Ian Boyne, Contributor
ONE OF Jamaica's most critical needs at this time is for a deepening of the levels of trust, cooperation and partnership between the various stakeholders in the society. We cannot achieve economic development without this.
One of the most hopeful signs of recent years is not just the welcome growth in tourism, the prospects in the bauxite alumina sector, moderate growth in manufacturing and the positive developments in the information and communications technology sector. It is initiatives to build a social partnership between the Government, trade unions and the private sector.
We cannot underestimate the value of this quest for a viable partnership among these groups. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government and the unions has already been signed, but without an agreement with the private sector the main player in this market economy the agreement is on shaky grounds or, at best, will be of limited utility.
One of the major things which keep back Jamaica and contribute to our continued underdevelopment is our low social capital our divisiveness, fractiousness, low levels of trust and poor conflict resolution skills.
Changing political parties and our Constitution, attracting huge amounts of foreign investment or even receiving massive foreign grants cannot put us on a path of sustainable development if we don't solve the overarching problem of a low social capital base.
A social partnership is not something to help out the Government, or to just give the Government some breathing space to survive the fourth term. Our partisan, tribalistic mindset impels many to think this way. A social partnership helps all of us.
If the Jamaica Labur Party (JLP) were to come to power tomorrow morning what would change? The JLP would still have the burdensome fiscal deficit and burdensome debt to deal with. That would not go with the People's National Party (PNP) Government.
Does the PNP have people who are genetically or institutionally more prone to corruption than the JLP?
CORRUPTION AND
ACCOUNTABILITY
I am often amazed at the naivete and gullibility of people. Many Jamaicans are obsessed with materialistic values and would compromise their principles just to get ahead and to amass more possessions.
I don't believe that they are suddenly transformed into new, regenerated persons simply because they happen to be members of the JLP. I believe that both the PNP and the JLP have people who would be unscrupulous and corrupt in the use of power, and that is why I believe in having systems of accountability to make those persons pay the price for their immoral actions.
I support the Opposition Leader Edward Seaga's proposal for impeachment and I support the recall principle. The JLP has put forward some excellent proposals to deal with corruption over the years, and Bruce Golding in his former reincarnation had even better recommendations.
The PNP has also had and implemented some recommendations which tackle the problem of corruption and the abuse of power. All political parties have people who would be corrupt, given the opportunity.
So I am not naively and simplistically waiting from some pure political party of sinless beings to come on the scene to rid us of corruption. With the best systems, checks and balance and accountability procedures in the world, corruption will always rear its nasty head.
The United States is often seen as the paragon of the democratic, accountability-governed state and I don't have to tell you how much corruption the U.S. press has uncovered among U.S. Presidents, Congressmen and Senators over the years.
Let's use our brain and stop the sentimental nonsense of believing that all we have to do is to get rid of "this corrupt PNP Govern-ment", and a set of political virgins and angels will take over to lead us to the political Garden of Eden.
I am sorry, but I don't have that kind of religious faith in human beings. If we are not vigilant as a society, there are people in both the PNP and the JLP who would scrape as much as they can and rip off as much as they can.
So corruption would not end with the JLP's coming to power. Nor would foreign investments be pouring in at any faster pace than they are today.
In fact, the statistics show unmistakably that the PNP Government has been attracting above-average foreign direct investments in the Latin American region. A change of Government would not overnight make Jamaica a safer place, nor would it make the large numbers of unskilled and unemployable people employable and desirable to foreign investors overnight.
The private sector and trade union leaders are waking up to the reality that there is no Utopia awaiting us; no Cargo Cult Messiah on the horizon and no political Kingdom of Heaven just waiting to be ushered in.
They realise that it makes sense for the society to see how it can work together more harmoniously, how it can create win-win scenarios and get the country out of the destructive zero-sum mentality which has crippled us for so many years.
THE BENEFITS OF PARTNERSHIP
An abundance of empirical work has been done to show the benefits of creating partnerships among stakeholders in the society.
On the other hand, the research has also unequivocally established the heavy transaction costs associated with divisiveness, strife, mistrust and social balkanisation.
The very fact that the private sector, the trade unions, civil society and the Government are having a dialogue is important in itself. It is a pity that the Opposition does not care to be a part of it.
However, the Opposition's ability to sabotage the constructive engagement between the Government, trade unions and the private sector will be limited if civil society, particularly the media, build a momentum toward this enlightened dialogue and social partnership.
The Opposition will have to follow, or at least get out of the way. Already, Mr. Seaga has backed off the stridency which he displayed when he was first asked about the Partnership for Progress talks on the Breakfast Club.
But in talking about it again just recently in the same forum, he tempered his remarks considerably, even conceding that the MoU was significant though not enough if not accompanied by other things which is fair comment.
Mr. Seaga sees where the current is flowing. Social partnership is in the interest of all of us, even those who desperately want to see the JLP return to power as soon as possible. The JLP can only benefit if it returns to power with a society more peaceful, harmonious, and cooperative.
An excellent mechanism to strengthen social partnership in Jamaica is to implement the JLP's suggestion for a Social Governance Council (SCG), proposed in the 2002 party manifesto. The Social Governance Council would give formality and structure to the Government-civil society interaction in an unprecedented way.
The JLP manifesto puts it well: "The Social Governance Council will allow for formal participation in place of the present ad hoc practice of representation of views to Government which is often too late. The SGC will provide formal participation for participants to be involved in social policy review-- Membership would be drawn from civil society to include education, health, justice, the environment, women's affairs, youth, welfare of children, the church, trade unions and organisations for ethical governance".
Significantly, the JLP proposes that the Council be chaired by the Prime Minister himself and represented by ministers of the Cabinet with portfolios dealing with social policy.
This is a most enlightened
policy in line with that of the social democratic parties of Europe. This suggestion of the JLP would deepen social partnership and would institutionalise it.
It would also, says the JLP manifesto, allow for "greater transparency and accountability in public affairs; a stronger base for fighting corruption in public and private life; lead to a more responsive and effective Government and provide a solid platform for sustainable development to fight poverty, protect the vulnerable and disadvantaged and secure dynamic growth." Very well said.
THE ROLE OF THE STATE
We must also re-open a discussion on the role of the state. It must not be seen as a foregone conclusion that the state has no meaningful role aside from collecting garbage and providing security (which we don't always do well).
We cannot continue to see the poor and marginalised as expendable in the quest for economic growth and expect them to feel that they have a stake in this society. They will want to mash it up if there is nothing in it for them, and if they will lose nothing by creating mayhem.
Let every group and class feel that it is a stakeholder and that the other groups care about them.
PNP spokespersons and apologists are getting excited about the positive indicators in the economy and the prospects for growth in a number of areas.
They are busily conducting a verbal "holy war" with the JLP spokespersons and apologists who are crying doom and gloom.
I have one caution for these PNP spokespersons and apologists: You can get economic growth from increased business activities, but it won't automatically benefit the poor and marginalised.
The PNP apologists have only to look at Latin America, which performed superbly by neo-liberal standards in the 1990s, and yet the poor have not benefited. Jobless growth is a phenomenon in the neo-liberal, globalised world. Growth with underdevelopment is not an unusual phenomenon.
The adviser on macroeconomics and poverty to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ,Terry McKinley, says in a paper on Economic Policies for Growth and Poverty delivered at a conference in India in January that "Even when growth occurs in some developing countries it is often not reaching the poor. Inflation is not the only problem. Without jobs and income people cannot benefit from price stability A small Government bias governs all neo-liberal economic reforms (But) public investment is not the enemy of private investment as neoliberal economics claims, but its prerequisite. It is essential for basic social and physical infrastructure."
If there is nothing in the upcoming budget to boost output and expand the economy; if ways are not found to provide venture capital financing for budding entrepreneurs and small business people; if there is only tight monetary policy and contraction, then social peace and the confidence of the working and middle classes will be severely compromised and the social partnership will be jeopardised.
Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. You can send your comments to ianboyne1@yahoo.com
