Full steam ahead with trains
RECENT NATIONAL events have brought to the forefront of my thoughts the imagery in Shakespeare’s As You Like It that:
“All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts ... . ”
The director of elections in a holding position short of the contractual period of service, the commissioner of police vacating the post unexpectedly, and now, an acting chief justice!
When will this scene end? When will this play conclude? When will the stand-in be replaced by the lead actor? When will the rehearsals end and the real show begin? When!?
The vacancy of the post of chief justice was not a position that would have taken anyone by surprise and that it would have arisen at this time was imminent. However, the appointment has been approached in a manner that smacks of political interference.
It is the first time in Jamaica’s post-Independence history that an acting chief justice has been appointed. This approach gives the impression that the powers that be lack confidence in the judiciary and that there is not one judge of the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court that is qualified to be appointed chief justice of Jamaica. It undermines the frail system of justice at a time that is crucial to the confidence of our citizenry that as a developing nation, we can ensure the delivery of justice.
This halfway house appointment Justice Bryan Sykes
flies in the face of the principles of separation of powers that safeguards our Constitution and prevents the abuse of power by our politicians. The executive, legislature, and judiciary are to be separated and are to be allowed to perform their functions without the exertion of force on any branch by any of them.
HOLDING SPACE
In the Privy Council decision of Hinds v The Queen 1976 1 All ER 353, the independence of the judiciary as stated by the Jamaican Constitution was highlighted. Their lordships stated:
“... Those who hold any salaried judicial office in Jamaica shall be appointed on the recommendation from the Judicial Service Commission and that their independence from political pressure from Parliament or by the executive in exercise of their judicial functions shall be assured by granting them such degree of security of tenure in their office as is justified by the importance of the jurisdiction that they exercise.”
I urge the powers that be to cease and desist from perpetuating the impression that the official is simply holding a space for another preferred person who is to take up office at a later date; or the perception that the official is not deemed competent enough to be appointed; and the perception that if you act contrary to our view, you can be replaced with the snap of a finger.
Mr Justice Sykes, who is an eminent jurist, does not deserve that.
I call on the private Bar and all of my learned colleagues to protect the sanctity of the Constitution and let their voices be heard should Justice Sykes not be appointed to the post of chief justice of Jamaica.
II READ with interest the editorial in the Thursday, February 1, edition of your newspaper captioned ‘Mike Henry off the rails’. At a glance, I was ready to dismiss it as the nattering nabobs of negativity at it again. But upon deeper thought, I recognised that I am not unaccustomed to being the butt of jokes. However, I recall that The Gleaner was the same journal that berated me for creating a four-lane footpath to the Norman Manley International Airport; but then, plantocratic minds are not easily retrained, and that makes it difficult for many to re-educate the vision to move from personality and individual motivation to the wider vision of tomorrow.
Any good leader will tell you that he or she must be able to see further down the track than those around him or her can. It’s not easy when one who is never second class is surrounded by those who can only see the trees instead of the forest. Without such a vision, the people perish. It’s against this background that I use this opportunity to chlorinate the thoughts of those who think otherwise and invite them to drink from the reservoir of information that abounds.
Leaders in any industrialised country will tell you that rail service is absolutely essential to development and is the most economic form of transportation. The rail service in Jamaica was once classified among the 11 wonders of the world. Has it helped us? Indeed! It has. The network it provides made the development of the bauxite-alumina industry in the 1950s1970s viable.
I cannot accept that I suffer from a “crisis of confidence and credibility”. If I suffer any at all, it is from an unwillingness to believe that as a people, and, by extension, Government, we cannot achieve the things that are so important and vital to our development. When we stopped the trains from running many years ago, we took away time from the lives of the people. Recall that the train, the aeroplane, and the ship are among the very few modes of transport that run on time. They don’t wait for you. If you are late, they are gone. Catch the next available one.
I have no apology to make for the decision I took back in 2011 to restart the passenger rail service between Spanish Town and Linstead. Let’s not forget that in many areas across the Jamaica, the rails and its attendant bridges and stations were being stolen and vandalised to sell to the scrap metal trade. Had I not taken that decision, we would have nothing left to entice those who now have an interest in rail, whether for cargo, passenger, or speciality tours.
JUST IN-TIME WORLD
I am at a loss to think that we cannot recognise that the very challenges we have had over the years served as deterrents to the further development of the rail system. I can understand the sense of impatience that now resides in the minds of many people, given the unsuccessful attempts to get Rail India, the Chinese, and, more recently, Herzog, to solidify the efforts to resuscitate the services.
We are currently on the cusp of the emerging development of a logistics hub, special economic zones, and the mining and minerals sector. Let’s not forget that we are living in a just-in-time world and people, goods and services cannot move seamlessly unless there is a multimodal mix of transportation, which includes the rail.
Several international entities have expressed strong interests in the JRC. We are pursuing them vigorously. The JRC 2016 annual report indicated that a net operating profit of $9.71 million was realised. This is $2.5 million above what was projected. It’s still a viable entity with good assets.
Resuscitating the rail service in phases will be done through investments that will be facilitated by the Government as we create an environment that is free from bureaucracy and worthy of people doing business with relative ease.
Yes, it may be long in coming, but I can’t be impatient. It’s often said that the darkest part of the night is just before dawn. I know that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and the best is yet to come.
I