JLP lacks direction in Gov’t
Dear Editor,
I always doubted the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) could provide the required leadership to take Jamaica forward. Its performance as an Opposition was nothing short of abysmal. Its efforts were lacking in leadership and out of touch with the day-to-day happenings or the needs of Jamaica.
So it is no surprise to me that now that the party forms the Government, it appears to be lacking in direction and is playing leadership on the fly without any apparent plan. The new reluctant minister of national security, for instance, certainly demonstrates the likely disposition of the JLP Administration.
In Opposition, that party spent its time all over the place in respect of security issues. We heard from them whenever there was political mileage to be gained from, say, a spike in the murder rate or crime trending upwards. On one such occasion, the commissioner of police was summoned to a Parliamentary committee to report on the upsurge in crime. Members of the then People’s National Party (PNP) Government on the committee objected to the media being present during the questioning of the report. The JLP did not have the clout to stand up to the objection, and so the proceedings were continued off camera. To this day, we the public have no idea what was discussed or what measures will be implemented. We don’t know whether the committee was satisfied with the commissioner’s report or plans for dealing with that situation at that time. Whatever those plans were, they again have failed, as crime continued unabated. It is now assumed that the JLP bought into that failed plan and is running with it.
One suspects that it is the usual police resource constraints and public cooperation demands, as that now appears to be the main power behind the new minister’s thrust – public partnership and 400 vehicles. Soon we will have the introduction of draconian legislation and the usual buttering up of the Police Federation regarding how noble and hard-working the majority of its members are.
Like any other Jamaican, one prays and hopes for a successful and sustainable crime plan. However, I am absolutely confident that satisfying resource constraints, added legislation and full public partnership, although important, will amount to nothing, and therefore another failed effort, unless we set about fixing the police force.
The criminal justice system and the enforcement of laws will fail unless there is an acceptance that the problem is with the police and that first has to be fixed. Although it is not the politic thing to say, let us put Jamaica first. If we do not, I will certainly take no pleasure in being able to say, ‘I told you so’, because Jamaica and all of us would be the ones to suffer.
Colonel Allan Douglas
Kingston 10
alldouglas@aol.com