Heather Robinson

We use figures every day. Children learn at a pretty young age to count by singing: 'one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten'. They also learn at a young age to identify a hundred dollar note. Driving every day, we have to be able to determine how many miles the tank of diesel will take us, and while searching for a street number, we ensure that we do not drive past it.

During school, children and students look forward to, or fear hearing their grades. This is usually given as a percentage of 100. And of course, once one begins to work, the salary that one earns becomes paramount.

Election promises

On this the eve of our 15th general election, many promises are being made by candidates and political parties. In seeking to determine on whose words one can rely, many factors ought to be taken into consideration. New candidates have no record of performance on which they can be judged. Instead, electors will use the visibility of the candidate, his/her trustworthiness and ability to get some simple things done as a way of passing judgement. Then, there are many who will vote for the political party and not the candidate. Incumbent candidates will be judged by what they have achieved, how available they were and their trustworthiness.

Assessing political parties

Political parties can also be assessed along similar lines. But, more important, because the party that commands the majority of seats in Parliament on August 27 will form the new government, one must of necessity use all available ways of trying to determine on whom one can rely. The use of a valid antecedent report is the best means of assigning a grade.

Promises have been made by the Jamaica Labour Party to significantly increase the salary of police officers. But what has been the experience of the police officers in the past 17 years? The table below speaks for itself.