Despite the presence of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which is highly spoken about on a daily basis, there are three words that are equally repeated, especially as signs indicate that the local government and general elections are imminent. These words are corruption, cronyism, and nepotism.

Like in previous election campaigns, we are now seeing a resurgence of scandals that have plagued our two major political parties since Independence. There has been this “pot a cuss kettle” approach between the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) regarding who has more cases of corruption.

In September 2018, Dr Peter Phillips, Opposition leader, described Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s Government as the most corrupt in independent Jamaica. In his defence, Holness called the PNP the most corrupt organisation in the Caribbean.

Corruption in governance has become so commonplace that one would think there is an award given to the party under which the most corruption cases are revealed. What is sad is that these two political parties campaign on anti-corruption stances and scandals, and neither of them has the credibility to do so. However, this is also due to the impervious attitude of the electorate.

Pollsters Don Anderson and Bill Johnson confirmed, yet again, in their recent surveys that people turn a blind eye to corruption because it has become a norm in society. This is troubling for a society that is considered highly religious and has the most churches per square mile. But for how long will we continue to praise or simply ignore this practice?

Our youthful prime minister promised us better governance; this implicitly or explicitly suggested that corruption is one of the key areas he would give urgent attention. While we have seen some efforts being made to curb corruption, we have also witnessed former and present key government ministers — among them Dr Andrew Wheatley, Ruel Reid, Daryl Vaz, J C Hutchinson – getting entangled in corruption allegations right under Holness’s watch.

Both the JLP and PNP are stained with the sin of corruption, but if politicians had personal integrity would there have been this situation? It is easy to blame a party or an organisation because the individual caught in sin is affiliated with it; they are synonymous with their party because it is our immediate point of identity. However, even if politics is as corrupt as it is often said to be, it is a politician’s personal choice of whether he or she wants to engage in certain immoral acts.

Several of these politicians were known to be upstanding citizens in the private and public sectors, the Church, and other institutions prior to venturing into politics. However, there seems to be some poison that is injected in them upon entering Gordon House.

Undeniably, it can be very challenging occupying a place of high authority and influence. This is a real test of one’s integrity. One of Africa’s legendary authors, Chinua Achebe, once said, “One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised.” Despite the pressure and temptations that politicians face daily, their morals and values — if at all they have any — should prevent them draining State resources to advance their personal and relational interests.

It is often said that the buck stops with the leader. While this is applicable to some extent, there ought to be personal accountability. A manager, no matter how well he or she (micro) manages, may never know the full account of what is happening under his or her supervision. The manager trusts his or her staff to get the job done, effectively and honestly. It is the same principle in politics, except that, while some politicians are genuinely executing their job, others are lying and stealing taxpayers’ money. It bewilders me how they sleep comfortably at night. Do they not have a conscience?

In a matter of weeks, Jamaica will have celebrated its 58th anniversary of Independence; but, from what exactly? That is another story. There are still citizens who are hoping for a new dawn in which all efforts are made to stamp out corruption, and politicians are convicted and sentenced. If it were a poor or average citizen who committed a crime the system would be swift to sentence them, but politicians commit white-collar crimes on a daily basis and are given several opportunities, through re-elections, to continue this dishonest practice.

Would that all exercise integrity, even when there is no eyewitness.

Oneil Madden is a PhD candidate in didactics and linguistics at the Université Clermont Auvergne, France. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or oneil.madden@uca.fr.