Dawn Ritch, Contributor
THE PURPOSE of information is to guide action. Even gossip serves to help order and regulate society. But nobody seems to be taking information seriously anymore. Jamaicans seem to seek information just for its own sake. To put it on a shelf and tell everybody proudly "I asked for that."
For a country that has never really reached a high state of development, it seems much too soon to be already slipping into intellectual decadence. Yet there it is.
The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association have recently launched an initiative called "Partnership for Progress". It seeks consensus on proposals to reverse the country's economic decline. "Progress" is a well-known PNP buzz word, but the reality of a PNP administration has always spelt disaster for the country. The views of the Opposition JLP on "Partnership for Progress" are therefore quite irrelevant, because it has no power. Except the power to waste time and verbalise its concerns whenever it chooses, and indeed for as long as it chooses.
Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw, is a dog chasing a speeding motor car. And like any dog, he won't know what to do when he's finally caught the car. Mr. Shaw told The Gleaner last week that he will be "using the processes of Parliament" to seek answers from the Finance Minister, Dr. Omar Davies, about the true state of the nation's fiscal deficit.
Dr. Davies has already admitted at a public meeting that he let expenditure run because it was an election year. His confession has been on public record for over a year, and nothing happened. So why does Mr. Shaw now want to know the true state of the nation's fiscal deficit? What difference will that information make to anybody's life?
ASKING QUESTIONS
Everybody in Jamaica seems perfectly prepared to keep on asking questions, as though that alone were the solution to every problem under discussion. But it is all talk for talk's sake, and meetings and proposals when we already have too many meetings, and more than enough proposals. Nevertheless, it seems that Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, having exhausted its substance on making proposals, is now being overtaken by the private sector in the making of proposals. More is to be done, in order "to arrive at a consensus on strategies to reverse our decline".
Even if there were a consensus in writing from all the parties concerned, it would make no difference whatsoever. As long as the Minister of Finance and the Government continue to act deliberately to the financial detriment of the country and without hindrance, any consensus is just fit for the flames.
What amazes me is how nobody in Jamaica takes any action, other than blocking roads. Yet instead of roadblocks and violence, some right-minded citizen or non-governmental organisation needs to take the Government to court and sue them in the interest of good order.
I was much inspired recently by the report of Mr. Martinus Francois in The Gleaner of De-cember 2, 2003. This St. Lucian attorney-at-law successfully sued the St. Lucian Finance Minis-ter in the former's capacity as a citizen, a taxpayer and an elector. This was in the matter of the refinancing of the St. Lucian Govern-ment's obligations in the former Hyatt Hotel in St. Lucia. The High Court there ruled that the procedure for refinancing was void and illegal and contrary to law.
High Court Judge Indra Hariprashad Charles declared "Indeed, for much of the hearing I was of the view that the defendant's (the Government) case could not be sustained as the guarantees which form the subject matter of this claim were not approved by resolution of Parliament, that the Minister of Finance had no power under Section 39 of the Finance Act 1997 to borrow in order to refinance the Government's obligations in respect of the former Hyatt Hotel and that Parlia-ment acted (outside of) the Act to authorise such borrowing when it passed the resolution."
Following this court ruling the main St. Lucian Opposition Party (United Workers Party) called for the resignation of the Attorney-General, charging that he "badly advised the Government and misled the St. Lucian people."
This is, to me, a people who understand how to work the Westminster model. Under this system one person can make a difference, if he or she wants to. Here in Jamaica, however, nobody feels powerful enough to sue the Government. Everybody is therefore happy to sit down and talk interminably about how badly it is doing. Even to make endless proposals as well.
St. Lucia is an example worth emulating. Courts exist to stop people running amok, including the Minister of Fi-nance. If a comprehensive report on the true state of Jamaica's fiscal deficit were to be placed in the House, I hope somebody acts on it. But it's not likely to be Mr. Shaw or the Opposition JLP because they should have acted on similar information long ago, and didn't.
This is why the people of Jamaica have had no choice but to block roads. Because that is the only way they can get any help.
A vigorous democracy must use the courts if it intends to stay alive. As a taxpayer and a contributor to the consolidated fund, Mr. Francois had sufficient interest in the matter to haul the St. Lucian Government up by the leash, and did so. Nice work. Wish it could happen here.
But information has lost its ability to startle and outrage people in this country. Here it's just another day, just another report.
Our politicians spend so much time tinkering with the Constitution and enacting a deluge of new legislation that they've lost all interest in upholding existing laws. The people suffer as a consequence.
Under these circumstances, information serves no purpose at all. Except to provide another opportunity to meet and do nothing about it.
