Civil society or political proxy?

THE EDITOR, Madam:

The latest intervention by a coalition of 28 so-called civil society organisations opposing the NaRRA Bill exposes a level of hypocrisy Jamaicans should no longer ignore.

Led by Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) and the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), the groups now profess concern about transparency, accountability and consultation. Yet history tells a different story. For years, many of these same organisations were muted – or altogether absent – while Jamaica struggled under bureaucratic paralysis, weak implementation and governance failures that stifled growth and delayed development.

Now, they have suddenly found their collective voice precisely when decisive action is being taken to address those very problems.

More revealing is their public call for the Government to adopt the Opposition’s position on NaRRA. That is not neutral advocacy; it is political alignment. There is also growing concern that, in an apparent attempt to inflate the scale of opposition, individuals are being counted alongside the organisations with which they are affiliated, creating the impression of a broader coalition than may actually exist. Such tactics do little to inspire confidence in the integrity of the arguments being advanced.

Jamaicans also recall the widely reported remarks of a former PNP minister who admitted that civic organisations were deliberately populated with party loyalists to advance a political agenda. Whether one defends or dismisses that statement, it reinforced a long-standing public concern – that some elements of civil society are not as independent as they claim.

Against this backdrop, the current posture of these groups must be viewed critically. The pattern is familiar: loud opposition when the JLP governs, and far more subdued engagement when the PNP is in office.

At a time when Jamaica is recovering from one of the most devastating hurricanes in its history, resistance cloaked in the language of accountability risks doing more harm than good. Jamaicans do not need delay masquerading as consultation. They need action.

NaRRA is not about perfection; it is about progress. The time for action is now. NaRRA must be passed.

CHRISTOPHER MCCURDY