is infested by persons who, seeing that the sentiments please, counterfeit the expression of them. These we call sentimentalists — talkers who mistake the description for the thing, saying for having. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

SOME weeks ago veritable political fossil, Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe read out the wrong speech at the opening of Parliament. Mugabe himself did not realise he had read it before. His spokesman told the State-run Herald paper the error was because of a mix-up in the president’s secretarial office. “Before the 91-year-old president spoke, the parliamentary speaker also warned against disrupting proceeding.” Possible critics were told to ‘shut their mouths’. “After Mugabe began speaking, it was not long before it dawned on those present that they had heard it all before. But during the speech, the Movement for Democratic Change [MDC] members sat quietly, while ruling Zanu-PF party supporters clapped at regular intervals.” (Reuters, September 15, 2015)

The BBC filed this report from the land of the kangaroos two weeks ago: “Australia is to have a new prime minister after Tony Abbott was ousted as leader of the centre-right Liberal Party by Malcolm Turnbull. In the dramatic late-night party leadership ballot, Mr Abbott, who had been plagued by poor opinion polls, received 44 votes to Mr Turnbull’s 54. Mr Turnbull said he assumed that parliament would serve its full term, implying no snap general election. The new leader will be Australia’s fourth prime minister since 2013.” (BBC News, September 14, 2015)

‘Kamla-mania’ came to a crashing end in the twin-Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on September 7, 2015.

What is the common thread here?

Whether in liberal democracies, totalitarian regimes, or authoritarian governments, invariably too many heads of state fail to recognise that, similar to manufacturing, planned obsolescence applies to politics and politicians. Those who don’t recognise they have passed their ‘best-buy date’ often suffer embarrassing consequences. I could cite scores of other examples to buttress my viewpoint but, in any event, axioms don’t have to be proven or disproven. Only those who consistently refer to themselves in the third person attempt such insanity. And we all know what reputable psychologists say about that bunch. They are the kinfolk of Narcissus.

Last Sunday, I listened — not just heard, but listened — to the address of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller at the 77th annual conference of the People’s National Party (PNP). I, like most others, know that the audience for these conferences is the fanatical core. Nonetheless, I was hoping against hope — admittedly foolishly so — that the prime minister would have broken ranks with tradition and broadened her reach. Prior to the conference, Paul Burke, who I gather is now characterised as a political Ebenezer Scrooge in some sections of the PNP, made two things clear: He said that Simpson Miller would not be announcing the election date — which I already knew — and that she would be speaking to issues that impinged on the economy. Given that Simpson Miller is the only head of state of all liberal democracies globally who has not had a one-on-one press conference with local journalists for nearly three years, I made sure to listen.

I also made sure to listen because I remembered two recent and important public statements: One by our longest-serving Prime Minister P J Patterson, who described our politics as “a fight for scarce benefits and spoils carried on by hostile tribes that seem to be perpetually at war”. And the second by life chairman of the PNP, Robert Pickersgill. He told us that, “It is best for the PNP to form the Government, therefore, anything that will lead us or cause us to be in power is best for the PNP and best for the country.”

‘I am well aware of the IMF constraints; But Government must pay attention to growth while passing tests, says Patterson’, was the banner headline of the Jamaica Observer on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. The story said inter alia:

” ‘I am more than well aware of IMF constraints,’ Patterson, who as prime minister guided Jamaica out of a borrowing arrangement with the IMF [International Monetary Fund] in the 1990s, told his audience at the opening of a sports tourism centre in Treasure Beach, south St Elizabeth on Sunday.

“However, he said, the Portia Simpson Miller-led Government should ensure that passing such tests facilitate growth and development rather than the other way around.

” ‘In the whole plan of development you have to make priorities and you have to understand, everybody has to understand, passing of the test is one thing, but getting growth and development must be the main objective,’ said Patterson, a former long-serving president of the ruling People’s National Party (PNP).

“According to Patterson, ‘without growth and development the economy is going to stagnate and we are not going to provide the jobs which are necessary for the people to be able to earn for themselves, rather than depend purely on social programmes which put the MP under constant pressure.

“His comments came against the backdrop of strong and consistent criticism during the function in Treasure Beach of the main access road to the quaint fishing village which is now a thriving centre of south coast tourism.

“Several speakers spoke of the difficulty in driving to the seaside community because of the rain-scoured and badly potholed Lacovia/ Burnt Savannah/ Mountainside/ Watchwell road, which is the main access from the centre of St Elizabeth including Santa Cruz — the commercial centre of the parish.” [END]

‘High youth unemployment worries PNP,’ screamed The Gleaner of Monday, July 27, 2015. Among other things, the story said:

“Robert Pickersgill, chairman of the PNP, has conceded that the governing party is not yet where it wants to be in addressing some of the social and economic ills bedevilling Jamaicans.

“After yesterday’s meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) at the University of the West Indies, Mona, Pickersgill told The Gleaner that joblessness among youth as well as bad roads and water challenges are major worries for the party.

” ‘If the unemployment level — especially among the youth — is not improved, you are going to have some amount of basic resentment,’ Pickersgill predicted.

“He added: ‘It’s the first time in the history of Jamaica that you have so many qualified young people, including secondary degree and doctorate, and they are having difficulty gaining employment.

“The unemployment rate in Jamaica is about 14 per cent, with youth unemployment more than twice the national rate at 34.3 per cent.”

Surely these political heavyweights — albeit lightweights when it comes to political accomplishments — would have nudged the prime minister to speak in a detailed fashion to the matters of youth unemployment, the economy and crime, I thought.

The prime minister tried her best, last Sunday, to sell us a lot of immature and green fruits; doused with generous amounts of calcium carbine. Rural folks, especially, know that “carbine” fruits (improperly ripened fruits which cause constipation or diarrhoea) are dangerous.

Numbers from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) or the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) confirm that since the PNP took office on December 29, 2011, they have created slightly over 30,000 jobs. The prime minister said her Government has created 60,000 jobs. The most basic adding machine will give the difference between Simpson Miller’s numbers and those of the agencies that have official responsibilities to gather such public data.

“Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller this afternoon took to the microphone at the 77th annual conference of the People’s National Party (PNP) reeling off what she called progress in the economy, health, education, and other sectors.

“But it appeared that the thousands of orange-clad Comrades gathered inside the National Arena were not in sync with the prime minister, at least on one count.

“As Simpson Miller turned to the area of job creation, she cited that some 60,000 jobs were provided under the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP).

” With no applause coming from the Comrades, Simpson Miller asked for it.

” ‘Sixty thousand jobs and no clapping?’ she asked, ‘Come on, man, come on, man,’ she begged.” (The Gleaner, September 20, 2015)

Simpson Miller said Sunday that the last Jamaica Labour Party Administration resulted in the economy losing over 100,000 jobs. In her speech at the 76th Annual Conference she said:

“Jamaica is in a better place today than we found it two and a half years ago. In the four missing years between 2007 and 2011; growth went missing, jobs went missing. Four years after they came to power, 90,000 jobs went missing.”

Figures from STATIN and PIOJ show that slightly over 70,000 jobs were lost during 2007 to 20011. Except for the Great Depression of the1930s, 2007-2011 was the worst economic recession in the last 100 years.

The handlers of the prime minister must know that in the Information Age the selling of ‘carbined’ fruits will not ‘shot’ (excite buyers, especially those who have to work hard for their money) the market. JEEP jobs cannot grow an economy. “Bullo work” (transient and minimum wage-type employment) has been tried over and over and has failed miserably. Nowhere in the world has ‘public works’ type employment appreciably grown an economy; except where they focus on multi-billion-dollar infrastructural- and development-type projects. JEEP jobs, however generous we might want to be, do not fall into this category.

How can the prime minister speak credibly of achievements in the health sector when the Jamaica Association of Radiologists told us last week “that there is no functioning mammography machine in the entire public health system”? Mammography is a specialised medical imaging that uses a low-dose X-ray system to see inside the breasts. A mammography exam, called a mammogram, assists in the early detection and diagnosis of breast diseases in women and even men. The US based National Cancer Institute says early detection of breast cancer, through a mammogram, is crucial in the treatment of breast cancer. It says results from clinical trials show that mammograms can help reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer among women aged 40 to 74.

Arguably, the biggest impediment to the proper management of the health sector in Jamaica is Minister of Health Dr Fenton Ferguson.

When he made little or no preparation for the arrival of CHIKV, he was subsequently defended by the prime minister. Under Ferguson’s watch there was country-wide suffering, which cost the economy, conservatively, $7 billion and 13 million lost man-hours of production time, according to data from the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica. In any self-respecting democratic country Ferguson would have been removed.

Ferguson was given pride of place at the conference. Yes, he is a vice-president of the PNP. But was this a case of rubbing salt into a raw wound? Was the PNP saying to the wider public of Jamaica, we don’t care what you think? Our politics is what it is, and where it is, because as a whole we lack self-respect. Shakespeare said it best: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”(Julius Caesar I,ii)

In self-respecting countries people typically take responsibility for failures, whether in the public or private sector. Take the most recent case of CEO for Volkswagen.

“Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn has resigned following the revelation that the firm manipulated US diesel car emissions tests.

“Mr Winterkorn said he was ‘shocked’ by recent events and that the firm needed a ‘fresh start’.

“He added that he was ‘not aware of any wrongdoing on my part’ but was acting in the interest of the company.” (BBC News, September 23, 2015)

Since the start of January, 887 Jamaicans, mostly from socially and economically disadvantaged communities, have been slaughtered. The country is literally swimming in murders. It bothers me that the prime minister only parsimoniously touched this life and death matter.

“Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller this afternoon offered no details on plans by her Administration to arrest the country’s escalating crime rate, except for a stern warning to perpetrators of crimes against children.” (The Gleaner, September 20, 2015)

In her speech at the 76th annual conference, in 2014, Simpson Miller told the country about a logistics hub. She and others touted it almost as a panacea to our economic woes. She said: “We are implementing on a phased basis the Logistics Hub Initiative, which is another of our major infrastructure projects. The developments under this initiative include: Port of Kingston, Norman Manley International Airport, Portland Bight, and the creation of Special Economic Zones.”

A year later the prime minister is silent on the hub. Why? Even more important, where is the minister who perpetrated the seeming ‘samfie’ (hoax) of a solid US$5-billion investment that should have created 10,000 jobs? He is safe in the arms of a prime minister who has made an art of hugging and kissing failures in her Cabinet.

Prime Minister Simpson Miller presented a speech that skirted critical issues of national development. Simpson Miller should know that the ‘Wood Hall, St Catherine, black woman’ narrative does not have the magnetism of four years ago. In the face of an imminent election the thinking man is asking, where is the Portia who made the grand pronouncements on the verdant King’s House lawn nearly four years ago?

“The mandate which Jamaicans gave the People’s National Party on December 29 is a call to action. It is a signal from our people that we, the Government, must earn their trust. It also gives us the opportunity to ease the burdens and the pressures of increasing poverty, joblessness, and a deteriorating standard of living.” (Excerpt from Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller’s inaugural speech, January 5, 2012)

Recently, I had an informal chat with some students at the University of the West Indies, Mona. A very bright first-year student said this to me when I asked, “Which party will likely win the next general election and why?”

“This general election will be about what you have done for me lately, what you can do for me immediately and/or help me to do for myself urgently.” The JLP and PNP would do well to listen.

Our conscience is not the vessel of eternal verities. It grows with our social life, and a new social condition means a radical change in conscience. — Walter Lippmann

Garfield Higgins in an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.