Julian ‘Jingles’ Reynolds | Where goeth Jamaica? (Part 2)

I FIRST presented the Develop Jamaica Initiative (DJI) in 2004 at a presentation to the Rotary Club of Downtown Kingston. The DJI, as in so many other instances, was never even given an audience by the JLP and PNP administrations, the latter governing for some 19 years straight, despite several announcements of World Bank, IDB, and European Union monies being made available “to stem socio-economic ills” that continue to plague the Jamaican society.

Why? Several reasons can be posited, but most of all I believe it’s the prejudice that I wrote about in ‘Politics and Prejudice Holding Back Jamaica’, appearing in The News, September-October 2015. In it I wrote, “Jamaica tends to operate continuously under prejudicial conditions, stemming from politics, class, and cliques. A legacy of its colonial past, where leadership was concentrated in the hands of the selected few, white, light-skinned males who supposedly had the ideas, the resources, and the power to effect change. I recall my father saying that one of the major problems in Jamaica is that the ‘guinea-gogues’, the elite leaders, have no respect or regard for the ‘poor, working man and woman’”.

CORRUPTION IN THE SOCIETY

This prejudice which also contributes to corruption in the society, was clearly demonstrated in a statement by a young black man, Christopher Williams, head of PROVEN, a leader in the Jamaican financial sector, addressing a forum on venture capital and carried in The Gleaner; “Most of the investments I have done, it was because they are Jamaica College old boys,” said Mr Williams, and after a few negative responses from the audience, he continued, “No, no. You can understand why. Because I am heavily involved in the Jamaica College community and they have access to me, because they are also coming out of school, university and staying close to their alumni. You have to find your crack to get in to access to the money. Those individuals found it. It was Jamaica College ... You may have to find it through the church, through your community, through Katalyxt. Money is there but the challenge is finding the people and getting access to them,” Mr Williams is quoted as saying.

In 1996 after vacationing with my late wife in New Orleans for a week I experienced how similar New Orleans is to Kingston in size, population and cultural drive built on music, food, spiritual and cultural uniqueness. But while New Orleans was raking in billions of dollars yearly from in excess of five million visitors per annum, and employing over 50,000 of its citizens in the cultural tourism industry, Kingston was only getting a name for giving the world five genres of popular music, but making little or nothing from the so-called ‘tourism product’, although both cities have almost equal ranking for “high crime rates”. I decided to spend more time in Jamaica to pursue, with the support of the government and private sector transforming downtown Kingston as a cultural tourism Mecca supported by music and other cultural offerings.

BIG STRUGGLE

In 2006 I assembled a team comprising music aficionados such as Kingsley Goodison, Roy Black, Dennis Howard Colby Graham, Herbie Miller, Trevor ‘Leggo’ Douglas, Colin Leslie, and Kamille Williams as administrative assistant, and Keith Lumsden as resident architect/urban planner. We got the support of the Ministries of Tourism, and Culture, Gender, Entertainment & Sport, UDC, and some financing from CHASE Fund, but it has remained a big struggle as there’s no prioritisation of the effort. Financing for investing in projects like this must be paramount to development. The foundation, however, remains very optimistic, as we know we have an extremely valuable commodity for the best interest of downtown Kingston specifically, and Jamaica as a whole. We believe wholeheartedly in the message in reggae music, and more resources are coming aboard to making downtown Kingston more viable, for more people.

This perennial prejudiced application to governance in Jamaica is what has led the country into youths without access giving up on themselves, the government, the church, the rulers of the society and now shooting up buses with passengers: They just don’t care any more.

CLASS PREJUDICE

This class prejudice is leading the country down an abysmal path, and unless the ruling class comes to their senses and provide access to affordable capital to all ideas, people willing to educate themselves and become more productive, Jamaica is going to turn what I wrote about as fiction in a novel, into a reality, and no ‘Rocky’ Meade or US forces will prevent innocent lives being ruined, destroyed!

The talent Jamaica has exhibited over these many years, from Mary Seacole and Marcus Garvey to Harry Belafonte, Bob Marley, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Usain Bolt is phenomenal. The country possesses all the capabilities to becoming a ‘First World’ country in a not-too-distant future. It requires unity, love, and respect. The Jamaican people are not marauders, they rather enjoy life, music, food, liquor, a good draw, good sex, and “nuff” sports. Take heed and respect my vision.

Julian ‘Jingles’ Reynolds is a novelist, documentary filmmaker, journalist and social entrepreneur. He is president of Fiwi Productions, New York, and chairman and CEO of Sounds & Pressure Foundation, Jamaica. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com