Said Prime Minister Andrew Holness: “I have passed the stage of trying to win political popularity. It doesn’t matter to me anymore. I have to think about legacy. What will Jamaica be? Will it be the same as when I came and saw it? I can’t let Jamaica be the same as when I came and saw it.”

He was obviously filled with emotion as he posed these rhetorical questions. His voice quavered. Tears, it seems, built up. He paused before completing the last sentence.

It should have been always that way — that Holness feels unconstrained to do what is right and best for Jamaica. That is his job and obligation.

But now that the prime minister feels unfettered by narrow political ambition, and not caring whether he wins another election, we rejoice with him at his sense of liberation. It is not often that politicians arrive at this place.

“If Holness is ready for the large, transformational things, this newspaper stands with him once he acts judiciously, with fairness, respectful of natural justice, and within the rule of law, and his causes are demonstrably in the best interest of Jamaica.” (The Gleaner, October 18, 2022)

It is not often these days that our prime minister gains such enthusiastic encomiums from the oldest continuously published newspaper in the western hemisphere. The Gleaner‘s eager response indicates his recent speech has indeed touched a positive national chord.

Holness is Jamaica’s most popular leader since polling began. Michael Manley and Portia Simpson Miller scored well for short periods, but while they remained popular, their detractors nearly matched their admirers. Despite his massive 1990s election wins, P J Patterson’s personal ratings, while decent, were never stratospheric. But since 2017 Holness’s positives have outstripped his negatives to an unprecedented degree.

Like most post-COVID-19 leaders globally, his ratings have dipped. But the latest polls still put him at 38 per cent positive to 27 per cent negative, or 58 per cent positive out of 100. This likely puts him in the global top five of leaders in power over a year, and well ahead of fellow English-speaking leaders in the UK, US, Canada, and Trinidad and Tobago. (www.morningconsult.com/global-leader-approval)

Yet, on the ground, the people are not happy. The vox pop mood is Andrew “nah go on bad”. But the crime out of control.

How well is his Administration doing? I consulted some people whose acumen I respect; see Chart 1 for their rough ministerial ratings.

Not since the 1960s has our economy been handled so competently. Jamaica is the only country in the hemisphere in which economic output is above, and unemployment and national debt are below pre-COVID-19 levels. Tourist arrivals have recovered wonderfully. Houses are being built at the fastest rate ever. The Jamaica 60 Emancipendence celebrations were the most impressive in living memory. The islandwide structural highway improvements are opening up the island — though regular roads remain pothole-plagued. Foreign minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith is so respected that she was asked to run for Commonwealth secretary general, and, then, under her leadership, Jamaica was elected as a UN General Assembly vice-president.

Governmental communication has certainly improved since Robert Morgan was made information minister. Steady progress is being made with our water problems. Jamaica handled the novel coronavirus better than most. But has there been fundamental improvement in health?

In education, people respect Fayval Williams’ technical ability and diligence, but wonder about her emotional skills. Justice, energy, and transport seem to be in holding patterns. Garbage collection is a nasty disgrace.

But the public’s pet peeve is crime. Since 2004 the murder rate has fluctuated around the 50 per 100,000 level. The only security minister since 1989 to leave office with a lowered murder rate has been Dwight Nelson. We have seen some improvements under Dr Horace Chang, such as the police stations overhaul. But the current fear factor is the worst since the 2010 State of Emergency. See Chart 2 for the murder statistics over the year.

Yet, seven out of 10 usually wins re-election, especially since Mark Golding is the most unpopular Opposition leader since 1990s Edward Seaga. And there lies the problem. A party with a popular prime minister facing an unpopular Opposition leader is apt to get lazy, complacent, and corrupt, as many feel happened in the 1990s.

P J Patterson was a decent prime minister with some significant accomplishments, such as entrenching an Electoral Commission of Jamaica that is admired worldwide. Yet, with such electoral dominance, the historical judgement must be that he could have achieved so much more.

Patterson claims his greatest regret was not making Jamaica a republic. This is astonishing, as murders increased from 561 to 1,674 under his watch. Clearly Patterson placed more importance on fulfilling personal wishes than listening to the people. Crime was consistently the top issue during his tenure. Getting rid of The Queen barely registered on the radar.

Many fear Holness will go down the same path. Hence The Gleaner‘s implicit question: Is the prime minister really serious about his legacy? Or was it just political theatrics?

Augustus Caesar once boasted: “I found Rome a city of bricks and left it a city of marble.” Does Brogad have what it takes to figuratively do the same?

Holness remains personally popular, but many feel let-down by his weak-kneed approach to crime. As an exasperated supporter said: “We gave the man a mandate — 49 seats! — because we believed in him; that he would listen and do what we want. But it’s like he is scared of the media and civil society people and lawyers who want to hug up criminals. Andrew Holness needs to grow some cojones! The people are with him. What more backative does he need?”

We keep hearing about the technical crime-fighting measures being worked on. But the public sees simple, straightforward things that can be done, not being done, among them tougher sentences for violent crime; no bail for murderers, rapists and gunmen; drones and cameras in every town centre. Then there are the illegal bikes that strike fear in every Jamaican.

As Busy Signal sings:

“‘Mi nuh trus’ nuttin pon yeng yeng!…

Something nuh feel right when them pull up ah di stoplight…

Ah next dutty style dem have ah grab purse and grab phone…”

Yet they roam our streets with impunity, like hungry wolves looking for prey, while innocent citizens cower in terror. Why, in God’s name, do our police and politicians allow this to continue?

Holness’s legacy, if he meant what he said, must begin with hearing the people’s cries and advocating for and executing what they want. He must fulfil his public promises.

On October 17, 2019 at a National Stakeholder Summit on Crime, both the prime minister and leader of the Opposition agreed to publicly repudiate any connection between politics and gang violence, and would walk together in violence-affected communities. What is stopping Holness from calling up Mark Golding and saying: “Mark, let us revisit these promises both parties made publicly. Let us, together, as at Emancipendence, and show the nation a united front against crime. But if you choose not to, I will go it alone.”

If a leader cannot carry out his easily executed promises, why would we take his ‘legacy’ talk seriously?

If Andrew Holness does what the people want and does what he promises, and yet fails to significantly cut crime, the public will still feel he is trying his best, and their respect and affection will grow. If he does succeed, and the annual murder count falls below even 1,000, he will probably be popularly acclaimed our greatest prime minister ever.

“The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves…” — Julius Caesar, Shakespeare

Kevin O’brien Chang is an entrepreneur and public commentator. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or kob.chang@fontanapharmacy.com.