The price for breaking rules

Dennie Quill, Gleaner Columnist

Guaranteeing citizens fair and equitable treatment under the law has always been an issue for as long as governments have existed. Our lawmakers must have had these considerations at the forefront of their thinking when they established the Office of the Political Ombudsman in 1979 with the mandate to investigate and remedy complaints of bad administration made against the Government and its agencies. Expectations from the public were that this office would conduct independent investigations and provide accessible avenues of redress.

As these functions were refined over the years, more responsibilities were added to that office and its name was changed to that of the Office of the Public Defender. The jurisdiction of the Office of the Public Defender was widened to include investigation of constitutional violations by the State.

I had to remind myself of the raison d'être behind the establishment of this office as I thought about the recent public controversy surrounding the exclusion of nine schools from the upcoming Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships. Specifically, I wanted to understand how the public defender, the learned Earl Witter, QC, could insert himself into this matter by threatening to mount a legal challenge against the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA).

Discipline important

It's a tough enough job running this annual championship, which brings together the entire secondary-school community of student athletes at a time when sports rivalry is at its highest. ISSA has a number of issues to consider in overseeing these games, and the discipline of adhering to rules and regulations is one of them. There are established rules applicable to the submission of entries. Over the years, ISSA has penalised schools that broke those rules. This year, nine schools have been omitted for late entries because they broke the rules.

In its quest to seek remedy on behalf of these athletes, the Office of the Public Defender may have hurt its cause, for many in society will likely point to examples of egregious wrongs which have gone unnoticed and which could benefit from Mr Witter's intervention.

If my child were affected by such a decision, I would be livid, and I sympathise with those who have been denied an opportunity to prove their mettle at this the premier national sporting event on the schools' calendar.

Don't blame Issa

I can understand, too, that the athletes and their parents must be sorely disappointed. But their anger ought not to be directed at ISSA; instead, it is the school administration that should be asked to give an account of its stewardship. I urge the boards, parent-teacher associations and alumni of these nine schools to turn up the heat on the school administrators to determine what really happened and to insist that measures are put in place to prevent a recurrence.

I see Mr Witter's intervention as a clear case of trying to intimidate ISSA, but I hope the chairman and members will stand firm. To back down would be sending the wrong signal at a time when the society is panting under the weight of wishy-washy leadership and indiscipline.

ISSA is like an umpire or referee who must enforce the rules to ensure that all the teams involved in the game are treated fairly. Those who break the rules, both on and off the field, must suffer the consequences.

The penchant for breaking rules is one of the most frustrating things about life in Jamaica. For years there has been a chorus of voices urgently seeking change in a culture that condones the breaking of laws. In this situation, I am forced to wonder aloud: What kind of society does Mr Witter want?

Dennie Quill is a media practitioner. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and denniequill@hotmail.com.