The Jamaican private sector clearly has more patience than the biblical Job.

No other sector in Jamaica has been more consistent than the business community in keeping the fight against crime on the forefront. Last weekend, through its umbrella body — the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) — the sector issued its umpteenth press statement calling for “a greater showing of political will and maturity in order to achieve consensus on fighting crime”.

The question is, how much longer is the PSOJ going to be satisfied with issuing press releases which the politicians in both major parties ignore, knowing from experience that there will be no meaningful consequence?

Not only do the politicians ignore the PSOJ with impunity, but they pulled off the biggest exhibition of blatant ginnalship ahead of the September 2020 General Election when they made sweeping promises to the coalition of civic organisations behind the Consensus Agreement of that year.

One such promise — which we are sure readers have not forgotten — was the pledge of the party leaders to walk together through the crime-ridden garrisons in a symbolic show of unity against crime and violence.

That pledge was easy to make because it came at the height of the begging season when politicians encamp around businesses to collect campaign contributions, without which they can’t buy votes and finance their activities, such as bussing people to meetings and feeding them, printing manifestos and other memorabilia, and staging curry goat parties.

But, the minute the elections were over, they tore up the agreement to walk together and to take crime out of the arena of tribal politics. There should be an enquiry to determine what it is that they have to hide and why are they so afraid of unity.

Another important pledge made in the first quarter of 2021 was the commitment of the parties to promulgate legislation for the New Enhanced Security Measures Act, which signatories to the consensus understood would incorporate some elements of a state of emergency, the use of the military, the powers of detention, among other areas. That deadline was never met.

To demonstrate they have no intention of working together to fight crime, the Opposition People’s National Party has now set conditions for consensus, the crudest of which came last weekend from Dr Dayton Campbell.

The previously disgraced Mr Campbell has declared that his party would only support consensus when it is in the interest of the people of Jamaica and would not provide cover for the Government. When has it not been in the interest of Jamaica to have consensus against crime?

However, the private sector is not without teeth. It is under no obligation to keep funding the political parties, only for them to carry on their merry way, until the next election when they dust off the old script and start all over again.

If the private sector is serious about getting the politicians to agree to fight crime together and provide leadership to the country, then it should tie such an agreement to the campaign donations.

That would concentrate the minds in a way nothing else can.