Put Jamaica first: POSTPONE THE ELECTION
IWEAR several hats. In recent weeks I have donned another – campaign manager for the People’s National Party (PNP) in St Catherine. Having declared that potential conflict of interest, which resulted in the intentional absence of my articles until the general election is over, I am removing that hat and muzzle because I cannot sit idly by while Jamaica burns.
We are currently experiencing a steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and are at a critical juncture in local spread, where if we do not decrease the rate of increase in cases, the public health system will be quickly overwhelmed and many will die.
The greatest threat to us is our reluctance to practice social distancing and wear masks. Adding to this risk are cultural practices associated with Jamaican elections. The timing of the election is not congruent with the drive to control the spread of the disease. During this phase of surging numbers, we need to revert to restricted movements in order to decrease the spread, rather than promote activities that will lead to a further surge in cases. Simply put, the election must be postponed in order to save countless lives.
The reasons why the election was called with six months to spare can only be answered by the hierarchy of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). Perhaps it was done with the reasoning that an election before the expected spike in COVID-19 numbers, and the economic fallout from an anaemic winter tourist season, would result in a more favourable result for the ruling party.
If they thought that the strategy that an election before the spike was a good idea, they should not have run the risk of relaxing restrictions over the Emancipendence period, where mass gatherings then are now being blamed for the massive spikes in recent days.
That faux pas may return to haunt the current administration. But whatever the reasons, we are now faced with the prospects of skyrocketing numbers because of the election campaign activities of both political parties.
There are, of course, strict guidelines which, if followed, will decrease the likelihood of spreading COVID-19 during electioneering activities. It is reasonable in theory, but foolhardy in practice, to expect Jamaicans to be adherent to the campaign guidelines.
For one, COVID-19 is still seen as an abstract concept, invisible and unreal to the majority of Jamaicans who don’t personally know anyone who has tested positive and seeing‘only’16 persons dying in the five months since the index case – less than those murdered during the average week.
HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
For too many Jamaicans, their hierarchy of needs is truncated at the food and shelter level. Theirs is a day-to-day survival game. To introduce to them foreign practices, such as wearing masks all the time, greeting without touching and standing far apart from friends, and expect full compliance, is idealistic at best. They are more concerned with guaranteeing basic needs than sacrificing them to combat an enemy they have never seen and who they believe will not infect them.
We are used to parties, close dancing, hugging and greeting with contact and sharing personal space. This is supercharged by the euphoria and vibe associated with election campaigning.
We have witnessed packed buses and cars with maskless occupants from all over the island, brought to foreign constituencies in order to show strength in numbers. The bigger the turnout, the stronger the campaign. Candidates are forced to be accessible to supporters and cannot enforce social distancing lest they be labelled stand-offish.
Supporters caught up in the hype of the campaign will throw caution to the wind and, with it, all anti-COVID-19 practices.
Even though the leaders will say otherwise officially, they have little choice but to turn a blind eye to the very practices they advise against. One classic example is the massive motorcade in Mandeville just a day after restrictions on motorcades were announced. The supporters were going to come out in large numbers, irrespective of what was said on TV. As the saying goes, “Yuh cyaa rub butter in puss mout!”
TWO-WEEK INCUBATION PERIOD
Trinidad saw a massive spike of COVID-19 cases of over 200 per cent after their recent elections, prompting a national lockdown. If one Emancipendence weekend can cause such a spike in numbers locally, imagine the cumulative effect of motorcades, nomination and election days. We will see a massive increase in the positive cases in the weeks after the election, because there are already a large number of persons around who will infect others on election day, when restrictions on movement are relaxed and jubilant party supporters congregate to celebrate their victory in the days after.
If we postpone the election and temporarily restrict movement, we will be able to decrease the number of people with active infections when the new date rolls around. The Representation of the People’s Act allows for a postponement of the election for 30 days. That is equivalent to two two-week incubation periods that will make the difference between spread at a manageable rate and a public health disaster.
We did it already with the spikes associated with the Portmore workplace, Bull Bay and Corn Piece clusters, and we can do it again. We need to arrest the climb in numbers before we have community spread beyond our capacity to manage critical cases immediately. or all the sacrifices of the last five months would have been in vain.
While both parties have members who are proponents of the idea of postponing the general election in the interest of the people, there are others who continue to put their party first.
For the JLP, the fear is that delaying the election will result in an even greater spike in numbers and the glowing accolades for the Government’s initial management of the outbreak will turn into howls of condemnation that may result in a loss at the polls.
For the PNP, the concern would be the additional expense of a protracted campaign, depleting the war chest of a party in opposition and trailing in the polls. The current rate of spend of the JLP can be maintained, but if this cannot be matched by the PNP, it would result in defeat for the latter.
Both parties have a vested interest in conducting polls as soon as possible before money or luck runs out. But whichever party wins the election next Thursday, the Jamaican people will be the biggest losers.
FATE OF AN ENTIRE GENERATION
I chose to get involved in this election because the people who are elected to Parliament will determine not just the recovery of Jamaica over the next five years, but the fate of an entire generation. If we fail, then our children will inherit a Jamaica that is far worse than what we struggled to create, and all the efforts of the last two generations will be for naught.
If we get it right and Jamaica is poised to take advantage of the post-COVID-19 world, we can finally fulfil the dreams of our foreparents and create a better society, built on a sound economy.
There are some on both sides of the political divide who would watch Jamaica crumble if they could be ‘King of the Rubble’. We must cast them aside.
The political leadership must do the right thing and subordinate the interest of the parties to the interest of the people. Postpone the election and control the spread of the virus, rather than adding fuel to the fire that threatens to consume us all.
Well-thinking Jamaicans, irrespective of tribal affiliations, are calling out more and more: Put #JamaicaFirst.