A state of emergency (SOE) is not a crime-fighting plan. It is only a finger in the dam of the social pressure of citizens tired of juvenile politics, bad roads, poor schools, underpaid civil servants, and failed leadership.

For all that the SOEs are supposed to achieve in the short term, they are not designed to correct the problems that have led to the pressure we all feel in Jamaica right now. The Government is trying to impress us with the finger in the dam as a solution, while they have failed to articulate the reasons for the present state of affairs. It seems to me that the physical environment in which the country finds itself has a great deal to do with our problems, resulting in the creation of national stress, ending up in crime and violence. A look at restoring communities with the necessary amenities would lead to a better set of circumstances for everyone.

The majority of poor Jamaicans, especially in urban areas, have no public space where they can sit and take a break from the heat of the day and refresh themselves. In downtown there are no manicured parks like uptown, and the latest effort to create a walk along the lovely waterfront has been built with another wall blocking the view of the beautiful harbour. And artwork on concrete is not sustainable. This will have to be maintained, and I know for a fact that in five years or less these walls are going to be an eyesore. There are no benches along the new stretch and the trees planted will barely cover the space below them. In any event, the smell from the ever-present sewage overflow will hasten any visitor to an early departure.

This is not even the tip of the iceberg of poor planning and leadership that has befallen beautiful Jamaica. Politicians, in trying to outdo themselves, have made useless decisions with our money and retreated to wherever they spend their time, because they don’t live where we live. I will support any new political leader in the country that can be as articulate as Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley of Barbados and as astute as Volodymyr Zelensky, who has marshalled his resources and inspired his people to fight the most obstinate dictator on the planet, and is winning. I wish him great success.

Our leaders, on the other hand, cater to their supporters before thinking to serve God and country. We are in need of a better environment, one which reflects order and common sense. It pains me to hear them talk about sustainability while they continue to stockpile mountains of coal to make the cement in Rockfort, and the same cement company uses the public roadway to stage trucks waiting to pick up cement. Meanwhile, there are plans to make the roundabout at Harbour View a food court of sorts, a first for highway planning. Congrats to whoever came up with that idea.

The entry to Kingston is flanked by a massive sewage treatment pond on one side and a mountain of aggregate on the other. So anyone coming from Norman Manley International Airport is faced with either dust or stink, depending on the wind direction at the time.

The community of Harbour View has been scuttled with the removal of a physical bank and post office and no hospital. Citizens have to go to Kingston for banking services and Windward Road to access a post office. All this is oblivious to those who represent Harbour View but pay scant regard to community issues outside of election campaign time. There are no public parks in Harbour view that any politician would spend time in except when seeking votes.

Suddenly there is a cruise ship port at Port Royal, while for years the little town has been neglected, no supermarket, no sewerage system, no public parks. But now we have a multimillion-dollar development for tourists who will appear on the new pier, like its predecessor in Falmouth, built for foreigners only.

The Jamaican public doesn’t seem to deserve even a rehabilitated beach at Palisadoes, the once-famous Gunboat and Buccaneer beaches have been long abandoned.

While I am on Harbour View, whatever happened to Harbour Head Beach Park. This used to be an open park space for the residents of Harbour View, now it is an industrial zone, adding more smoke and mirrors for the new macroeconomic growth model, money over citizens’ comfort.

It is no surprise there is so much domestic violence, people have nowhere to go when stressed and pressed with inflation and potholed roads. I could continue the litany of woes that beset this nation, however, the best thing is to encourage some solutions.

The first solution is to encourage a new political party apart from the current heirs to the colonial past; it is clear they don’t want any change that would infringe on their new riches. We need leaders that have the country at heart, who collaborate with those who elected them instead of shunning them. We must dispel the politicians of the notion that they are the highest court in the land, they are not a court at all, just a gathering of wannabees. We need to professionalise our civil and public service and political system.

The best recent happening in the selection of ministers is the selection of someone who is actually knowledgeable in the area in which they have responsibility in the Ministry of Finance. If only we could do that with all the other ministries. We need the ministries to be decided by a Parliament so that they are not repurposed and renamed every time there is an election. This practice is a waste of money and other resources.

We need to move on from play-play Government and have a Government of adults. We are tired of enduring their juvenile behaviour as they continue to put us in debt and embarrass us in the eyes of the world. Not one of them is a Norman Manley, a Robert Lightbourne, or a Marcus Garvey, not even a Bob Marley or Usain Bolt, who are only a few of those who put Jamaica on the map. They cannot hold a candle to those who have made Jamaica great.

May the force be with us as we emerge from the nightmare of colonial politics, colonial politicians, and colonial parties. No amount of SOEs will rescue us from their arrogance and incompetence.

Hugh M Dunbar is an architect. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or hmdenergy@gmail.com.