EDITORIAL - The JLP and Mr Samuda

WE TAKE Karl Samuda at his word that he would win if he ran for a seventh term as general secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), nominations for which open today.

We accept, too, his declaration that he is stepping aside on his own volition, rather than internal pressures, leading to the initial challenge from Daryl Vaz, the JLP's deputy treasurer, who is also the information minister. It is noteworthy, nonetheless, that rather than remaining neutral, Mr Samuda has publicly endorsed his long-time deputy, Aundré Franklin, to be his successor when the party's Central Executive committee makes the choice on December 5.

Whatever the dynamics that led to the various postures, it seems obvious that Mr Samuda's decision provides, or perhaps widens, the opportunity for renewal within the battered and stressed JLP. So, while the circumstances and the generational divide of the Vaz-Franklin contest are not analogous to what happened a week ago, some will view as at one with Christopher Tufton's unseating of Horace Chang for the chairmanship of the JLP's western regional organisation, thereby becoming a deputy leader of the party.

It is, however, important that the JLP be reminded that the changing personnel does not of itself translate to renewal, at least not of a kind that this newspaper believes is craved by Jamaicans. The country, the JLP should by now have grasped, is hungry for politicians and a political process that eschew tribal divisiveness, those zones of political exclusions commonly called garrison communities and the coziness between criminality and politics.

The country, for instance, spoke loudly and angrily when they felt that the JLP administration was attempting to frustrate the extradition to America of the alleged drug smuggler Christopher Coke and that they were lied to by Prime Minister Bruce Golding about his involvement in the affair affecting a key party power broker in the PM's West Kingston constituency.

First step: victory at the polls

In that context, those who aspire to leadership positions within the JLP, including Mr Vaz and Mr Franklin, should not rely merely on résumés that speak to their capacity to raise cash, rally the base or to put in place the organisational machinery to rustle votes and win at general elections. Victory at the polls is a first step. Governing effectively demands broad consensus, a commitment to decency and policy transparency.

In the context of the recent past, we would suggest that the contenders for the general secretary's post, or any other significant position in the party, should publicly declare their platforms, inclusive of a reform agenda. They must declare, for example, if they support the establishment of a transparent ethics committee to vet election candidates and would back the public disclosure of financial contributions to the party. If they do not, they should state why.

In other words, the JLP has an opportunity to begin to set the tone for a new style of politics.

With regard to Mr Samuda, he says he intends to pay more attention to the parliamentary constituency of North Central St Andrew. At the height of the Coke affair, he pledged to reject gangs and political enforcers in the constituency. We heard in those statements a wish to dismantle the garrisons and the enforcers of violence. We now look forward to Mr Samuda's action on that front.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.