Lambert Brown, Guest ColumnistThanks to the Internet, I can keep up with the news from Jamaica while I am here in Geneva, Switzerland, attending the 95th International Labour Conference.
Geneva is a city showing great economic growth. You can see the growth in new buildings and infrastructure all over the city. This is enhanced by the order, discipline and cleanliness of the place.
Every single Jamaican who has visited this place, hopes and prays that one day the people of our beautiful country could emulate the successes of the Swiss.
We must win back our country from the band of criminals, the corrupt and the cowards who now dominate so much of our life. I believe the quest to make Jamaica a positive world leader must begin with our leaders trusting our people and always telling them the truth, no matter how difficult the issues may seem.
Two stories from home brought this out most vividly this week. The first one about was about 'Crisis swirls over sugar'. The second was about the deadlock in toll charge for Portmore. As a trade unionist who represents sugar workers, I am painfully aware of the precarious state of the sugar industry. Unfortunately, I do not think all the stakeholders are seeing eye to eye on the road ahead note I did not say future of the industry.
RECIPE FOR FAILURE
It is my view that it is the politics of the industry rather than its economics that is the driving force in national thinking. This is a certain recipe for failure. A new approach to the politics of sugar is urgently needed.
Let the people know the cold facts of the economic reality of the industry and the hard choices that have to be made. Do this in simple and clear language and trust the people to understand better the realities.
Unless the bottom line gets black and stays black the industry is simply bleeding (red) to a sudden, unplanned but certain death.
Similarly, our approach to the Portmore toll issue demands that we level with the people.
Here, the Government must begin with an apology to the citizens for the failure to consult with them and not being fully honest with them. Honesty and genuine consultation should have preceded the commencement of the highway development.
The new Prime Minister has an opportunity to show that she is in fact taking a different approach to the empowerment of the people and their communities from that of her predecessor. The bureaucratic approach to governance which involves stealthy adherence to the letter but not the spirit of the law must be abandoned. That is what led to the stalling of the Pear Tree Bottom hotel project.
Do we want development? A resounding yes is our answer, but only after the proper consultation and involvement of our people. That is your stated position, Madame Prime Minister, and while we trust you, that too is what the people expect from your ministers and their officials.
It is on that basis that the people of Portmore must be told the truth about the economic factors underlying the highway, its cost and benefits. The people will be more understanding. They may not be able to afford the true economic rate, but they will make adjustment to a responsive government.
The Government now has a chance to claim the moral high ground rather than preening itself on its three victories in the courts. Real victories by government are not won in courts where the judges are paid, appointed and promoted by agents of the government.
Instead, real victories come from the people by winning the trust and understanding of the ordinary citizen whose index finger is the real arbiter of power in our democracy.
The truth will find responsive ears as the unions so ably demonstrated when they signed the two MoUs with the Government despite criticisms from some quarter, including powerful members of the media.
Too many of our politicians on both sides of the political divide believe our people are gullible and incapable of acting prudently.
We are not all, like the woman mired in poverty and burdened by numerous children fathered by sweet-talking men. These are men who while enjoying the pleasure of that orgasmic moment, were determined thenceforth to ignore the paternal responsibilities for their offspring.
Yet, despite her experience of the sweet lyrics of previous 'baby fathers', she gets hooked on the expectation that the new suitor will be different. He convincingly appeals to her that he will indeed be different. His charmingly sweet mouth and promises deceive her as to his desire only for a bit of her endearing power.
His certain subsequent neglect and her further descent into a greater state of despair escape her, as she too enjoys his false affection. For her truth is not a necessity to be demanded and treasured but rather a luxury to be expediently forgotten.
MONEY FOR MoU
The Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw, seems to hold this negative view of our people. Less than two weeks ago, he lambasted the trade unions for signing a new wage agreement with the Government of Jamaica on behalf of public sector employees.
He wanted the unions to stick the Government for another $15 billion more. His sweet-mouthed lyrics were designed to camouflage the fact the trade unions were saving poor workers' jobs and at the same time allowing the workers to continue to earn a regular and increased income.
In addition, the prospect of educational and shelter opportunities negotiated on the workers' behalf by the unions were of little, if any concern, to him.
Where would this money come from? Who would be paying the new taxes if Mr. Shaw's suggestions were accepted? Now I see the same Mr. Shaw is bemoaning the fact that the Government now requires another $3 billion to meet the cost of the new MoU.
Is Mr. Shaw for real? Or is he just another sweet-mouth 'baby father' looking a piece of the woman's power? Must we conclude that in his desperate desire and lust for a piece of the power he is prepared to speak without first engaging brains? His criticism of the unions is born out of desperation and political opportunism.
Political opportunism is like sand. It is likely to shift with every new wave that comes ashore. It is a grossly insecure foundation on which to anchor the nation's future. It must be shunned and so too must its proponents like Mr. Shaw and those in the Government who do not put a premium on telling the people the truth and nothing but the truth.
Lambert Brown is president of the University and Allied Workers' Union and can be contacted at labpoyh@yahoo.com.
