Building back Jamaica better will only matter to ordinary Jamaicans if rhetoric and action align. In 2026, especially, the rubber must truly hit the road in a far more concentrated and comprehensive way. Results with real, sustained impact on lives and livelihoods must be the overriding national goal of Jamaica’s rebuilding. This demands strong leadership that plans and acts in decades, not just election cycles.

History has taught that the countries that have risen from the depths of economic, social, and political despair and sustained their progress did so by casting off the “woe is me” or “woe is we” millstone around their necks and from their minds.

Regular readers of my column know of my great admiration for Margaret Thatcher, the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom; Golda Meir, the first and to date only female prime minister of Israel; Franklin D Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the United States of America; Lee Kuan Yew, first prime minister of Singapore; Thomas Sankara, the assassinated president of Burkina Faso; Nelson Mandela, first black president of South Africa; and Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president. All these leaders have had to contend with unprecedented problems. Some were discussed here previously. What is unique is that all these leaders have been transformational, as objective analyses show. They made errors. But to err is human.

Here at home I expect that errors will be made as Jamaica ramps up rebuilding activities in 2026. We should already have gathered relevant data on the mistakes made by other countries facing similar challenges so as to greatly reduce preventable and costly errors. Infallibility is not possible in mortal life, so I accept that no matter the level of meticulousness, there will be slip-ups.

The avoidance of preventable catastrophes is possible, however, and should be a primary yardstick when the rebuilding process gets back into high gear beginning on the first official workday of 2026.

The opportunities provided by the passage of Hurricane Melissa must not be squandered. If we waste these opportunities it will mean decades of negative political, social, and economic stagnation.

THINK GENERATIONAL IMPACT

The leaders mentioned demonstrated a very special quality: They all spearheaded the planting of trees whose shade they knew they would not likely live to enjoy.

Our leaders need to embrace this admirable quality to a much greater extent, especially as we ramp up activities to rebuild Jamaica stronger in 2026. Again, these men and women were not perfect. Don’t ever forget that humans are mortal.

Anyway, let me illustrate with three examples how the mentioned leaders planted trees whose shade they knew they would likely not live to enjoy.

In 1965, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia. This meant that Singapore was forced to build and row her own boat immediately. Singapore faced huge challenges: No natural resources; tiny land — just about the size of our parish of St Thomas; massive overcrowding; and reliance on Malaysia for water.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew became tearful on national television while announcing the separation from Malaysia. I suspect he did so because he saw the enormity of the challenges Singapore faced alone. It is very human to cry.

Understand this, Singapore lacks the natural resources that Jamaica possesses. In the early 1960s Singapore was derided as a malaria-infested island plagued by disease. Severe racial tensions led to major riots, especially in 1964 and 1969, while the young nation also grappled with widespread corruption and associated issues.

How did Singapore rise from the ashes? Answer: With the visionary leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, and a team of like-minded patriots. They discarded the burdens of ‘woe is me’ and efficiently employed the resource with which they were blessed — the people.

Lee, as he is affectionately called by Singaporeans, focused on education, particularly science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), while English was recognised as the lingua franca. In 1960 Singapore’s adult literacy rate was 52.6 per cent. Today the Programme for International Student Assessment, a worldwide study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), ranks Singapore as a top performer in reading, mathematics, science, and also creative thinking.

Lee died in 2015.

In 2024 Singapore’s nominal gross domestic product (GDP) per capita was estimated to be US$89,369.71. The GDP per capita, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP), was estimated to be US$104,127, according to World Economics.

Singapore today is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, according to international benchmarks. Its infrastructure — social, physical, and otherwise — is first-rate.

And Singapore has one of the strongest passports in the world. Singaporeans have access to 195 destinations visa-free or with visa on arrival, making it the most powerful passport globally, according to rankings such as the Henley Passport Index. Travellers with a Singaporean passport enjoy unparalleled freedom across continents, including visa-free travel to the European Union, the USA, and numerous Asian countries.

Singaporeans have risen from paupers to princes. In a famous anecdote from 1965, Lee told his team that what they were required to do would not necessarily benefit him [or his generation], but more so generations to come. They, nonetheless, gladly planted good trees.

CHINA REFORMS

Forty-seven years ago China adopted massive economic reforms under the able leadership of Deng Xiaoping and his reformists. There was a paradigm shift from a centrally planned, socialist economy towards a more market-oriented system. But important guard rails were also incorporated to ensure that the so-called invisible hand of the market did not wave in only one direction.

Interestingly, in his seminal book The Problem of China, published in 1922, the renowned British philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell wrote: “The Chinese nation is the most patient in the world; it thinks of centuries as other nations think of decades.” He was spot on. I highly recommend this book for those who want a deeper understanding of past, present, and possible future geopolitical events/relations involving especially the USA and China.

I would be remiss not to specify that integral to China’s meteoric social and economic rise was a massive improvement in their national standards of education.

As a consequence of Deng Xiaoping’s reforms, foreign investment and trade with China mushroomed. Meaningful economic growth followed, living standards rose dramatically, millions were lifted from abject poverty, and today China stands as a global power.

Consider this from a 2022 World Bank press release, titled ‘Lifting 800 million people out of poverty — new report looks at lessons from China’s experience’: “Over the past 40 years, the number of people in China with incomes below US$1.90 per day (the International Poverty Line as defined by the World Bank to track global extreme poverty) has fallen by close to 800 million.”

USA CHANGES THE TIDE

For me, the four most consequential presidents of the United States in the last 100 years are Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon B Johnson, Bill Clinton, and Richard Nixon. I know a lot of eyebrows will be raised because, among other things, Nixon resigned in disgrace. I can well understand the raised eyebrows. I will discuss my choice of Nixon in a coming piece — this against the background of certain global events that are unfolding and which will have huge consequences for us in the Caribbean.

President Franklin D Roosevelt is consistently ranked by historians as one of the greatest US presidents, primarily for his leadership during two of the 20th century’s greatest crises — the Great Depression and World War II. Several noted historians agree that if the United States had not entered World War II, the world would very likely be a different place today. The war, they say, would have been much longer and bloodier, and millions more would have perished. Today’s political map of Europe would have been vastly different. Many historians agree that it was when America entered the war that the tide turned.

Roosevelt provided essential resources, manpower, and strategic pressure, forcing Germany to fight a two-front war and preventing the collapse of Britain and the Soviet Union. Many historians say that without America’s intervention, the Axis powers would likely have achieved their goals in Europe and Asia.

Roosevelt’s New Deal, economic reforms, social safety net initiatives, and fireside chats made people in general feel and think hope during one of the most ruinous periods in American history. The New Deal was a series of public works projects and financial reforms/regulations enacted by Roosevelt between 1933 and 1938. Those proactive programmes helped to give democracy and capitalism a reprieve, some historians say. I agree.

PLANT GOOD TREES

We must use the opportunity before us to rebuild not for just durability but also agility. To achieve this objective some, in especially in high and low elected and selected political office, will have to dispose of a long-standing mindset which demands that “I must be first in the kingdom”, and “I must sit at the right hand of the creator.” This severely and crippling human hindrance is not unique to Jamaicans.

Alice Roosevelt Longworth, the very witty daughter of US President Theodore Roosevelt, for example, said her father had a tendency for wanting to hog the spotlight. “He wants to be the baby at the baptism, bride at the wedding, and the corpse at the funeral,” she famously said.

In recent years we have seen the metastasising of this very negative tendency among some of our political and civic leaders. Indeed, they suffer with an overwhelming need to be the centre of attention in every situation and at all major events, just like Theodore Roosevelt was characterised. Some of our leaders need to understand that certain ideologies and tendencies which reigned during the 1970s and 80s are now antiquated. I have discussed the supremely negative social, economic, and political consequences of some those hindrances here previously. In summary, they made especially ordinary Jamaicans, weaker, poorer, and less respected.

Some of our leaders today need to understand that the outdated ideological play book of the 70s and 80s, in particular, are intellectually exhausted; morally bankrupt; and socially, economically, and politically toxic. They are not suited to national planting of trees which is a crucial ingredient in the rebuilding of Jamaica stronger.

And, of course, there are those who devote their days to live streaming lies about fires and monetising the smoke. They are no good for Jamaica’s rebuilding process either. Know this, some are paid. Who accepts 30 pieces of silver or less to spread lies? Some are captioned here. A recent study, with sources pointing to a
Nature-related publication, found individuals with high psychopathic traits and lower cognitive ability are the most active online political players. They are driven by emotional compulsion and a lack of restraint rather than deep deliberation.

APPLY DISCERNMENT

What is the endgame of these types? They want to get you hooked on noise.

Their cacophony is aimed at reducing Jamaica to ashes. The discerning long ago deciphered their unpatriotic and sordid schemes. Those who tell lies for a living do not rest, and neither should individuals who put a premium on truth.

If we choose, we can establish workable defences against purveyors of lies: Pay attention to where your news is coming from. Put greater trust in verified sources. And if you get information from social media, check the original source and please do not like and share lies. Within news articles, examine the sources and how they are included. Read beyond the headline. Remember, let’s plant good trees in 2026. And please avoid fixating on who will sit in the shade.

Happy New Year!

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

Forty-seven years ago China adopted massive economic reforms under the able leadership of Deng Xiaoping and his reformists.

Margaret Thatcher.

Franklin D Roosevelt