Robert Hart, Parliamentary Reporter
IN A speech reminiscent of his early days as a parliamentarian, Edward Seaga yesterday bade farewell to his Gordon House colleagues, ending his more than 40 years in representational politics.
Mr. Seaga, at the end of four hours of tributes bestowed on him by parliamentarians from both sides of the political aisle, told his now former colleagues that the nation has failed to make any headway in moving from a country bitterly divided between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots'.
LITTLE IF ANY GAINS
The country, he said, has made little if any gains in key areas of governance, including the criminal justice system, an effective education system, and the economy. In each of these systems, he told the House, the poor who make up the 'have-nots' are left to suffer.
"As I pondered how should I end my career in Parliament, what should I say in departing from this august body, it came to me that I should end it where I started," Mr. Seaga said in reference to the famous 'haves and have-nots' speech he made in the Legislative Council in the early 1960s.
Attentively watched by the packed crowd of well-wishers, including wife Carla, former wife, Mitsy, sisters Jean Anderson and Fay Tortello, and son Christopher, Mr. Seaga accepted part of the blame for the failure of successive governments to provide the nation with an efficient education
system grounded in early
childhood education. He also lamented the failure of over 40 years to create an acceptable justice system and improve the economy for the people of Jamaica.
"In all these cases, the poor are the ones who still continue to suffer. If their lot has not changed from 40 years ago then they still continue to suffer," he said.
RATE OF ADVANCE IS SLOW
Mr. Seaga added: "This is not to say poor people are not advancing. But the rate of advance is slow because, the extent to which the system provides for rapid advance does not exist, and so the 'haves' and 'have-nots' problem that existed 40 years ago still exists today. It's an embarrassment to me and it ought to be an embarrassment to all of us that 40 years have passed and this problem is still with us when, in fact, some of these problems can be solved by greater will, even though some will require greater resources."
Mr. Seaga also asked the members of the House to stop and think about the immeasurable results that would flow if the ratio of 70 per cent failures to 30 per cent failures in the school system could be reversed.
"In leaving this House, I plead that a new look will be taken to ensure that the approach to education in this next round will take into
consideration the need for a new look at the early childhood
system and to do what is
necessary to strengthen it and to strengthen it effectively,"
he said.
