This past week, Jamaicans were greeted with two announcements that, in my opinion, served to support the view that the Jamaican Government is not only at sea with addressing the major problems facing the country, but also bent on pussyfooting its way around the issues rather than facing them head on. Only those Jamaicans who have their collective heads buried neck-deep in the sand will deny that the current Government has employed a public relations strategy of deliberate obfuscation, blowing smoke and spinning mirrors as it dances away from dealing with the troublesome issues.

Those of us who are paying attention must agree that crime is not just one of the problems; it is the most devastating issue facing the country at this time. What makes the situation even more worrisome is the fact that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) won the 2016 General Election with crime as one of its major agenda items. In fact, it was the JLP’s leader, Andrew Holness, who, during the election campaign, warned that, “…if you keep the PNP [People’s National Party] in power and the crime rate continues to rise, the truth is that the next murder victim could be you.” Against that background, the more than 1,500 murders across the island, year to date, and the 330-plus murders in St James (more than 22 per cent of the islandwide total) with a parish population of 186,000, and a murder rate of 177 murders per 100,000 population, signal nothing less than a national crisis.

No one will argue against the fact that our police force is the vanguard in crime fighting, but any meaningful analysis of the police’s efforts must recognise its current palpable ineptness as the monster continues its deadly spiral. That is why much attention ought to have been paid to this weeks’ much-publicised meeting called by the police high command of its senior commanders to develop strategies — a meeting comprising the very same people who have for decades produced the same negative results.

It is equally important that Jamaicans be aware that Holness is not only the prime minister, but also the minister of defence. His failure to publicly speak to the issue, to continue mouthing acronym-laced concepts such as the Brazilian-borrowed ZOSO (zones of special operations), which are so far without results, only exacerbates the extent to which he has so far proven to be an abysmal failure. The Administration has, to date, mouthed the idea of a crime plan, which in practice remains non-existent. In the meantime, police rank and file are engaged in ‘sick-outs’ as they wrangle with the Government over a wage deal, while operational and administrative incompetence, both at the national security ministry and high command, have virtually reduced the police to a “walk-foot” force, thanks to a failed motor vehicle provisioning contract.

The second announcement this week was of the appointment of Aubyn Hill as executive director of the Economic Growth Council. To my mind, this announcement has left a sour taste in the mouth, especially after former Contractor General Greg Christie publicly declared that, based on his investigations, Hill ought to be barred from serving on any government boards after his office uncovered certain irregularities which were published in the Office of the Contractor General’s special report. (www.scribd.com/…/OCG-Aubyn-Hill-Investigation-Report ).

One wonders, too, if the legal matter between the Development Bank of Jamaica and Hill’s Nation-Growth Microfinance Limited has been satisfactorily resolved. The issues surrounding just these two matters are, to my mind, impacting enough to disqualify the gentleman. That notwithstanding, Hill, a Government Senator, has clearly been enjoying plum positions within this Administration and, on the announcement of his current appointment, has now promised to deliver 2.5 per cent growth in the next year.

The fact is that, on taking office, this Economic Growth Council was announced by the JLP with much fanfare, promising economic growth of five per cent in four years. We are at this point, two months adrift of two years of this Administration, with not much to report beyond a contraction of the economy over the last year. In the circumstances, Hill’s promise must be seen as a mere puff, as the fundamentals retarding our growth have yet to be addressed by the Government.

It is not that the capacity to grow the economy is non-existent. Only last month the International Monetary Fund head, on her visit to the island, alluded to this and insisted further that, on the numbers side, Jamaica had hit most of its markers. The lack of growth is therefore the result of other systemic problems, chief of which is crime.

What the island requires at this time is investment which can only come from resident holders of capital, as well as from members of the Diaspora and other foreign direct investors. The problem is that no person in their right mind will want to consider ploughing their hard-earned monies into any Jamaican venture when the risk of loss of life is as great as it is on the island.

The unabashed truth is that our crime problem is one that Andrew Holness, in his dual capacity as prime minister and minister of defence, has failed to address. Until he recognises that he has to first of all own the problem, no solution will ever be forthcoming.

To hark back to the PNP and their own hand in the current mess is a waste of time, as such foolish banter only produces vitriol for party supporters and provides zero solution. In this vein, Holness’s approach resembles that of US President Donald Trump’s, in which two years after the election Holness is still in campaign mode, while the body count on the island continues to rise.

Richard Hugh Blackford is a self-taught artist, writer and social commentator. He shares his time between Coral Springs, Florida, and Kingston, Jamaica. yardabraawd.com Send comments to the Observer or richardhblackford@gmail.com.