Concerning how we have historically treated with the management of our national affairs, it is not an exaggeration to say Jamaica has had an obsession with preserving what is akin to states of permanent gestation. This miserable reality has cost us dearly.

Indeed, it is the norm for very consequential projects to take years to move beyond the stage of ground-breaking. Proposed laws which are critical to our national advance often take decades to become statutes. And bureaucratic bungling often retards the execution of critical life-saving actions in government ministries/agencies. Consequently, all Jamaicans have been made poorer and less respected.

“Oh, just get on with it.” That was one of the most often repeated expressions of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. By that gem I think she meant that the “analysis paralysis” should end. Stop the meetings to plan more fruitless meetings! Halt the constant exchange of intellectual bouquets among people who love the sounds of their own voices! End the talk of another study to interrogate a previous study! Discontinue the fetish of position importance; instead, act to benefit the majority!

Costly and wasteful

Jamaica could have been way ahead of where she is today economically, socially, and politically were it not for our preoccupation/fixation with bureaucratic stasis, political lethargy, and the hugely backward and, I think, colonial-type preoccupation with “who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven”. (Matthew 18:1-6) Wasteful!

Here are some woeful examples of how we have squandered our growth and development credits.

There is strong evidence that talk of the need for a national identification system goes back as far as the 70s when Prime Minister Michael Manley had the key to Jamaica House. It took us over four decades to move from the discussion stage in the 1970s to realisation in 2022. Recall that Prime Minister Andrew Holness, while touring the National Identification Systems (NIDS) enrolment centre in January 2022, said, among other things: “I think Jamaica has placed one foot forward into the future in establishing itself as a digital society by moving ahead with the National Identification System. And we will have this fully operational in our 60th year, and I’m hoping that by the end of the year we would have a significant portion, if not the majority, of the population properly identified through the National Identification System. It is an achievement 40 years in the making. But as they say, ‘It’s never too late.’ ” (RJR News, January 4, 2022)

Check this! India has a national identification system. It’s called Aadhaar, a 12-digit unique identification number linked to an individual’s biometric and demographic data. India’s system is managed by its Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). It serves as proof of identity and address, and is widely used for various services and benefits. It took India approximately nine years to implement its national identification system, starting with the launch of the UIDAI in 2009 and the issuance of the first Aadhaar card in 2010. The UIDAI set out to issue 600 million Aadhaar cards within four years. That was achieved by 2014. India’s population is just over 1.4 billion, according to 2023 figures from the World Bank and United States Census Bureau (Jamaica has a population of approximately 2.8 million).

Consider this from Firstpost, a reputable Indian news and media website: “The overall Aadhaar coverage stands at 92.7 per cent, with nearly 100 per cent coverage amongst adults, 92.5 per cent coverage among children between 5-18 years of age, and 25 per cent amongst children below five years, according to a booklet released by the agency.” (
Firstpost, July 23, 2022)

According to The Economic Times of October 17, 2024, “India is set to become the third largest global economy by 2030, driven by rapid growth as the fastest-growing major economy.” For those who are adept at adding the sum of one plus one to get 11, I am not here saying that the reason for the rapid growth of the Indian economy is because of its Aadhaar. The fact that India “knows who is who”, as we say in local parlance, is undeniably a huge economic fillip.

Here at home many merchants of ignorance, some well-credentialed and some in shiny robes, are still trying their best to inveigh against the NIDS. “It is the mark of the beast, 666”; “It is too invasive”; “It is Holness and the Government trying to pree you”; “It is the new world order system.” This is folly!

Blockages to progress

While we allow some to unnecessarily distract, divert, and detain the progress of this country, other economies are running past us. Yet, ironically, we are said to be the fastest people in the world.

Consider this banner headline from The Gleaner of May 19, 2025: ‘20-y-o Harmony Cove dream closer to reality after Senate gives tax relief Bill thumbs up’. The news item said, among other things: “Legislation that paves the way for the long-delayed Harmony Cove tourism project in Trelawny, and other massive developments to get off the ground, has received approval from the Senate.

“The Income Tax Relief (Large-Scale Projects and Pioneer Industries) Act, which will grant tax incentives to investors who are seeking to invest at least US$1 billion in development projects in Jamaica, was passed on Friday, setting the stage for a number of projects to come to fruition.

“A senior government official told The Gleaner that with the passage of the Bill, the aim is to break ground for Harmony Cove in the first week of July.

“Harmony Cove, which has been on the drawing board since at least 2006, is a US$1-billion project.

“It is slated to be situated on 2,300 acres of land in Trelawny, halfway between Montego Bay in St James and Ocho Rios, St Ann, and will be a partnership between the Tavistock Group, Nexus Luxury Collection, and the Government of Jamaica.”

Recently, Senator Ambassador Audrey Marks was appointed minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for efficiency, innovation, and digital transformation. We are told that her assignment after nearly a decade as Jamaica’s ambassador to the United States of America (USA) is to lead a bold mission to modernise government and empower entrepreneurs through digital transformation. Her job is not an easy one. Doubtless she will have to step on some corns. But this needs to be done if this country is to realise her full potential. The fact is we have far too many sacred cows in the public sector. Some are huge antediluvian systems which hold on to the sector like a fully clasped vice-grip.

For those diversion specialists, I am not saying we must trample upon people’s rights.

Ponder this post on X, formerly Twitter, by skilled Jamaican researcher Wayne Chen: “In the 1980s, architect Patrick Stanigar conceptualised a walkway and park from Victoria Pier to Rockfort, similar to Havana’s Malecón, to take advantage of #Kingston, #Jamaica’s scenic shoreline. Two years ago, ‘Port Royal Street Revetment’ completed. Let’s keep this going.” You can do the maths.

Admittedly, some of these projects never got beyond the concept paper stage and/or ground-breaking point because we simply did not have the money to implement them. For decades we were being strangled by high debt. Decades of “run wid it” profligacy, particularly in the 70s and 90s, pushed this country to the brink of near bankruptcy. There was just not enough fiscal space after honouring debt obligations. Remember, our constitution mandates that we have to pay our debt. But aside from crippling debt, Jamaica also wasted billions on numerous poorly thought-out schemes. Some of these are well documented in commissions of inquiry which I have discussed here previously. Some got immensely rich from these schemes too.

There are many examples, too, in which Jamaica has adopted the posture of a slouch, and that drooping posture has also cost us dearly. Here are two conspicuous illustrations. Last Sunday, RJR’s noonday news carried an item which caught my interest. This was the gist: “Director of the Institute of Technological and Educational Research (ITER) at The Mico [my alma mater] University College, Professor Clinton Hutton, has filed a constitutional challenge seeking to overturn several sections of the 19th century Obeah Act.

“The challenge was filed on his behalf by attorney-at-law and Pan-Africanist Bert Samuels. It will be served on the Attorney General on Monday. Professor Hutton is claiming the sections violate several fundamental rights in the Jamaican Constitution. Among the rights cited are the right to freedom of privacy; right to freedom of religion; right to freedom of conscience; right to freedom of expression; and the right to seek, receive, and distribute information.” This news item is a veritable recurring decimal.

What triggered the latest repeat? Recently there was the sentencing of Oshawn Grant in the St James Parish Court. According to a report on Nationwide News Network last Sunday, “Grant was sentenced after police raided his home and discovered signs of what was deemed Obeah rituals. It’s understood that upon entering Grant’s home, authorities observed a mist of smoke and there was incense burning in each corner of his bedroom. A plain white T-shirt with various denominations of money was also observed discovered. The shirt was reportedly surrounded by burning candles in a ritualistic fashion.”

Grant is also alleged to have had various boxes on his dresser labelled “Money Rain”, “Money House”, and “African Powers”. He was reportedly wearing four silver rings, which he expressed fear of removing. The man reportedly told officers that he was “fully guzu”.

Consider this: ‘Justice Minister wants Obeah law to be repealed’. The RJR News item of June 5, 2019 said, among other things: “The House of Representatives on Tuesday decided against increasing the penalties for breaches of the Obeah Act after Justice Minister Delroy Chuck gave a commitment to have a review of the law done, with the possibility of it being repealed.

Chuck said he would be making a Cabinet submission in relation to the possible legalisation of Obeah. He revealed that there had been a Cabinet submission in 1975 in support of repealing the Obeah Act, but it had not been taken up over the next 44 years.

“I have asked the Law Reform Department for us to have another Cabinet submission; I would like to bring for debate, here in this House, the repeal of the Obeah Law,” he said.

Post-political independence we have been talking about repealing the Obeah Act for upwards of 50 years. Chuck’s musings fell dead, I suspect because of lack of support from his Cabinet colleagues. Obeah is a business. Yes, it is many other things too, but, first and foremost, Obeah is a business. And just like any other business, its existence is dependent on demand and supply.

Most egregious

Recently, Jamaica took a very significant step forward. The Senate approved a proposed law that will formally establish the Jamaica Teaching Council, which will regulate the profession and issue licences. Among other things, the Jamaica Teaching Council Bill proposes the introduction of provisions that differentiate between registered teachers, licensed teachers, and authorised instructors. It will also introduce a fit and proper requirement, including criminal background checks to teach. The Bill now heads to the House for debate.

This Bill has been in abeyance for 21 years due to, among other things, barefaced political expediency. This is the most egregious example, I believe, of how we have allowed lethargy, political ineptitude, and costly bureaucratic slouch to retard national growth and development. This Administration is changing that immensely injurious status quo. Thank God!

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com

Marks… tasked with modernising government and empowering entrepreneurs through digital transformation