Delroy Chuck

Perhaps, our expectations were too high. But, we expected the Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, at least, to be a woman of her word, to mean everything she says and be a leader whose word is her bond. When she told the nation that her administration would look beyond balancing the books and to balance people's lives, we expected her words to be more than just hot air. Well, we are terribly disappointed.

Solemn promises must be kept. This administration told the nation in 2005 that the tax threshold would be increased as of January 1, 2007, which would allow a few thousand dollars more per month in people's pay packets. That promise has been broken. In her main address, at the People's National Party (PNP) conference in September, the PM promised the spending of $635 million and the unfolding of a major clean-up and beautification of Jamaica. Four months later, nothing has happened. At Monday's post-Cabinet press briefing, Minister Danny Buchanan is still unaware if and when this money will be forthcoming, save and except to inform that $20 million will come from the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

More significantly, as The Gleaner pointed out in its editorial on Tuesday, January 9, the PM's pledge to return the Trafigura donation is still outstanding. Lest we forget, the PM also promised to get a copy of the contract with SW Services, which Trafigura Beheer alleged was the basis on which it gave the donation. This is the mother of all scandals and the PM needs to come clean and to appreciate how inappropriate her silence on the issue has become. It is a matter of public trust, and public trust ought not to be so openly violated.

Empty promises

When Minister Bobby Pickersgill promised in 2001 that Jamaica would soon be pothole-free, we thought once again it was not just hot air. Six years later, the roads have never been in a worse state. Forget about Highway 2000 and the other roads that foreign loans have built, what have we done to maintain the existing residential and main roads? Only this week, Monday to be exact, teachers and residents across Jamaica demonstrated about the state of their roads. These are Jamaicans who want to balance their lives. They are fed up with the dust nuisance and the bad roads that are creating grave inconvenience and imminent danger to their health and their lives. As MP, I am constantly bombarded with complaints about the huge potholes everywhere but what can I do save and except to inform constituents that the Government is broke and it is unlikely their roads will be fixed during the tenure of this government.

When Portia promised to balance people's lives, what did she mean? At the very minimum, people expected some improvement. Nine months into her prime ministerial mandate, nothing tangible has been accom-plished to even give people a glimmer of hope that their lives will be better. Sadly, things have just got worse. Crime and the fear of crime have gripped the nation. The fear of malaria causes everyone to become hysterical about even a mosquito bite and the dirty pools of water in every gully. How can people's lives be balanced, especially when they are being threatened from all angles?

Garbage is everywhere and, due to lack of resources, the garbage collectors cannot keep to their schedule and trash piles up for days. The Riverton city dump has spewed pollution for more than two weeks and affected the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of residents. If the Government is incapable of collecting garbage properly and controlling even a dump site, how can it ever hope to balance people's lives?

Yes, people's lives desperately need balancing. However, it will take more than empty words, vain promises and hugs and kisses. It needs resources, which can only come from the effective management of the nation's affairs.