By Rt. Revd. Dr. Howard Gregory, ContributorAS A leader within the Christian community of faith I have made it my duty to be a source for the proclamation of hope which inheres in my faith, and to encourage my fellow citizens to affirm faith in the system of governance and justice.
During my term as chairman of the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) and subsequently, I have participated in several national committees that are designed to make our institutions more transparent, efficient and more deserving of public trust and co-operation. In more recent times, and outside of the forum of discussion of these committees, I am finding it quite difficult to maintain a sense of optimism concerning some of our social institutions and their modus operandi. This holds true for public sector and private sector institutions.
BIRD-SHOOTING INCIDENT
It is against this background that I must indicate how very distressed I am to see two stories concerning political figures which are carried in The Gleaner of September 1, 2004. It is always difficult to make judgments on the basis of stories carried in the news media as in the process of editing not everything is carried. Nevertheless, I must express my deep concern about comments attributed to Minister K.D. Knight in a bird-shooting incident in St. Elizabeth. From the report, the Minister is accused of shooting birds in a location that is in violation of the law. The report goes on to state that whenever the matter is reported to the police they say that there is nothing that they can do because of the person involved. This may simply be the perception of the police.
NOT BREAKING THE LAW
On the other hand, however, when it is reported that Minister Knight says that the police can do nothing about his activities because he is not breaking the law, I must say that I find this comment attributed to the Minister most indiscreet. As one who is a lawyer by profession and as one who has served as Minister of National Security and Justice, I would have found his comments more palpable if he left himself open to investigation of his activities by the police and for them to make a determination concerning the legality of his activities. As it stands it smacks of a posture that the Minister is above the law and can do his own interpretation of the law when in dispute as a private citizen with other citizens.
The other indiscretion reported in the news media comes from Minister Aloun Assamba, Minister of Industry and Tourism. For many persons in this country Minister Assamba, represents the hope for a new breed of politician and politics. The Minister is being accused of making statements to the effect that a civic committee in her constituency was stacked with People's National Party supporters. She is claiming in response that her words concerning the Civic Committee in St. Ann have been misinterpreted.
It is also clear that the Opposition is making some mileage out of this "misinterpretation" and this may be complicating the nature of the Minister's response. I have not heard any of the Minister's discussion of the issue on the radio, but I am informed that she accepts that she made the comments and indicates that she has no apology for having made them. Clearly, the comments as they stand, if true, are an indictment of this politician in whom a lot of persons have a lot of hope for a new breed of politics.
EFFECTS OF CRIME AND VIOLENCE
Is it too much to ask for transparency in resolving these matters? Is it too much to hope that politicians can pay the public the respect of answering their questions truthfully? Perhaps the undermining of hope in our society is not just a matter of the effects of crime and violence but the actions of public figures who fail to demonstrate that they are accountable like everyone else and need to be transparent if they are to remain credible.
I am hopeful that these two figures will help to clear the air and renew and support public confidence.
Bishop Gregory is Suffragan Bishop of Montego Bay.
