Political tribalism, corruption and behaviour

THE EDITOR, Madam, JAMAICANS, YEAR in and year out, have to endure the endless, frequent, and foolish political wars that take place between the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP) via harsh verbal criticisms, loud and vulgar disagreements, and shameful and shameless degrading. While this is the nature of politics and the political culture in not only Jamaica and the Caribbean region, but also in First-World countries like Britain and the USA, it is, nonetheless, tiresome, stress-inducing, a bad example, and a big and unnecessary waste of time, resources, and energy.

Don’t get me wrong. In all thriving democracies and developing countries, healthy disagreements will always ensue. However, in Jamaica, it’s at a whole other level that leaves a lot to be desired. Historically, Jamaica has been replete with inappropriate behaviour in Gordon House and on political platforms, by local political representatives, that is akin to – to borrow a line from a former Jamaican prime minister – two ‘hostile tribes that seem to be perpetually at war’.

The current leaders of both the JLP and the PNP have, from various political platforms, accused the other of being part of, or of presiding over, the most corrupt governments/parties in Jamaica’s history. Whenever they do that, it highlights just how corrupt both parties have been, particularly whenever they’ve had the privilege of forming the government. Instead of doing that, the two leaders should apologise to the Jamaican people, every chance they get, for their respective party’s numerous, expensive, and surreptitious acts of corruption.

Last, both leaders should establish proactive, efficient, and effective protocols that will immediately be activated whenever their party members, no matter his/her party rank or government post, are implicated in a crime, fraud and/or misappropriation/ mismanagement of public funds.