Promises made must be promises kept
THE GLEANER on Friday, February 2 breathed a loud sigh of relief in its front page headline stating “Finally”; meaning that, at last, the government announced February 26 as the date of the local government election. The councillors, candidates, party activists and officials who had been on the starting line now got the command “Get set”. The starters gun will signal “go” on February 8, Nomination Day. But, I asked myself, how many Jamaicans are really interested in this date and plan to vote?
In November 2016, the last time Jamaicans had the opportunity to vote in local government elections, only 30 per cent of those registered to vote turned out to vote. This was less than the previous local government elections in 2012 when it was 35 per cent, and that was less than in 2007, when it was 38 per cent.
This is little different from general election at the national level. In 2011 it was 53 per cent of the registered electorate; in 2016 down to 48 per cent; and in 2020, down still further to 38 per cent. At that time, this was the lowest turnout in general elections for the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, with the exception of Haiti. This means that elected governments, whether at the local or national level, are no longer there because the majority of Jamaicans registered to vote elected them. They are in power because of the support from the ‘party base’ and because of financial contributions from those with money, some out of public-spiritedness, and others, because they are ‘paying the piper’ in order to call the tune.
AILING
Regrettably, democracy is not only ailing in Jamaica. In every region of the world, there is a general trend, with few exceptions, for the majority of registered voters not bothering to vote. One reason for this is not hard to find. Ten years ago, Transparency International sponsored a Global Corruption Barometer; 114,000 people in 107 countries in scientific surveys, including in Jamaica, were asked the question: “To what extent is government run by a few big interests looking out for themselves?” The answer from the majority, including in Jamaica, in the United States and the United Kingdom, was “To a large extent or entirely.” The people’s experience continues to be that whatever the promises made by election candidates, government policies are resulting in widening inequality in income, in education, in healthcare and in the application of the rule of law. So, disillusionment with democracy is affecting more and more people and regrettably turning them to dictators, who promise ‘milk and honey’, peace and security. Noticing this trend is not rocket science.
After the general election of February 2016 and before the record low turnout in the parish council elections in November 2016, our Prime Minister Holness stated on March 2nd, 2016, in his inaugural address: “There is no doubt that significant numbers of Jamaicans have lost hope in our system.” What is to be done to restore hope, we ask? Again, the prime minister’s words point the way “Jamaican people want to see action in building trust…” I would add, we are tired of broken promises. Rebuild our trust by fulfilling commitments made in party manifestos, in laws passed by Parliament and elsewhere.
• Fix the election date for national and local government elections. This was promised in the JLP manifesto of 2011 and in the declaration by then PNP Leader of the Opposition, Dr Peter Phillips in 2017. In fact, Prime Minister Holness promised that in the first 100 days following his election in 2016, provisions would be made for election dates to be fixed.
• Place the office of the political ombudsman in Jamaica’s Constitution. This commitment is in the Office of the Political Ombudsman Act, 2002. Prime Minister Golding, in his budget speech in 2011, actually announced that the bill to give the Ombudsman Office the protection of the Constitution was already drafted. In that same bill, the Electoral Commission of Jamaica and the Office of the Public Defender were also given constitutional protection. Now, 13 years later, this commitment is being sidelined. Instead, the government is now proposing, despite objections from the Opposition, NIA, Jamaica Council of Churches, JFJ and the PSOJ, to merge the Office of the Political Ombudsman with the Electoral Commission of Jamaica.
• Develop and publish the Code of Conduct for members of parliament. This commitment was made in Vision 2030, in 2009. Our Judiciary has a Code of Conduct since 2017. In a best-kept secret, ministers have had a code of conduct since 2002, but MPs can do as they wish without being held to account either by a Code of Conduct or by impeachment regulations.
• Pass the unexplained wealth order. This was promised in the agreement signed by the prime minister, the leader of the Opposition and 20 civil society organisations including NIA in 2020. This commitment was renewed by the governor general in the Throne Speech of February 2023; yet no action by the government, not even to develop drafting instructions much less to put the bill before Parliament.
• Bring charges against responsible officers in public bodies who year after year break the law, requiring that annual reports of what they have done with taxpayers’ money be submitted to the minister and to Parliament. As of today, of the 164 public bodies, only 24 are now in compliance with that legal requirement. Some like the Sugar Company of Jamaica, the National Land Agency, the Southeast, Northeast, and Western Regional Authorities have not submitted annual reports for the last 10 years.
So, we must insist – not only words, as the prime minister puts it, “Jamaican people want to see action in building trust.”
WENT FURTHER
Beyond this, however, following the general election of 2020, the prime minister went further in his instruction to ministers. On September 7, 2020, he said, “We must seek to prevent the occurrence of actions which weaken public trust and damage the integrity of the government.” Clearly, the government has this primary responsibility. However, we, the citizens, our MPs on either side of the aisle whether PNP or JLP, in civil society organisations, in the private sector, in professional associations, in youth and student bodies have the obligation to call out and demand reversal of actions that “weaken public trust and damage the integrity” of our democracy. Foremost among these is to practise transparency and stop keeping secrets from the people.
• Stop hiding and publish who gets which contracts to provide services for what period of time and for how much of taxpayers’ money. Up until 2020, on a quarterly basis, this information was being published. This was stopped; it must be resumed.
• Place before the Parliament, and through the Parliament to our people, reports coming from the Integrity Commission, as soon as possible after they have been received.
• Prevent the recurrence of any attempt to present a bill to Parliament without prior notice or consultation with the Opposition for debate and passage into law the same day.
• Amend the clause ‘gagging’ the Integrity Commission from telling our people who are the six MPs being investigated for illicit enrichment and why the prime minister’s statutory declaration has not been certified for two consecutive years.
Making more of our people believe it worthwhile to vote on February 26 and beyond requires action, not only words, to signal that promises made must be promises kept.