Pride goeth before a fall. So says the “Good Book”. Prime minister and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Leader Dr Andrew Michael Holness needs to heed those words, even as he seems intent on squandering his enviable political capital that has helped him to lead his party to an unprecedented third term. But notwithstanding that decisive victory, he should bear in mind that it was a mere 11,307 votes that allowed the JLP to be first past the post.

Indeed, the records show that with its win of 35 seats, the JLP garnered 412,705 votes (50.54 per cent) as against the People’s National Party’s (PNP) 401,398 (49.16 per cent). This should be a wake-up call and not just seen as a done deal as, in essence, only a paltry 39.96 per cent of voters turned out on September 3, 2025. This means that most Jamaicans continue to say “A pox on both your houses” — PNP and JLP.

Andrew Holness (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Tuesday’s Cross Roads protest should, therefore, not be taken for granted and dismissed as simply a rabble-rousing event. From all indications, this was a genuine attempt by concerned citizens, for the most part — except for the appearance of Opposition Leader Mark Golding and a number of his Members of Parliament, whose presence gave detractors enough fuel to fan the flame of it being dismissed as a PNP affair. Given the very divisive nature of our politics, civil society groups should be wary of high-profile politicians and operatives hogging the show.

That aside, for the most part, this appeared to be a genuine civil protest bereft of any narrow partisan pursuit. So the Dr Andrew Holness Administration should pay attention to the issues raised by the protestors, which reflect the concerns of thousands of Jamaicans across all socio-economic groupings.

In my opinion, this is but the tip of the iceberg as, increasingly, there has been a widening trust deficit between the Government and the people. This has come against the backdrop of the glaring inconsistencies emanating from the Administration’s utterances with respect to a number of governance issues, such as the third-country nationals (TCN) programme, the unpublished Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC) report, the Stocks & Securities Limited (SSL) fraud matter, the unspent hurricane relief funds, and the Dr Andrew Wheatley Integrity Commission kerfuffle, among other vexing issues. In any thriving democracy, a citizen’s right to know is paramount, and for quite some time now this Government has remained tight-lipped on a number of pressing issues, preferring to use a drip method to disseminate information, which leaves more questions than answers.

In all of this, there is a growing perception that Prime Minister Holness has become increasingly dismissive of the people’s concerns, using such words as “ridiculous”, which is rather condescending and smacks of arrogance. What is becoming even more frightening, though, is the objection to any criticism being levelled against Dr Holness and his Administration.

It must be stressed that for any democracy to remain vibrant and healthy, there must not only be advice and consent, but also dissent. There is a growing cloud of animosity gathering on the horizon of the body politic which seeks to engulf and drown out any dissenting voice. Civil society groups, the media, the churches, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica among other entities are being tarred and feathered because it raises issues of concern surrounding matters of State.

On the other hand, supporters of the JLP, especially those on various social media platforms, have been very vicious and demeaning in their comments against anyone who dares to criticise Dr Holness and/or his Government. And what is even more worrying is that Dr Holness himself has been giving the impression that he too believes he should not be criticised. This makes him appear to be thin-skinned and petty. The prime minister needs to shatter this negative image of himself and display to all Jamaica that he does not see himself as being above criticsm.

Again, his seeming anger and intolerance of criticism spells arrogance. Surely, he should be man enough to withstand the slings and arrows which will always come his way once he holds such an awesome position in the society. To be intolerant and dismissive, especially of the media and civil society groups, does not augur well for our democratic way of life, and some may even want to suggest that such an approach smacks of leaning towards dictatorship.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding among protesters in Cross Roads recently. (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

All well-thinking Jamaicans want to believe that Dr Holness is an honourable man and he respects meaningful dissent as par for the course in any thriving democracy. In the wake of the Hurricane Melissa devastation, he and his Government have been undergoing some stressful times, but this should not weaken his resolve and cause him to become overly defensive, if not on the offensive. His Cabinet colleagues and other high-level functionaries should also exercise some amount of magnanimity.

After all is said and done, there is much anger and apprehension in the wider society at this time. Bad roads, lack of water, subhuman conditions in hospitals, pensioners left in pecuniary and desperate situations, a crumbling education infrastructure to name a few bugbears, not to mention the crass indiscipline and crude behaviour in just about every aspect of national life, including what goes on in the House of Parliament, all point to a dysfunctional society which needs to be guided by transformational and compassionate leadership driven by the use of emotional intelligence. In this vein, the audacity of ignorance must be expunged and replaced with the audacity of hope and deliverance.

Lloyd B Smith has been 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.