By Roy Sanford, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
POLITICAL OMBUDSMAN Bishop Herro Blair has described the lack of respect in the society as a "grave problem" that can only be addressed through good governance.
Addressing business and political leaders in Montego Bay during a workshop on good governance on Wednesday, Bishop Blair said that the lack of respect leads to tremendous experiences of conflict.
"What happens when one feels 'dissed'?" he asked. "Fights ensue, shots are fired, people get killed, families are destroyed, homes are burnt, life long malice ensues and the list goes on."
He said it is the role of leaders to ensure that a culture of respect is developed through good governance.
"In order for Jamaica to benefit from the international financial institutions, external donor agencies and other external business interests we have to ensure that we can prove a track record of good governance," Bishop Blair noted.
LACK OF ACCOUNTABILITY
He said one of the crucial missing elements was accountability. "Accountability is not just applicable to governmental institutions but also to the private sector and civil society who must in turn be accountable to the public and other institutional stakeholders," he said.
Good governance, he said, was not an unachievable goal, though he did acknowledge that getting there was not easy.
"It is said that many societies have come close to achieving this status but never in its entirety," said the Ombudsman, who also heads the Peace Management Initiative.
"Jamaica must move to the place where we can be named as a country that is close to achieving such a goal."
Addressing the same workshop, Minister of Information Burchell Whiteman said that it is important that those in political office display certain values and attitudes.
"The criticism cannot be left at those of us in political leadership that somehow we want certain values and behaviours from anybody but ourselves," he said. "We are here to show that we are part of the process of getting those values into our systems including Parish Councils, the parliament and political organisations."
