The 19th parliamentary election is now over and I know that some of us are breathing a sigh of relief. It has been a very interesting election: bruising for some, hopeful for others, but certainly definite in terms of who will govern the affairs of Jamaica for the next five years.

So the people have decided to give the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) led by Dr Andrew Holness a third term. This is historic for the JLP as it was for the People’s National Party (PNP) when former Prime Minister Percival James Patterson accomplished this feat. Things have changed significantly in Jamaica since Patterson’s time. It is the first time in my memory that a governing party has been able to run on a platform of solid, incontrovertible accomplishments, such as the dramatic reduction in crime, especially murders, and a stable, well-functioning economy.

The fact that people were able to acknowledge these accomplishments indicates to me that they voted wisely for continuity. As I had written in this column and affirmed on my
YouTube channel,
Mango Tree Dialogues, this was not a time for untested leadership, especially of the kind that was being offered by the PNP. It seemed not to have been able to get its act together to present a cohesive set of propositions that could convince people that it should be employed to run the Government. I believe a lot of people were appalled and repulsed by the personal vilification of the prime minister and his family. As a human being this profoundly affected the prime minister, as it would anybody who is not chipped out of stone.

Thus, the prime minister had to spend some time during his acceptance speech defending his honour. He was obviously hurt by the savaging of his character and the unfairness of the criticisms he received. I believe this was largely responsible for him not acknowledging the gracious concession speech given by the Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding when his leadership was rejected by the people. In this respect only I believe it is fair to say that while Golding was gracious in defeat, Dr Holness did not show the requisite magnanimity in victory. His heart will take some time to heal, but he is now on his way to being sworn in as prime minister for a third term at the helm of Government and he must do everything in his power to heal divisions, personal situations notwithstanding. But I get the memo.

In regard to weightier matters, it is clear, as I said, that there will be no honeymoon period for this incoming Administration. The transactional appetite of the Jamaican electorate has been well whetted and they will be looking for results in the things that bother them most. A marital metaphor might be applicable here. They have looked at their relationship with the Dr Holness Administration and have decided that even though the relationship is not as they would want it, they are prepared to continue with it, but it needs rejuvenation. The extent to which this is done will determine the level of support they are willing to give the new Administration now and in the future.

One of the most important aspects of this rejuvenation project is to demonstrate to the Jamaican people that the Administration is very serious about productivity and economic growth. It is not enough to laud the success of our macroeconomic indices when economic growth continues to be very elusive and anaemic. These must translate into meaningful projects that will uplift the life of the ordinary Jamaican. Macroeconomic strength must become more obvious to people and not remain hidden behind cliches and economic superlatives. The new Administration has been given the mandate to go big for growth. But it will take a great deal of boldness and ferocity of will on the part of the Administration to confront the obstacles and bottlenecks that have prevented us from achieving higher economic growth targets.

For example, I believe that one of the biggest elephants in the garden patch is the moribund civil service that screams out for reform. This column has had occasion to criticise what it sees as lethargy in the civil service; negative attitudes towards productivity; absence of a vibrant work ethic; and lack of personal responsibility for performance on the job. The ferocity of will of which I speak must be seen in how the Government is prepared to address the bureaucratic strangulation of progress in the country.

Here, I believe, the Government will have a capable and knowledgeable person in Audrey Marks, former Jamaican ambassador to the USA, who is going into Parliament for the first time and is the Member of Parliament-elect for Manchester North Eastern. As an accomplished businesswoman and diplomat, she is well endowed to bring critical skills to bear on the important matter of bureaucratic reform. Whether she or the prime minister and his Cabinet will have the ferocity of will to do it is left to be seen, but their tenure will be defined by the extent to which bureaucratic strangulation of the productive process in the country is restrained, cauterised, or mitigated.

The other aspect is constitutional reform. There are those who argue that constitutional reform “can’t nyam” without seeing how much more food they would be able to eat if our political leaders could be held more accountable and if power could devolve to where it really belongs — in the people’s hands.

This may not be a top item on the agenda of a new Administration, and it has been the victim of many failed promises going all the way back to the heady days of former Prime Minister Michael Manley, but Jamaica will never progress as we would want her to until we have radical constitutional reform. One hopes that this time around the integrity of the Jamaican people will be taken fully on board and the cosmetic exercise of past attempts will remain there and new and more meaningful initiatives adopted.

We stand on the cusp of significant things happening for Jamaica if, as the prime minister averred in his victory speech, we will eschew arrogance and work for the country we profess to love.

We will now have a vibrant Opposition in Parliament. This is a good thing for our democracy. It would help if the new Administration would resume former Prime Minister Bruce Golding’s initiative of allowing the Opposition members to chair critical committees in the House, such as the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Administrations and Appropriations Committee (PAAC). I predict a very noisy Parliament, but hope that in the din of battle our leaders will understand what servant leadership is all about and that they were not elected to pursue their own personal agendas or those of their party, but the best interests of the Jamaican people who hired them. These interests are paramount, if not sacrosanct. We will watch and see.

This column wishes the new Administration well in the execution of the nation’s affairs.

Raulston Nembhard

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 Dialogues — on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.