THE LONG drawn-out saga of replacing Prime Minister Patterson, first as President of his party, then as Prime Minister of this country, has finally had some finality as regard to date of departure. While there will be much discussion on his legacy, given that he is the longest serving Prime Minister as well as his varied roles as Minister of Trade, Foreign Affairs, and even Finance, prior to his ascension to the top post, it may be best to assess what were his strongest areas of performance and what were his major weaknesses.
The strongest part of his ministerial political life was clearly in the field of foreign affairs and trade-related matters. His legal background and his diplomatic skills meant that he was well placed to forge a number of
crucial agreements that shaped much of Jamaica's external legacy, whether it was with CARICOM, or Lome Agreements. Mr. Patterson's love of overseas travel and his organisational nature also meant that he took to this aspect of ministerial life like a fish into water.
MINISTERIAL POLITICAL LIFE
The weakest part of his ministerial political life was, in my opinion, his tenure as Finance Minister in the early 1990s. Under Mr. Patterson's watch we had record interest rates, record inflation rates, the Bank of Jamaica 'sub-agent scandal' and the planting of the seeds that led to the collapse of key areas of the financial sectors during the 1990s, as given the weak regulatory and management scrutiny at the time, several financial institutions began a serious mismatch of assets and liabilities. Today the country still bears the fiscal costs of this demise.
As the longest serving P.M. his management of the economy was good at defusing political tensions, but the social fabric of the country has clearly deteriorated, fuelled by the record number of homicides at the end of his watch. While Mr. Patterson was not associated with garrison political control, he also did very little to reduce its entrenchment in his party (or the other) and curb the rise of 'political donmanism' (until quite recently).
Under his Prime Ministerial leadership we also saw rapid expansion in infrastructural developments: transport, highways, telecommunication, and commendable attempts at increasing housing and water access. The many complaints across the island for better roads and access to treated water today overlook just how much infrastructural needs have changed across the country in less than a decade, where it is now commonplace in every nook and cranny to expect reasonable access to utilities.
INCIDENTS OF CORRUPTION
However, an off-shoot of this widening of access, has been the rise in incidents of corruption (especially those associated with roads, houses, water and solid waste) and many other complaints about the administration that he leads.
A major fault of Patterson's legacy was also his fondness for setting up committees, prescribing new laws and setting up new institutions, rather than taking decisive action and implementing existing laws, as if things get done when laws are passed by fiat rather than when persons in charge act and do the right thing. He was also fond of starting things and then changing tack rather than sticking to what would prove itself if given enough resources and time. A case in point is his Values and Attitudes campaign which though derided is sorely needed.
No doubt there are others who will make more careful analysis of the Prime Minister's public life but one cannot say that he did not try to change the country.
TAKEN FROM THE FIANANCIAL GLEANER, FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2006
