By Phyllis Thomas, News Editor 
IT WASN'T just the West Indies cricket team who were breaking records last week. The Jamaican dollar broke records too continuing its out-of-control daily slide, a signal of crisis in the financial sector. By Friday the Jamaican dollar was selling at a mind-boggling 71.80 to the United States dollar.
Every next person plus the major institutions were converting local currency to the U.S. dollar and, to a lesser extent, the pound. Some persons tried to justify their action. They are small fries, they argue. Their two-pence can't do any major damage. "Is de man dem wid dem millions a do it," the argument goes. But my philosophy is that, if one-one cocoa full basket, then the same one-one cocoa taken out will empty the basket. So the two-pence taken out will matter.
There doesn't seem to be any official explanation for what is influencing the slide of the dollar. We are told the speculators did it; then the lack of confidence in the economy and the market correcting itself are the spins put on what is happening.
"It's like we are in the eye of a hurricane," a young colleague commented.
Prime Minister P. J. Patterson met with private sector consultants this weekend to consider ways to stop the free-fall of the dollar. They have to come big. The country is on the brink!
Another of the passionately debated news stories, a spill-over from the previous week, was the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which is to replace the United Kingdom Privy Council. The debate is not so much whether the country should support the CCJ but a matter of process whether Jamaicans should be consulted or whether the decision should be taken for them by elected representatives.
The debate is scheduled to end in Parliament Tuesday and when it does the Government will have its own way. Sheer majority will allow it to force the CCJ down the throats of the Jamaican people. The Government's refusal to have a referendum which would give the people of this country a voice in such an important issue that will impact their lives from now on, is quite suspicious.
Is it that the Government feels that people will make a political decision, that is, their political leanings will influence how they vote? Is it that they think that we are incapable of making intelligent decisions and therefore they have to do it for us?
You know what? If the Government is indeed fearful that the Jamaican people in a referendum would make a partisan vote a vote against the Government rather than against the merits or demerits of the CCJ, that, probably could be strong grounds for the position taken. If, in fact, we accept that the CCJ is the best thing for the country and the Caribbean region at this time; if we agree that people who are disgruntled with the Government for mashing up the country could cast their votes against the CCJ in a referendum; then we would be making a grave mistake allowing the referendum. We would have allowed the CCJ to slip through our fingers, which could probably cause the CCJ to end up like the Federation. It could also result in the other countries in the region deciding to go ahead with the formation of the court without Jamaica, thus weakening what could have been a formidable institution with Jamaica's presence.
But there is also strength in what those calling for the referendum seem to be saying. The Government is insulting the intelligence of the people of this country by side-lining the Jamaican people with their belief that people cannot see beyond party colours.
The country has a 15 per cent illiteracy rate. In fact United Nations' Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation UNESCO last year listed Jamaica among 57 countries who are at risk of not achieving Universal Primary Education, and one of 78 that will not achieve adult literacy by the 2015 target date set by UNESCO. Fifteen per cent are not able to read or write and are therefore at a disadvantage because they would not be making informed choices.
But what about the other 85 per cent who are literate? Maybe we could accept that illiterate persons are handicapped and therefore need representation. But by excluding the other 85 per cent of the population from the process of referendum, is unfair penalty.
Among the issues we still need to consider even as we are about to bring the debate to an end an immature end I might add, is:
Are we in the Caribbean really ready for a judicial appeal at that level?
How will the judges be selected?
How do we prevent politics from playing any role in selection?
Do we trust our judges to make impartial judgments?
How do we prevent the insularity of the countries in the region from wreaking havoc on this system once it is established?
It will take some US$100 million to start and maintain it and Jamaica will have to contribute US$27 million. How will Jamaica, which is in debt to its eyeball be able to meet its obligations to this body?
I agree with the argument that the CCJ must enjoy legitimacy and the confidence of the people and the only way that this can happen is through a referendum.
So what if the Constitution says it only requires a majority vote to effect this change we are debating? The Constitution has been begging for review for a long while anyway, to rid it of some of its dinosaurian qualities.
Send your email to phyllis.thomas@gleanerjm.com
