Hilary Robertson-Hickling

SPANISH TOWN is in the news again, but this time it is good news in relation to the life and work of Dr. Barrrington Wint, the former chief medical officer of the Ministry of Health. His untimely death gives us the opportunity to remember that good things and people can come out of that embattled city. At his funeral, I heard of his devotion and commitment to his family and his connection to the school at Crescent, and St. Jago High School, where he was headboy, his scholarly pursuits as he trained as a medical doctor at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and his exemplary public service in Jamaica and in the Caribbean.

If Spanish Town can be the birthplace of such a person and family, then there are strong roots to restore and heal that city. A young artist in a recent newspaper report identified the aspect of the blood and guts brutality which has over-whelmed the city in recent times. Somehow we have to reconcile the promise with the brutality and overcome what Dr. Wint might have treated as the epidemic of despair and violence. His recognition by the international and local public health community which recently honoured him should also be recognised by a concerted effort by the public health community to address these issues in the academic and policy dimensions.

I would like to propose a Wint Centre to be established by the UWI, the Government of Jamaica, alumni of St. Jago High School and well-wishers to develop policy and practice in the restoration and healing of Spanish Town and other towns suffering from similar epidemics in Jamaica and elsewhere. I look forward to our own version of Wint Scholars who would have demon-strated their capacity to address these issues effectively.

Issue of its size

The public sector is in the news where there is discussion about the issue of its size and efficacy. While Government continues to be one of the largest employers, we also have to look at the issue of performance. There are parts of the public service which are just not functioning. At the same time, the National Health Service in the United Kingdom has just announced that it is making some nurses redundant as a result of resource constraints in some of its trusts. Some overseas nurses, like those from the Caribbean, are expected to be affected.

The development of high-calibre public servants in Jamaica continues to be a challenge. In the colonial days and the early post-Independence period, a job in the civil service was highly respected and sought after. There were also those persons who were fired up with idealism and a commitment to the development of this country. As opportunities in the private sector and overseas have developed, we have exported Jamaicans who are performing at the highest levels of the international public service in the United Nation's system.

Today, many of our civil servants are unaware of this rich history and tradition and are performing at less than their best. Jamaica lost some of its finest public and private servants in the turbulent period of the 1970s and we are still redeveloping our human resource capabilities in the 21st century. The modernisation programme has had some successes but there is still a far way to go. I am proud to be a Jamaican when someone like Dr.Wint shows that public service can be undertaken with excellence. My observations in life identified a man of noble character without airs and focused on what he had to do. His was a life well spent.

Hilary Robertson-Hickling is a lecturer in the Department of Management Studies, UWI, Mona.