Against the haunting backdrop of the general election, there are a number of imperatives that Jamaica will have to contend with in 2025.

Some will pose severe challenges for the well-being of the society, such as in the area of crime and the persistent fight against poverty. Others will seem so overwhelming they will beg the question as to whether they should be tackled or simply ignored. But they will all test the mettle of the Jamaican people and bring under scrutiny how serious we are about nation-building and how important we are as stakeholders in that building process. They will mark a clear line of distinction between how we value substance over frill, excellence over mediocrity, and patriotism over a desire for selfish gain. What is clear is that for us to succeed we must apply our ingenuity and skills to meet the challenges of the hour.

Fundamentally, these imperatives are not new. They have been part and parcel of our collective experience since Independence. But I believe the time has come when we can more successfully deal with some of these, subdue them, and set a good trajectory for a prosperous nation. I mention two of these imperatives which I believe should be at the top of the national agenda. They are not intended to be in any order of importance, neither are they exhaustive of the other pressing imperatives that confront us.

First is maximising the gains we have made in fighting crime.

The police have reported a reduction in the number of murders in 2024 compared to 2023. There are 265 fewer murders, down to 1,139. This accounts for a 19 per cent reduction in murders. The cynics will sneer at these statistics as not being significant given the still-high and unacceptable murder rate in the country. But while acknowledging that, the optimist in me breathes a sigh of relief, for however small the number, we did not exceed last year’s reckoning and there are 265 of us alive to tell the tale.

The real question is the sustainability of this reduction and the capacity of the security forces to drive the rates down further. Is this a mere blip and will we be back to what we are accustomed to? The relief that one feels is related to the improved capacity of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and its determination to get the murder numbers down. There seems to be a renewed sense for fighting the war against the violence producers and the statistics this year should be a source of encouragement to them in this effort.

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has been criticised for not acknowledging the recent statistics and the police effort in last year’s reduction. In apparent answer to these criticisms, Opposition spokesman on national security, Peter Bunting, wrote an article in
The Gleaner newspaper in which he acknowledged the reduction and went on to give some recommendations of what ought to be done to bring crime to a sustainable level. I might be suffering from an advanced stage of glaucoma, but I did not see in the entire article any reference to the Enhanced Security Measures Act (ESMA) which has been languishing in the Parliament.

I find this curious because these measures would give the security forces enhanced powers to fight crime. There are human rights concerns to be noted, but the force would be empowered to go after criminals in ways just short of the powers they would enjoy under a state of emergency (SOE). And SOEs in crime fighting is a methodology frowned upon by the Opposition. I do not countenance them myself, as I have said repeatedly in this space. I believe the ESMA would be a welcome departure in crime fighting and an important substitute for SOEs. One would think that the Opposition would welcome this. But there seems to be some political footballing taking place. It is time that the Opposition declare its intentions. It is time to end the pussyfooting around this Bill.

Finally, Horace Chang, minister of national security, must be congratulated for the tenacity he has shown in enhancing the ability of the force to fight crime. Strengthening the force is a multipronged problem. It is not just about running down a few criminals; it is about seeing to the welfare of the men and women in uniform; endeavouring to ensure that they have the best equipment and surveillance capability that can assist them in the fight against criminals; and ensuring that there is buy-in from the citizens. The battle will not be won without firm and robust cooperation between citizens and the security forces.

Dr Chang has worked assiduously to improve the living conditions of the police quarters and build new ones. A great deal of money has been spent to enhance the mobility of the force and modernise the intelligence-gathering capacity which is no doubt responsible for the ease with which criminals are being caught nowadays.

He and former Commissioner of Police Major General Antony Anderson seemed to have enjoyed a good working relationship, which appears to have continued with the new commissioner, Dr Kevin Blake. In a ministry in which gratitude to a minister is as scarce as hen’s teeth, honour is due to Dr Chang for at least trying and the successes that have been reaped.

Second is maximising the gains in the macroeconomic strength of the economy to enhance economic growth.

In a speech in late 2024, Prime Minister Andrew Holness outlined the Government’s desire to go for growth in the economy now that the economy is at the strongest it has ever been in recent memory. He identified a number of impediments to growth, one of the chief ones being the deadening weight of bureaucracy that has stifled productivity and rendered impotent any robust growth targets the Government wishes to achieve.

With a general election in the offing, one does not know how determined the Government will be to set out its parameters for economic growth. Will it resist the tendency to be distracted from sane fiscal policies and indulge populist ones to win an election?

The reading of the budget for the next fiscal year will be done by April and it will take great moral strength on the part of the Government not to promise policies that are intended to pander to voters. It should, instead, present the landscape of what its growth initiatives will be, as ultimately it will be judged on the realism of these initiatives.

Again, economic growth is not just the work of Government only. It is a joined-up effort by the entire citizenry, especially those who are at the forefront of the productive enterprises that make an economy strong, including the banks. There is more to be said about the banks in a later piece. Economic growth has eluded us for too long. We are now in the best position to make this happen.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. He hosts a podcast — Mango Tree Diaries — on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.