EDITORIAL - The Coke enquiry and the PM's agenda

We assume that it made tactical sense for Prime Minister Bruce Golding to head off on a bird-shooting expedition the day after he tabled in Parliament the powder-puff report by the commissioners who enquired into his administration's handling of America's extradition for the reputed drug and gun smuggler, Christopher Coke.

Mr Golding, therefore, was not around for the scepticism and, in some cases, downright onslaught with which the report was greeted. He may have anticipated that reaction, but felt that his absence would remove a flashpoint, thereby helping to mute the outbursts.

Whatever may have been Mr Golding's calculations, if indeed there were any, the findings of the public opinion poll published yesterday by this newspaper make clear that, the commission's sanitised efforts notwithstanding, he personally, and the administration more broadly, have serious work to do to rebuild their credibility with the Jamaican people.

Attempt to mislead

It is to be noted that this poll by Mr Bill Johnson for The Gleaner was conducted from May 28-29 and June 4-5, several weeks after completion of the enquiry. There would have been some time for the public to digest the evidence, with the high drama of the hearings.

Yet, 60 per cent of adult Jamaicans felt that Mr Golding in his evidence either lied outright or attempted to mislead the commission, in which respect the prime minister was only slightly better than his attorney general and minister of justice, Ms Dorothy Lightbourne. Sixty-three per cent believed that she lied or attempted to mislead. And given the poll's margin of error of plus or minus four per cent, the difference may not be statistically significant.

Dwight Nelson, the security minister, and Douglas Leys, the solicitor general, also have credibility problems. The numbers who felt they lied or misled were 57 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

Moreover, in the aftermath of the enquiry, 68 per cent of Jamaicans disapproved of the administration's handling of the Coke affair, up from 57 per cent a year earlier. Significantly, those who "strongly disapproved" rose by nine percentage points, accounting for the bulk of the rise in the negative perception.

Wrist slap

At its simplest, the message from these findings is that Mr Golding and his government cannot reasonably expect the mild wrist slap from Mr Emil George and company to be the extent of atonement.

If Mr Golding perceives this to be true, his way back rests, as we have long argued, on parallel tracks that have to be ridden at the same time.

The prime minister has to robustly pursue the agenda of reform he outlined at the height of public disquiet over the Coke affair, to ensure accountability in government. As the prime minister had admitted, issues like the administration's handling of the Jamaica Development Infrastruc-ture Programme undermine confidences that this is being done.

At the same time, the administration has to ensure that its economic policies begin to deliver economic growth and the jobs that were promised.

By now Mr Golding and his information minister, Mr Daryl Vaz, should be back from their birdshoot in Paraguay and are vigorously implementing the outlined agenda.

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.