A.W. SangsterTHE COLUMN might well have been titled international and national hypocrisy. An early administrator of the fledgling UCWI is reputed to have made the remark that "hypocrisy is a cardinal virtue of administration". Hypocrisy may be defined in many ways. Saying one thing and meaning or doing another; or following a behaviour pattern which does not conform to a postulated position. "Read my lips" said ex-president George Bush and here in Jamaica we say "Come see me is one, come live with me is another". Certainly there is enough hypocrisy around to recognise that it helps to engender the attitudes of cynicism and disbelief in promises, policy statements and pronouncements that come forth from time to time.
The World Trade Organisation: The WTO is supposed to provide some element of equity and justice in the supply of goods and services on a worldwide basis. We have already felt the sting of its rulings on bananas. But this is not about bananas. It is about baby food. In a recent expose of international hypocrisy in the book; Whose Trade Organisation, Corporate Global-isation and the Erosion of Democracy a release states the following: "Imagine an African country being forced to choose between maintaining the UNICEF baby formula policy that has saved thousands of children's lives, or facing an expensive defence in a Swiss trade tribunal and then possible trade sanctions for not protecting the trademark rights of a corporation whose label violates the UNICEF code".
Our relations with the IMF: The international Monetary Fund is one of the most important international agencies in the world today. Their approval or disapproval is critical for future economic decisions that countries make. In addition the approval of the IMF is critical for obtaining support from other international organisations such as the World Bank, the IDB etc. This government and its Prime Minister have been at pains to tell the country that we are free from the IMF. In the Government's letter to the IMF of July 19, 2000 - some analysts have called it the real budget - there are a series of commitments being made on all sorts of issues affecting the country's financial future. The IMF is being asked to "Informally monitor the submitted economic and financial programme". To what extent then are we really free of the IMF?
Dr. Blythe's Sidewalk Panters: The Jamaica Gasolene Retailers Association (JGRA) has one the country a service by bringing the public's attention to the design of the sidewalk boxes and the implications for pedestrian safety. Even the blind persons with their canes can no longer use the curbs to guide them. The Combined Disabilities Associa-tion has also come out in protest against the foolish designs which were obviously put up in typical 'crash programme style'. The Minister has taken out at least four (4) full page ads in our major daily newspapers at great cost to explain and presumably to attempt to defend the fancy new sidewalk boxes. Was this necessary? Clearly there is money to be spent on garnishing images at the expense of real national priorities. The money could do a lot for water in this time of drought.
Crime and violence on the national scene: The Commissioner of Police has been at pains to point out that crime is down but at the same time admits that murders are up. There is no question that there are many cases of abuse by the security forces, many of which are not properly addressed. Many more policemen (mostly men) are getting killed in the line of duty but there aren't too many protests or elements of sympathy in these cases. Often the society adopts a hypocritical double standard to the issue of crime and violence. What are we to do?
Recognising the problem: The latest call by the private sector leaders on the Prime Minister to do something, or ship out or shape up by Butch Stewart are likely to elicit a similar response from the Prime Minister as to those of earlier times. "The security forces will be unified in their attack on crime, there will be new initiatives etc. etc." While the Wolfe report on crime identifies some of the issues of crime and violence as being due to a number of factors - social, economic, political and psychological - the fundamental causes are yet to be really recognised and acknowledged. Calling for the resignation of the Minister of National Security and Justice and the Commissioner of Police will in themselves not solve the problem.
The problems of Jamaica are fundamentally moral and spiritual, caused by an increasingly bankrupt political order that has spawned a culture of violence, nepotism and economic handouts, based not on a positive work ethic nor on merit but rather on allegiance to the tribe.
This corrupting influence of partisan politics and the corrosive impact of a perverted national value system have all brought Jamaica to its current state of moral bankruptcy.
The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel spoke about the, "Wall of Righteousness that Protects a Nation" - Ezekiel 22.30. We are in danger of having a broken down wall that will let in the destructive forces that will destroy our nation. In fact the forces are already at work in the nation. The call has to be to our leaders and in fact to all of us to do things differently. It is commonly known as doing things the right way. This is what righteousness is about. We all can and must make a difference if we are serious about our survival as a nation.
A.W. Sangster is former President of the University of Technology
