SUCCESSIVE GOVERNMENTS of Jamaica have been noted for what one might call Cosmetic Legislation namely, laws that are not really meant to be enforced but which look good in our national shop window.

The law which prescribes that Members of Parliament should provide the Integrity Commis-sion with an annual statement of their assets is one such. The President of the Senate, Syringa Marshall-Burnett is currently complaining that many members of the House have been neglecting the sending in of these annual statements.

From the very beginning this requirement has been a farce. The express purpose of the law was to force Members of Parliament to disclose assets and income which they might have come by in dishonest ways. Of course nothing of the sort is ever disclosed. There is no institution which is capable of closely examining these statements and indeed it would be quite impossible to do so. The fact is that those Members of Parliament who do, from time to time, submit statements can put down any old nonsense they like knowing that those statements are quite safe from any kind of effective investigation. In consequence most Members of Parliament quite rightly regard the whole procedure with contempt and many express their contempt by not bothering to submit any statements at all.

In my view this whole silly pretence should be abandoned. It should never been instituted in the first place.

Nonetheless, the law does exist and the Members of Parliament who disregard it are setting a bad example to the rest of the country.

Education for unemployment

A large number of students who obtain loans for their education have been defaulting in the repayment of the loans. This is partly because while all Jamaicans love to borrow money, not many care about repaying it.

On the other hand, it is partly due to the fact that they cannot afford to, because in our present situation what is known as higher education has become education for unemployment. Those who manage to obtain degrees and who manage to go abroad are the fortunate ones. Most of the rest can find no work to do.

The present situation is such that a good cane cutter is worth more to our country and to himself than a number of people who become Bachelors of Arts. They are constantly told that a good education is the key to prosperity. Unfortunately, in our present condition, this is not so at all. This is a very bad state of affairs.

Michael Manley's legacy

I see that a Foundation to explain and promote the intellectual and political legacies of Michael Manley has been officially launched.

Michael Manley was a charming man, but I should have thought that in terms of his public life his legacies, especially from the 70s, are obvious to everybody in Jamaica to this day; unfortunate legacies from which it will take us years to recover.

This so-called Foundation directed by a few of our tame and gormless intellectuals has no doubt been brought about by the P.N.P. as a part of its current propaganda. It should be called "operation whitewash". I would not be surprised if it were not an attempt by P.N.P. propagandists to pave the way for an eventual proposal that Michael Manley should be made a national hero. Myth-making is after all quite a fashionable activity.

The pest of Pulse

For some time the noise from shows held at Pulse on the Trafalgar Road had been moderated, and the number of such occasions had diminished. But lately, especially on a Friday night a fortnight ago, the noisy shows have been returning and disturbing the entire neighbourhood. In fact, Pulse or some place next door to it is once more becoming a pest.

A police woman inspector called Ionie Ramsay is now, I gather, concerned about the noise. I therefore ask her on behalf of everybody in the neighbourhood to see that the law against night noise is fully enforced.