Who remembers the popular slogan ‘Two is better than too many’, promoted by the National Family Planning Board in Jamaica?

Way back then, 1970s, as part of its strategy to promote strong families for a healthy nation, that public body sought to encourage the Jamaican populace to have fewer children as not many of them had the wherewithal, financially and otherwise, to take care of too many children.

That was then. Now, Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, in his recent sectoral debate presentation, painted a totally different picture. To put it bluntly (and not constrained by the Parliament’s Standing Orders), “Jamaicans need fi ave more pickney!” And to make that happen, the goodly minister has come up with a number of interesting proposals, including child tax credits, tiered child allowances, as well as a responsible parenting incentive grant that will provide support during the child’s first three years. Indeed, if “Charlie Mattress” were alive, he would be smiling, and perhaps should be given a national award for fertility and paternity.

For those who may not know, according to an online source, “Charlie Mattress (born Egbert Alphanso Jackson) is a legendary figure in Jamaican folklore known for his business success and his massive family legacy. He passed away in May 1985, but remains famous across the island for being the father of at least 48 to 52 children.” Against this background, perhaps Minister Tufton should also introduce the Charlie Mattress Award as an additional incentive for Jamaican men to produce more children. Seriously!

It is to be noted that Dr Tufton’s foray into this issue has come about as a result of the revelation that Jamaica’s birth rate has crashed to 1.3 children per woman, well below the 2.1 replacement level that is necessary to maintain the population. As such, the minister has warned that this sharp decline could bring about serious economic and social consequences, including a shrinking workforce, an ageing population, rising dependency levels, and mounting pressure on social support systems.

This frightening scenario becomes even more alarming with the recent revelation from a study conducted by sociologist and demographer Dr Andrew Bourne which indicates that, “A staggering 80 per cent of young Jamaicans have no intentions of becoming parents.” Frankly, this leaves the country between a rock and hard place, which poses some serious challenges to the Government of the day as to how to overcome this population deficit.

Outside of the socio-economic factors, such as affordability and having the necessary State-assisted programmes to enhance responsible and caring parenting, there is also the other worrying factor (which is oftentimes a best kept secret) of infertility among our male population, primarily because of a low sperm count. It is an established fact that an increasing number of young Jamaican men smoke ganja (cannabis sativa), which, according to a number of studies, can impact their ability, in a number of ways, to father children.

There is also the excessive alcohol consumption that has become a popular feature among our young men, including mixing rum with a number of energy drinks, presumably to enhance sexual prowess. How ironic! There was a viral rumour that the Government was planning to ban the rum and Boom “special” drink. But this has been denied by parliamentary secretary Senator Marlon Morgan.

This population crisis must be tackled head-on by the Dr Andrew Holness Administration as it is putting to the test the view that Jamaica is a much better place to live, work, and raise a family these days. Really? According to Dr Bourne in an interview, “The young persons are saying the economy is structured to prevent them from having children.” This is a most startling revelation!

Not too long ago, the prime minister, during a speech to a Jamaica Labour Party annual conference at the National Arena, made a laudable announcement having to do with the establishment of a ministry devoted to family matters. Whatever happened to this grandiose objective, Prime Minister? Perhaps there is some light at the end of the tunnel with Minister Tufton now indicating that over the next two years his ministry will ramp up efforts to encourage higher birth rates through a multi-sectoral National Taskforce on Fertility and Responsible Parenting. According to him, “This initiative will lead the conversation, with a focus on financial support for families; responsible parenting; expanded maternity, paternity, and shared parental leave; as well as affordable childcare and early childhood support.” In all of this, the minister should be advised not to ignore the “jacket” syndrome — “Your daddy ain’t you daddy but you daddy don’t know.”

Sounds all well and good, but this writer is reminded of the pointed words of former United States Ambassador to Jamaica Gary Cooper who bemoaned the fact that our government officials are very good at making announcements but do not follow through with measurable and timely results.

And bearing in mind the overwhelming influence of the dancehall culture on how many Jamaicans think and behave, not to mention the poisoning of their minds because of their preoccupation with social media platforms, a fledgling nation such as ours that is still plagued with too much political tribalism and a tacit acceptance of corruption, intolerance, and indiscipline, the political directorate needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with a revised Vision 2030, or an extended one for good measure.

The bottom line is there has been a generational shift in how our young people view parenting, a factor that must be addressed with a great deal of urgency in order to prevent this population crisis from further underdeveloping Jamaica, land we love. Nuff said!

Lloyd B Smith has ben involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 50 years. He has also served as a People’s National Party Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.

A significant number of young people do not intend to have children.

Dr Christopher Tufton