Having now concluded the protocols of establishing a new Government with a Cabinet and Parliament, the country can now move on with diligence and a renewed sense of determination to build the future that it truly wants.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness has set the right tone in each of the speeches he had to deliver by reminding those who have been elected and appointed to serve in various capacities of the need to set aside arrogance in the execution of their tasks. He frequently asserted the sacred trust that has been given to them and the place of prominence that should be given to the people’s business in their work.

My position is: By their fruits you shall know them. I am not interested in the rhetoric that befits particular situations. Words can be cheap if not bounded by integrity and one’s willingness to live up to illustrious statements. So, although I expect good things to flow from this Administration that will benefit the Jamaican people, my posture at the moment is to hold my optimism in check while watching and critiquing what is done and not so much what is said.

Ministerial portfolios continue relatively unchanged. All of those who have been there before, with the exception of Marlene Malahoo Forte, have been given the nod to continue. They must understand that, as the prime minister said, this is not a call to sit on their laurels. There are important things to be done in the ministries they served in the past and have been given the privilege to continue serving. There are systems and processes to be revamped and rejuvenated. I think especially of the delivery of health care and justice to the ordinary Jamaican. There are still too many indignities that people have to face in getting basic delivery of services. All ministers must see it as a point of duty to remove the unnecessary irritations that ordinary Jamaicans have to endure. They know what these are in their respective ministries. Seek to remove them as a start.

It is good to see ministerial portfolios restored to Robert “Bobby” Montague and Dr Andrew Wheatley. Given the work that they did in getting the party re-elected for a third term, especially Montague as chairman, it was hard not to see him returned as a full minister. Apart from this, he has great expertise and people skills that will serve him well in his new task. Dr Wheatley has spoken publicly of his road to Damascus experience after he was booted from the ministerial portfolio amidst the Petrojam debacle. He is an able and capable person. His scientific training will be beneficial in the new portfolio he has been assigned.

I would urge all ministers to be very careful in choosing the people and consultants they want to work with. Friends and confidantes do not necessarily share your best interests or those of Jamaica. Those in whom you invest confidence must be of the highest calibre and not left to go off on a frolic of their own. Their work must be kept under strict scrutiny, or at the end of the day you may be left with rotten eggs on your faces.

Much concern has been expressed in the public sphere regarding the non-appointment of Malahoo Forte to the Cabinet. I am heartened that the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs has been disbanded and its remnants subsumed under the Ministry of Justice. One did not get the impression that the ministry had any real authority, and it was given a portfolio that was destined to fail. Thus, it never really gained any traction under then Minister Malahoo Forte. The idea of creating a separate ministry to guide constitutional reform was a laudable one, but it never got off the ground. It failed dismally to attract the attention of the Jamaican people.

Its tepid attempts at constitutional reform was a failure that could not have been rewarded by continuance. One is not quite sure what will be the fate of constitutional reform under Minister Delroy Chuck’s jurisdiction at the justice ministry. Let us hope it has not been sent there to die a natural death. As this column has said repeatedly: Without radical constitutional reform this country will never be the great country it is capable of becoming. Its work should not be under the direct supervision of a minister of Government. To do so is to put the fox in charge of the hen house. Politicians will always seek what is convenient to them and what is expedient for their own political future. This is part of the reason that we have the present constitution which relegates the people to the back burner and places the political directorate in the centre of national decision-making. This must not be allowed to go on.

One hopes also that the legal talents and capabilities of Malahoo Forte can be employed by the Government. She has great legal skills which any wise Government would want to employ to serve the people. We will see what the prime minister has in store for her.

Keith Duncan’s addition to the Senate on the Government’s side is a welcome development. Although his political bona fides has been chiselled out of the bosom of the People’s National Party (PNP), his father — the now-deceased Dr DK Duncan — being the PNP luminary he was, Duncan’s public life has been characterised latterly by a bipartisanship that is quite admirable. He has served both sides of the political divide well, lending his corporate and financial skills to the nation. He will replace the late Senator Don Wehby in maintaining the corporate link to his senatorial duties. His philanthropic work has been well attested to. I believe he will bring years of experience in the financial sector to bear on the urgency now being attached to economic growth.

A word must be said about the cost of Government. In the scheme of things, the size of the Government and the cost to maintain it pale in significance to the larger question of the kind of performance that we will expect of those who lead and the aspiration of the nation for vibrant and robust economic growth. Everything will hinge on performance and the timely and well-calibrated delivery of services. The monumental and even revolutionary overhaul of public sector wages, especially that of our politicians, was a step in the right direction. My only criticism is that performance criteria were not worked out and prioritised before this big increase was given, especially to parliamentarians. Many do not attend Parliament as they should, and some do not honour the service they are required to give on committees by even attending to deliberate on the people’s business. So we will be watching to see how much the rhetoric on the campaign platforms to serve the people match their performance in the people’s Parliament.

This column, as it has done in the past, pays tribute to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Paula Llewellyn on her retirement from the post she has served with dignity over the years. She has been the consummate public servant — affable, with a ready smile; generous in her interpretation of the law so that the ordinary person can understand it; and driven by a ferocity of will and tenacity of purpose that is not often seen in public servants.

She has had a storied career as DPP and has served her country well. As she retires, we wish her well with the strong feeling that we have not heard or seen the last of her as far as lending her voice on matters of justice is concerned. Walk good to a well-deserved retirement.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; The 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.

Paula Llewellyn

Members of both Houses of the legislature stand as the Marshal takes the Mace to the table during the official opening of the new Parliament recently.(Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Robert Montague (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Dr Andrew Wheatley (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Keith Duncan (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Marlene Malahoo Forte

Raulston Nembhard