Government and civil society

PUSHED BY the big events of the last several weeks which have overwhelmingly dominated the news, our country has entered a delicate phase of transition. It is a time for thinking wisely and calmly about how to sustain the momentum for change in the direction for a peaceful, stable and prosperous society.

A part of the change is an unprecedented mass mobilisation of civil society. Another part of the change has been the vociferous expression of deep disenchantment with 'government' and calls for changes within government and change of government. One brand new group is even calling for an interim government made up of people from civil society and without the involvement of current political players. But at this time nothing is more needed than strong, bold, constitutional and accountable government, willing and capable of seizing the moment and leading the change. This is something which a conglomeration of civil society interest groups can demand but cannot provide.

The age-old fundamental problem of political economy now confronts the Jamaican state: How to achieve strong government able to take decisive action but restrained from trespassing upon the rights and freedoms of citizens.

Fortunately, we need not rely upon the clamour and sentiments of the moment but can find guidance in the testimony of constitutional history and philosophy. Jamaica has a sound Westminster-based constitution, with over seven and a half centuries of constitutional history behind it, but which can be made to work better.

Quite a number of diverse demands have been made upon the Government of Jamaica by an aroused 'civil society'. In some instances, demands have been made from the premise of an upright and ill-done civil society confronting an abusive government lacking integrity. The fact of the matter is that civil society has its own adjustments to make for more effective governance to be possible.

A recurring demand is for 'civic participation' in governance. One of the most powerful coalitions emerging and which includes the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, Jamaica Manufacturers' Association, Jamaicans for Justice, Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections, Jamaica Exporters' Association, Media Association and Bar Association, among others, has announced its intention "to demand non-partisan civic participation in the affairs of the nation going forward" and affirmed its "commitment to a process that broadens and increases public participation in and oversight of the national decision-making process." What now needs to be carefully considered are the mechanisms which will allow orderly and productive engagement without unduly constricting the capacity of the government to govern.

There are some non-negotiable, non-delegatable core responsibilities of the state and its government, no matter what kind of state or what kind of government. I suggest that if civil society coalitions and civil society advocacy are to hold together and be effective, then our rallying point must be on these core functions and not a con-glomeration of sectoral interests thrown at the Government.

Can't do everything

The head of the current Government, who we still have as prime minister, noted in his pre-dawn address to the nation on September 30 last year: "Governments are inclined to try to be all things to all people. Some of the things we do, we must do; some things we are pressured to do; other things we have chosen to do. The truth is that we cannot do all the things we try to do - not if we are to do well the things we must do."

He went on to say, "We will have to make some radical decisions as to what are the functions of government, what are people entitled to expect of their government. We must, first of all, define and secure the core functions of government in relation to which our limited resources must be prioritised."

At its core, government is responsible for security, public safety and public order, and making and enforcing the rules. Government is responsible for the protection of human rights and freedoms and the dispensing of justice. Government is responsible for public infrastructure. By the rules of the 'social contract' which make the organised and functional state possible, private individuals and groups are not allowed to have an army or police force, courthouses or jails. And they will not undertake the erection and maintenance of public infrastructure to which no profit is attached. If these core functions of government are not adequately discharged, nothing else, private or public, can flourish.

A little thought experiment, not original but performed by Thomas Hobbes way back in the 17th century in his work on the 'social contract', and by others past, should help make this clear. If 100 people were shipwrecked on a deserted island, it is easy to think that the first order of business would be securing food and water and shelter, the means of survival. But immediately, questions of ownership, access to, and use of the resources of production and the fruits of production would arise, and unless resolved would lead to bloody conflict and an inability to effectively produce for survival.

The first order of business, then, is the 'negotiation' of a public authority with sufficient power to make and enforce the rules and to provide the arbitration producing public order, public safety and justice and protecting rights, but sufficiently constrained so as not to be oppressive, that is,. government has to be established.

Government is made up of persons elected or appointed from civil society and who will revert there. Persons of like faults and failures like ourselves and who must, therefore, be restrained by law and carefully watched.

Most Jamaicans were incensed by the confirmation of the misappropriation of the functions of the state and its government by renegade elements in Tivoli Gardens and, in general, supported the Government despite concerns about excesses and abuses in reasserting the authority of the sovereign Jamaican State.

There is no question that the Government of Jamaica has failed in large measure in the execution of the core functions of Government. Public safety and public order have been severely compromised. Crime and violence has spiralled out of hand. The delivery of justice has been compromised by the inadequacies of the justice system. A spin-off being people taking the law into their own hands and delivering vigilante justice of various kinds.

Rampant breach of rights

While the human-rights groups have been particularly concerned with state abuse of rights, particularly through its security forces, there is rampant breach of rights by fellow citizens while the state and its government stand aside and look.

The right to life has been seriously compromised by the murder rate; property rights have been seriously compromised by squatting, by unchecked illegal access to utilities and by the pervasive noise nuisance, etc.

Freedom of movement has been curtailed by the establishment and maintenance of enclaves like Tivoli Gardens which keep captives in and keep others out, including the security forces of the state. Many communities, particularly inner-city ones, have been abandoned to infrastructural decay in which crime and don rule flourish.

I have been recommending to the various chomping-at-the-bits-for-change civil society groups which have approached me for support, that we focus with laser- beam intensity on a handful of lowest common denominator actions for the improvement of governance.

Mindful that governments are made up of imperfect people to govern other imperfect people, I will work with any group which has as its core goals:

Pushing government to uphold the constitution, as is, before pushing to change it.

Strengthening the constitutional role of the House of Representatives as the chamber of the people's representatives but which has been sidelined by the political parties and the Executive.

Creating mechanisms to ensure that crooks of whatever sort are not elected to the Parliament and for reducing the crookedness of the political parties which form government.

The elimination of garrisons and garrison politics.

Reduction of corruption in Government.

Strengthening the capacity of Government for effective public administration.

Improving the capacity of the justice system to deliver justice.

Critical infrastructural renewal in the most vulnerable communities.

Funds

The question has been raised, where is the money to come from to finance the social, economic and physical reconstruction necessary? I have answered previously. Any sensible organisation knows that it has to put its own money on core functions if it is to succeed, even if it has to borrow for topping up.

The Government of Jamaica should forthwith, as a critical signal of its seriousness of intention, transfer resources from other budget lines into a comprehensive war chest for the restoration of public safety and public order, the delivery of justice, and the rehabilitation of degraded infrastructure from which many jobs will flow as a significant economic spin-off.

If core functions are not taken care of, nothing else can flourish.

Martin Henry is a communications consultant. Feedback may be sent to medhen@gmail.com or columns@gleanerjm.com