The political campaign now on in earnest is being carried along largely on a sea of froth instead of substance. If the electorate is called on to go to the polls in less than two months, as speculation suggests, then the Jamaican public would have been left short-changed by the way this campaign has been conducted to date. Of course, it is arguable that the people have seen enough of the incumbents and those who want to replace them and, therefore, do not need any more 'heady' discussions about policy, etc.

But with the People's National Party seeking a fifth term in office and Mrs. Portia Simpson Miller a personal mandate to lead the country and Bruce Golding, as leader of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party that has been in the wilderness for 18 years, there are more than enough issues to warrant serious discussion, debate and deliberation. This would not require that political campaigning become dull and sombre or devoid of humour and carnival-type activities. But the Jamaican people owe it themselves to demand more of our elected representatives and constituency caretaker/candidates to be specific in their visions and plans for Jamaica.

The media must of course accept some of the blame. In too many instances, the politicians have been allowed to set the agenda, frequently diverting attention from the hard issues that need to be addressed.

For while the JLP has managed to heal itself of the obvious internal wrangling and self-inflicted wounds that dogged it for years, it has yet to present itself to the public as a party that has sat down and thought through clear polic to what now obtains. The PNP, which has formed the Government for the past 18 years and is boasting of significant investment inflows, is still trying to convince the public that it needs more time to fix education, the health services, urban blight and the abominable road conditions in large sections of the country. All this obtains, while debt servicing continues to eat up a significant portion of the country's budget each year. And despite the massaging of statistics, crime remains a powerful force undercutting the country's human and economic potential.

Motorcades in which drivers flout the law by bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic, or with passengers hanging out of the windows of vehicles, with the police providing full escort service, speak volumes of the hypocritical talk about observing the rule of law. Police officers are just as likely to break the law than to enforce it, pointing to a sorry state of affairs.

In this era of globalisation, what are the specific plans for Jamaica's agriculture? If the parties have plans, how are these to be funded or should we expect continued subsidisation of the Jamaican economy through remittances? What are the plans for education that would ensure that more of our children leave secondary schools better able to read and compute than is the case at present? What are the plans to keep well-trained and experienced teachers in the classroom, so that fewer of them want to migrate overseas or to other jobs? Is there any difference between the parties as to how, with whom and with what emphases Jamaica should conduct its foreign relations?

A demand that the politicians speak to these issues is not a call for glossy manifestos or televised debates per se, but there are enough avenues for the public to insist that we be provided with a campaign of substance.