I subscribe to the view that there are broadly two competing and diametrically opposed cultural, social, and intellectual mindsets or attitudes in any society. There is the ‘progress is possible’ versus the ‘Wi ah sufferah’ position, or the woe is me mindset. These mindsets have existed since time immemorial. I think societies with an oversupply of the ‘Wi ah sufferah’ inclinations tend to be very lethargic/backward concerning innovation, entrepreneurship, and the drive/need for personal and societal transformation of various types.

This is not a new perspective of society. Indeed, there are renowned economic historians, like Professors David S Landes, Joel Mokyr, and most notably Deirdre McCloskey, who in her celebrated book The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce, posit that big societal shifts in mindsets happened simultaneously with political, social, economic, and technological advances to help set off the Industrial Revolution in 1760. These scholars say paradigm shifts in mindsets were just as important as technological and related advances for the ushering in of the Industrial Revolution.

POSITIVE SOCIETAL MINDSETS

Prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution the dominant societal mindset was that the world was cyclical, declining, and stagnant, so say the mentioned scholars. That mindset, these scholars say, was replaced by a perspective that the world could change for the better. “Attitude determines altitude,” that often repeated gem, comes to mind.

Taking stagnation for granted, and/or romanticising it, the Wi ah sufferah mindset is one of the worst things that can happen to any society. Similarly, falling prey to the notion that our best days are behind us is a recipe for underdevelopment.

Believe it, there are some among us who, because their party is not at Jamaica House, go to great lengths to spew a poisonous view that progress is the preserve of past times. We are doomed, they formulaically spout.

In every nook and cranny of Jamaica, we who have the knowledge must positively repudiate the spreading of that inimical mindset by these merchants of backwardness. We who mean Jamaica well must celebrate things which are obviously good and nationally beneficial.

Some among us — again for personal and blind party political motivations — are busy pulling out all the stops to put a premium on their empty criticisms, this in the hope that their opprobrium will somehow delegitimise/minimise material successes. It is not coincidental that these tactics are being spewed, especially as we draw nearer to the holding of our 19th parliamentary election since Universal Adult Suffrage in 1944.

We must never fall into the snares of charlatans who stamp everything as bad, negative, and/or worthless simply because they did not implement it. ‘Bad mind’ is a great disease.

Those who are preoccupied with the throwing of fire coal on our material and national achievements, especially those that are of obvious and utilitarian value, need to know that they cannot fool the majority who are the primary beneficiaries. We are not in the 60s, 70s, 80s, or 90s, when a privileged group controlled especially media communication, and in so doing controlled what people thought and how often. Furthermore, there is a big positive shift or culture of improvement mindset which is quickly spreading across Jamaica which they cannot stop.

CONSCIOUS CHANGE + PROGRESS

The ‘Wi ah sufferah,’ mindset is socially, economically, and politically debilitating. It is fading fast in Jamaica. I am happy for its decline. Folks are no longer content to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. We want a country in which, for example, crime is kept at very manageable levels. And, among other things, we want an economy which works for us.

I said here previously and often that if the handsome macroeconomic numbers are not being positively felt in the pockets and seen on the dinner tables of the majority then we might as well shut up shop and call it a day. I stand by that position. Our Government has not just a responsibility, but a duty to ensure that all that is humanly possible is done to make the lives of citizens materially better. That has been my consistent view here and elsewhere.

This brings me to the recent implementation of a rural school bus service in the constituencies of Portland Western and Portland Eastern by Members of Parliament Daryl Vaz and Ann-Marie Vaz: It is a good thing; no, it is a wonderful thing.

Daryl Vaz, the transport minister, says the roll-out of a rural school bus service islandwide is slated for later this year. This is a great advance for Jamaica.

The Gleaner of May 23, 2025 noted that, “Speaking at a press briefing at the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) building in New Kingston, Vaz announced the procurement of 110 retrofitted buses from the United States, which he said constitute the rural bus system.

“One hundred buses will be put on rural routes, expanding services in Clarendon; Morant Bay, St Thomas; and Linstead, St Catherine, while the rest will stand as reserves in the event of breakdown or servicing of the others. He explained that it is expected to serve 258 schools and will run in the mornings and evenings.

“The buses will complement [others] already acquired and running. It is expected that another seven vehicles will be added to the Portland fleet.

“He admitted that importing used buses wasn’t the first choice but was necessary to keep fares affordable for students and their families amid rising transportation costs. The buses were previously used for student transport in the US and were maintained under strict safety protocols monitored by US municipalities and federal authorities.”

In early April, I noted here that: “This project is very important to me personally. When I attended primary and high school in rural Jamaica, like thousands of Jamaicans, I remember the days when ‘ductahs forcibly pushed especially boys off of bus steps. I remember when I had to sit on the ‘firewall’ of the engine block of the then popular Toyota Hiace minibuses in order to get to school. I remember the cruel refrain, ‘No schoolers!’ by ‘ductahs.”

How will this rural bus service for schoolchildren benefit Jamaica?

I had anticipated in the mentioned April column that some who have allowed party politics to turn them in veritable political fossils would have asked this question and would have also had great difficulty answering it honestly. I posited this factual answer: “So, when a parent knows that his/her children will not be abused while going to and from school, that individual is likely to be much more productive at the workplace.

“When the cost of transporting children to and from school is not a moving target, it enables parents to plan better.

“When a parent knows that his/her child is not subjected to lewd lyrics on a bus, that reality supports peace of mind.

“These advances enhance social and mental health and, by extension, national growth and development.”

Some among us just don’t get it.

Consider this: “Opposition spokesman on transport Mikael Phillips has criticised the Government’s plan to implement a rural bus service. He was addressing constituents at a campaign rally in St Ann South Western on Sunday.” (Nationwide News Network, May 20, 2025)

At this political meeting, Phillips said among other things: “Di bus dem a 13 year old with over 150,000 miles, not kilometres. Him [Daryl Vaz] order 100, and him don’t even know if the two that him carry go gone ah Portland can even work.”

What/Where is Phillips’s new and/or better plan? He has not told the country.

We must assume, therefore, that he is selling the view, certainly in this instance, that “zero loaf is better than half ah loaf”. This is blatant tomfoolery.

Phillips needs to understand that the kind of mindset which he promoted at the mentioned political rally is extremely antithetical and inimical to Jamaica’s growth and development. If Phillips is on top of his spokesperson assignment he must also know that there are countries which started their school bus service, not only for rural but also urban children by using the model which Vaz is pursing.

Phillips’s fulminations about a rural bus service for children, children of especially poor Jamaicans, is another instance why/in which we need to “tek sleep and mark death”.

But something else about the nature of Mikael Phillips’ criticisms caught my attention. Recall the ‘house attacks’ on Prime Minister Andrew Holness by Dr Peter Phillips, then leader of the Opposition and People’s National Party (PNP) president. The bad-tempered attacks were between 2018 and 2020.

“Chip nuh fly fur from di block,” rural folks say.

We simply cannot sit and twiddle our thumbs for another 60 years while children in rural communities throughout Jamaica fetch hell every day while going to and from school.

“The perfect is the enemy of the good” is a saying that some attribute to French philosopher Voltaire. It means that the pursuit of absolute perfection can hinder the implementation of good enough solutions. It highlights the importance of settling for practical improvements instead of getting bogged down in the unattainable.

Someone said, “Nothing changes if nothing changes.” I agree. Let’s get on with it!

Decent public transportation is a social institution.

“Public transportation is a matter of national security because it’s a critical component of a nation’s infrastructure and plays a role in economic stability, military mobility, and overall citizen safety. Secure and reliable public transportation systems are essential for national defence, economic recovery, and the well-being of the population,” indicates the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

Recall the disaster that was public transportation in the Kingston Metropolitan Transport Region (KMTR) for decades. Prime Minister P J Patterson deserves generous credit because it was while he was at Jamaica House that a seismic shift was made in public transportation in the KMTR in the late 1990s. This with the creation of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company Limited (JUTC).

Dr Peter Phillips actually did the heavy lifting which has resulted in a relatively decent public transportation system for the KMTR. Phillips was transport and works minister from 1998 to 2001. All administrations have sensibly improved on the system, subsequently.

Rural folks deserve no less, Mikael Phillips.

DRILLS AND INJUSTICE

There has been much discussion in the public domain recently as regards a neurosurgical drill procured by the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) for Bustamante Hospital for Children. Certain elements of this matter cannot be discussed here.

Consider this though: “It is also important to note that no advance payment was made by SERHA and, to date, Medical Technologies Limited has not been paid for the equipment, despite it being delivered almost seven months ago and being used by surgeons at Bustamante Hospital for Children.” (Jamaica Observer, May 21, 2025)

I have not heard a refutation from SERHA. The sanitising light of public security is warranted.

By any objective calculation, a seven-month wait for payment is highly unacceptable.

Some years ago, in this space, I did several articles about governments not honouring judgments debts in a timely manner. Thanks to the diligence of Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck that backlog has been reduced significantly.

Something is woefully wrong, though, when people and entities who do transactions with the Government are made to wait many months, and even several years, before pension, gratuity, and payment for goods and services are paid. This is injustice. It needs to end!

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

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This video grab shows a Titchfield High School student alighting the first school bus provided by the State in Portland recently. Photo: Everard Owen

VAZ… committed to strengthening the rural school bus programme to ensure that students have access to safe, dependable transportation Photo: JIS

PHILLIPS… criticised the purchase of used school buses (Kasey Williams)