PUBLIC AFFAIRS -We can't leave 'Dudusgate' yet

Errol Hewitt, Contributor

"Whoever loves instruction and correction loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is like a brute beast, stupid and indiscriminating." Proverbs 12 : 1.

A recent editorial in this newspaper made the valid point that too much was at stake for our Parliament, on our behalf, not to be fully at work and committed to the job of nation-building. Our future right now is on a knife's edge and we need the full capacity of Parliament working together to take us out of the political and socio-economic quagmire in which we find ourselves.

We readily agree with this call, for there are many crucial issues which can make a positive difference for our country which need the concentrated effort of a Parliament committed to the best interest of the nation. We disagree, however, with the insistence that we must "move on" from the still deliberately incomplete "Dudusgate" issue, which featured our prime minister's dangerous indiscretions with such wide and far-reaching devastating repercussions.

This would mean terminating the much overdue and vital revolution for drastic social and political change just as it has started. I feel sure this newspaper would not want to be so identified.

But if it is that the editorial writer was unduly influenced by the substantial reduction of major crimes, surely "one swallow does not a summer make". It would seem that the likely cause for this reduction is not the state of emergency - which is only marginally more draconian than what existed before - but rather, the seeming absence of politicians standing between the security forces and the alleged criminals being sought. As such, the question here is not when the state of emergency will be terminated, but how long the politicians will step aside. The whole decades-long problem has been and continues to be a corrupt political process and politicians. The concept and now, perhaps, even reality, of politicians being owned by criminals is frightening.

New sheriff in town

The reality of, among many incidents, police stations being burnt to the ground by criminals and the fortress-like Central Police Station being actually attacked by a militia for hours must not be allowed to fade from memory without the citizens of this country understanding the why, the who, and the purpose.

The reality of our security forces, in their advance on Tivoli Gardens, taking over three hours to cover just over 100 yards on the ground must not be forgotten for what it was, and the continued threat of a repeat, or worse, must not be swept aside because we have, after a Paul-like conversion, a new sheriff in town.

How can we "move on" when the foundation on which we stand and from which we are to launch our efforts to progress this country is termite-ridden and the integrity of its support columns are at best, utterly, dubious?

Government is by far the largest business and employer in the land and its legal authority places it at the core of our political, social and economic survival and hopes for progress. It is government which makes our laws, our economic and social plans, which sets the parameters within which we seek to exploit our God-given physical assets and potentials. How then can we really attain real and sustainable progress when the integrity of Government is pathetically low and the trust of citizens so badly ravaged and abused? As Olive Wright said, "If you want power, then you have to accommodate the scrutiny."

RE-EMERGENCE OF LANDED GENTRY

Perhaps one of the most profound factors to materialise from the debacle of the last 10 months has been the re- emergence of the local landed gentry. The make-up of the landed gentry has evolved since the days of slavery, but today mostly comprises members of our service and professional clubs and associations, chambers of commerce, manufacturers and exporters associations, etc. Some of these had been part of the culture of financial support for either or both political parties, while extracting benefits for their corporate interests, and as such, kept a beneficial silence [to them and the political parties] over time.

On this occasion, however, the landed gentry assumed a leading role in aggressively insisting on a return to sanity in government and supporting the insistence of all citizens that the interest of the nation and its place in the international scene must take priority over the narrow interest of the political party and any member of Parliament.

It saw that the seeming political bonding with alleged criminals in garrison communities was leading to the possibility of anarchy. It saw that the future of our country and everyone in it was being compromised for the most singular of political reasons, and in response, drew a figurative line in the sand and said "no further". The strong, unyielding statements from many, including Messrs Joseph M. Matalon and Milton Samuda, commanded the focused attention of the Government, with some positive results. This long-overdue socio-political development in the face of a reducing middle-class presence is most encouraging, if it is a serious commitment to nation building and to our citizens.

Their continued demand for the truth from our prime minister is gratifying, and no one or nothing should discourage them from consistently demanding of him the whole truth on our behalf. The whole matter of the prime minister's unhelpful response in Parliament to the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips [MPP] issue, the paying of MPP's fees in Washington DC and locally, the 'Dudusgate' affair, are too close to the very core of governance that it cannot remain an unknown.

In fact, worse than all that is the fact that our prime minister has confessed to an error but adamantly refuses to confide in us, his employers, for whom he has stated that he is the "servant". It would seem that to the prime minister we are but children and, therefore, not able to handle the truth in what is an adult matter. So much for democracy and the concept of our political representatives serving us!

The issue of political garrisons and guaranteed parliamentary seats will not go away. If after all this we sweep these realities under the carpet because we think that they are in the way of engaging the reality of our socio-economic crises, we are fooling ourselves. There is in the Scriptures no incidence where sin or [in the secular world] error is excused. The fact is that sin/error can be pardoned [so different from 'excused'] but always with atonement, i.e. confession and reparation. The foundation from which we will launch our developmental efforts must first have the termites eradicated and the base properly recast.

CRITICAL

Our present social and economic situation is, to say the least, desperate. We have lost a considerable amount of our assets to overseas entities, and our national mortgage is in the hands of the International Monetary Fund [IMF]. We are in critical straits forging the rapids in an open canoe with a largely untrained crew and no updated map to indicate the location of shoals or critically, the pathway forward.

The Gleaner editorial is perfectly right that our country has to have all hands on deck and maximising their contributions. Our chaotic circumstance - huge pressing debt, largely untrained workforce, falling work ethics, no knowledge of the scope of our assets, an education system still largely colonialistic and female biased, makes it crucial that every waking moment and important, available genuine expertise be urgently and purposefully utilised.

The problem is that the foundation we are standing on is definitively weak, its integrity is seriously suspect; Government - including the public sector - is one of the most corrupt on Earth. We must put the best technical hands on the wheel and adopt the best policies, but the politics has to be seriously addressed, the process tightened, monitoring dramatically improved, and corruption dealt with strongly and objectively.

Undergirding it all must be a metamorphosis in the character of our politicians in respect of their honesty, sincerity and commitment to country first. And while it is hoped the start of a revolution in proper governance may have begun with the level of participation observed from our landed gentry; we need hand in glove with this, a reformation in our churches, with a genuine return to their first love, sincere application of truth, beholden to no man and consistency in the word and the walk.

"They scare the singing birds of Earth away

As, greed-impelled, they circle threateningly,

Watching the toilers with malignant eye,

From their exclusive haven - birds of prey".

- Birds of Prey by Claude McKay

Errol Hewitt is an ICT consultant. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.