Today, November 10, 2016 is the 48th anniversary of the valedictory speech given by Norman Manley to the People’s National Party (PNP) on November 10, 1968. He gave a report of his stewardship and also what he saw as the mission of the next generation.

This year the anniversary comes two days after the presidential elections in the United States, which Donald Trump won, and a day before nomination day for Jamaica’s local government elections.

In 1968 the elder Manley made his final speech five days after Richard Nixon had clinched a win over Hubert Humphrey to become the 37th president of the USA.

In one of his last radio broadcasts, Norman Manley stated that had the voters’ list been properly done in 1967, the PNP could have won that election. Years later, Edward Seaga, while in Opposition in the 1970s, pushed for electoral reform, and out of that we got some improvements to the system.

In 1967 the voters’ list was inadequate. The local government elections of 1969 were called on a two-year-old voters’ list. The elections of 1972, which the PNP won despite being previously in Opposition, were called on a three-year-old voters’ list, as was also the case in 1983.

In the March 18, 1969 local government elections the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won a majority of the councils.

The Gleaner had run a competition for who could predict the most results. The winner of the competition was Ken Chin-Onn, the then research officer of the PNP (later its general secretary) who only called one seat wrong — Cedar Valley, St Thomas. He indicated it would go to the JLP but it went to the independent candidate who had previously represented the JLP. In retrospect, it could be that all Chin-Onn had to do was to look at how the people voted in 1967, since it was the same voters’ list.

In the year 2000, the USA did not have a clear winner until days after when the external votes in Florida had come in. There were many who doubted the veracity of the result and suggested that there were voter irregularities. For weeks now, Donald Trump argued that the US presidential election was rigged against him. Indeed, he said that the only result that he would accept is a win.

Here in Jamaica we have had voter problems for a long time. Most of the criticisms against sitting PNP governments were about “over voting”. For example, in 1980 more than 100 per cent voted in St Andrew South Western, where the then Portia Simpson was victorious over Tom Tavares-Finson. Much of the criticism of JLP governments is that the voters’ list was either inadequate or outdated.

In the 1970s Edward Seaga championed the fight for electoral reform. Yet, as prime minister in 1983, Edward Seaga called the election on a three-year-old voters’ list. All this talk about fair play at election time apparently comes to naught when ‘the shoe is on the other foot’.

The current local government elections scheduled for November 28 is to be held two days before a new voters’ list is originally supposed to be published. But it was just a year ago that Andrew Holness, as Opposition leader, was calling on the Government not to call the election before the new list is ready. But this year, as prime minister, the local government election is being called two days before the new voters’ list is ready. It appears as if the JLP is taking no chances this time around.

True, the party that wins the general election usually wins the following local government election. One exception to this was that the PNP won the October 2002 General Election but lost the June 2003 Local Government Elections. That was mainly because a new voters’ list had been taken up and the JLP had done far more mobilisation of their voters for the 2003 local government election than the then overconfident PNP.

Former Prime Minister P J Patterson, of all people, had allowed himself to be fooled. Pearnel Charles argued that the computer voting experiment needed more time to be verified and Patterson magnanimously agreed to put back the election for a few months. In the meantime, a new voters’ list was being put together by the electoral office while the JLP mobilised their supporters.

When Norman Manley addressed the PNP for the last time he did so as Opposition leader. He was never the prime minister of independent Jamaica, but was chief minister and later premier of Jamaica between 1955 and 1962. Norman Manley carried the PNP into six general elections; five while Jamaica was still a colony (the April 1962 election was held before political independence) and one in the post-Independence period.

In November 1968 Norman Manley made his valedictory speech and uttered the famous words that the mission of his generation was to bring about political independence and the mission of the following generation was to bring about economic independence.

That mission to bring about economic independence has been wrought with challenges. But today the poor have moved from destitution and malnutrition to a certain amount of progress and prosperity. Poor Jamaicans have moved from wattle and daub huts to adequate housing.

The economy in the 1950s and ’60s may have statistically been on a very good footing, but progress and prosperity was not trickling down to the masses in sufficient quantities. The standard of living since the 1960s has improved by leaps and bounds for all Jamaicans. We have moved from barefooted schoolchildren to a nation where everyone wears shoes. We have moved from main roads that were narrow lanes by comparison to the new highways. We have moved from dirt roads to asphalted roads.

Jamaica today has an educated populace. Health care is still far from perfect, but better than before. And the list could go on. But we are still not economically independent because of indebtedness due to the borrowing that has taken place to achieve a higher standard of living.

ekrubm765@yahoo.com