By Vernon Daley, Parliamentary ReporterTHE PEOPLE'S National Party (PNP), has passed itself off as the party of bright men and women; the party that understands complex issues and is more capable than any other to "run things" in Jamaica.
Through clever PR it has managed to convince a large section of the population, including a gullible media, of its accumulated intellectual power and its ability to set Jamaica on a path of prosperity.
But if the leadership of the PNP is so bright why is Jamaica so poor? Why is the murder rate so high and the quality of education so bad? After all, the party has had nearly 14 years to deliver.
There is no use in a man telling me that he has a Ph.D. or an LL.B. and he's unable to put food on the table.
During the last election, one of the issues was whether the opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), could have come up with a capable Cabinet if it had secured power. When I looked at MPs and Senators for both parties during last week's swearing-in ceremony at Gordon House, I couldn't see why this would have been a problem.
Person for person, I don't believe there is any great difference in quality between those on the Government's front bench and those MPs and Senators who are the main spokespersons for the Opposition.
In fact, it strikes me that some of the comrades in Government have really not distinguished themselves at all. Had I not known for a fact that Arnold Bertram was a member of the Cabinet before he lost his seat in the last election, I would find it difficult to see him as anything else but a career sweet talker. He knows what to say, he just doesn't know what to do.
His major assignment as Local Government Minister was the introduction of increased property taxes; and look what a wonderful job he did. Figuring out your property tax liability is now just about as easy as working through some problems in Algebra. Great going Arnold!
Despite her immense popularity with the public, there are serious questions about the contribution of Portia Simpson Miller to Government. It's one of those issues that people shy away from discussing in public but we are going to have to look at that seriously, especially since she might be a contender for leadership of the PNP and possibly Prime Minister.
Many think she was a good Minister of Labour because she would stay up all night with the boys while they attempted to settle some industrial dispute with some amount of regularity. Well, if that was her main function and achievement, then we might have asked my sister's cat, Shelly, to take on the job. She likes staying up at nights, as well.
Speaking of animals, Cali-gula's horse comes to mind when I think of Bobby Pickersgill. I'm not suggesting that Mr. Pickersgill resembles a horse. Quite the contrary. The Minister is a handsome man who is somewhat of a trend-setter when it comes on to men's fashion. Some ladies come to Parliament just to look at him.
For those who skipped history class 'Caligula' (Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus), was a deranged Roman Emperor who made his horse a priest and consul. One should blame Caligula's horse for being appointed consul no more than one should blame Mr. Pickersgill, who is also Chairman of the PNP for being appointed a Minister. That's someone else's doing.
The reality is that the Minister, who now presides over Transport and Works, does not have an enviable record. He was brought back to that Ministry last year after he had failed to fix the island's ramshackle bus service when he had the chance in the 1990s.
He was also assigned to the Ministry of Mining and Energy and for a while Jamaicans almost forgot that he existed. There were no big plans that came out of him while he had the portfolio.
But, in less than a year Anthony Hylton went to that Ministry and excited many with the ambitious proposal to have Jamaica convert to the use of natural gas. It's a pity Mr. Hylton is no longer in the Cabinet, having lost his seat in the last election. It seems some of the worst politicians are among the best performers in Government.
But at the end of the day, regardless of what the PNP or the JLP might say, the fact is that both are distinguished not by their quality but by the lack of it.
FOOTNOTE
It is really disappointing to see how small the Government back bench is. Of the 34 Government MPs, 22 are either Ministers or State Ministers. The situation is similar in the Senate, where seven of the Government's 13 Senators have been drafted into the Executive.
The back bench is supposed to be the alternative voice on the Government side. The members should perform the role of conscience or self-critic - a distinct function from that carried out by the Opposition. It's, however, unlikely that we'll be getting that self-criticism during the life of this Parliament.
Perhaps it's time to dust off the Nettleford Report with its recommendation to slim down Government, starting with the Executive.
