Where's Jamaica's Gorbachev?

Robert Wynter , Contributor

The former USSR was a politically aligned collection of previously independent states that did little more than serve the egotistic, power-hungry needs of leaders such as Josef Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev and Leonid Brezhnev, while countering the superpower status of the United States (US).

During the Cold War, the two superpowers attempted to divide the world into one camp or another. This spilled over into sports, as the US led a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, to which the USSR retaliated four years later in Los Angeles.

The capitalist system of the US generated greater national surpluses than the socialist system of the USSR, such that spending on defence by the US was about 30 per cent of total expenditure, while that of the USSR exceeded 70 per cent. When former US President Ronald Reagan upped the ante with his proposed Star Wars programme, intended to defend against Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles and therefore tip the nuclear balance its way, the USSR could not respond, as its treasury was virtually depleted by the Cold War efforts.

Instead, then Communist Party General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev threw in his hand and decided to change the face of the USSR forever with the famous watchwords, perestroika (transformation) and glasnost (openness). Major historic events such as the destruction of the Berlin Wall, dismantling of the USSR, and the unification of Germany were all natural outcomes of the transformational decisions taken by Gorbachev, spurred on by Reagan's bluff.

JAMAICA AT WAR WITHIN

Jamaica is not at war with any foreign power. We are, however, at war with demons of our own making - overmanaged and under-led government, corruption, lack of transparency, no accountability and little focus on purpose resulting in low productivity, low growth, high debt, poverty, poor education outcomes and a crime-ridden society.

We have all known for a long time that there would come a time when we could not continue with these demons. Our political leaders have declared this for a long time; however, they have continued to sustain said demons. I believe it is now time we take a leaf out of Gorbachev's book and apply the concepts of perestroika and glasnost right here in Jamaica to start addressing these demons.

Whether we call it transformation, restructuring, reform or modernisation, we have failed abysmally at many transformation efforts - public sector, education, local government, health and justice - despite billions spent.

The simple reason is that an organisation undergoing transformation cannot simply shut down during the change process; requiring leadership to simultaneously run the business and transform the business. The former requires order and predictability, while the latter requires chaos and disruption.

To counter this dilemma, said leaders must first unfreeze, articulate a future, develop a strategy to achieve the future, and flawlessly execute the strategy. Flawless execution will require leaders to know when the strategy goes off track; to analyse why and how to get back on track and the will to take the required tough decisions to get back on track.

For years we have prepared five-year plans, medium-term (three-year) plans and annual budgets; and for years we have drifted off track from these plans. There have been many analyses telling us why we drifted off track and suggestions to get back on track. Where we have failed is having the will to take the tough decisions to get back on track.

CRISIS IN EDUCATION

The whole nation woke up to the crisis in education in the early 2000s when the likes of Dr Ralph Thompson and Dr Dennis Minott laid bare the national education performance facts which the Ministry of Education had been hiding. Then Prime Minister P.J. Patterson commissioned a Task Force on Education Reform in 2004 to prepare an action plan to correct the low performance which would, in turn, drive the economy.

Among the 2015 targets identified was "60 per cent of the grade 11 cohort achieving grades 1-3 in five CSEC subjects, including maths and English".

With a 2003 baseline national performance of 11.5 per cent; the transformation plan intended to close a gap of 48.5 percentage points over a 12-year period. The fact that in 2012 national performance was only 14.6 per cent means we are way, way off track.

The powers that be have failed to adequately analyse why we are off track, and whatever solutions that have been developed, we have failed to execute on those solutions. Instead, we continue merrily along, despite the best efforts of Minister Ronald Thwaites, having been on the job for just over a year, who told us in his 2012-13 Sectoral Debate presentation: "Transformation has started, but we must now strengthen it with fixity of purpose."

We need much more perestroika in education and other areas such as local government where reform has been stumbling for some 17 years with seemingly no light at the end of the tunnel.

OPENNESS

Matthew 5:16 states: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

There was a time when strategy in an organisation was a well-kept secret; however, today, while it may be a bad thing for the competition to know, it is a worse thing for employees not to know.

No longer does strategy itself provide a competitive edge, but it is the execution of strategy that does so. Employees must, therefore, understand strategy in order to effectively execute same. Similarly, a Cabinet cannot hide everything from its citizens; rather it must, as far as possible, keep the public up to date on its deliberations and policy directions. In other words, the Cabinet must be open!

The appointment of a minister responsible for information and regular post-Cabinet briefings over many years have simply served to control what information goes out and give only a sense of openness.

CABINET RETREAT

The Government recently went into retreat for the fifth time in just over a year. Unlike many commentators, I have no challenge with multi-retreats. Where I have a challenge is the conflicting information given.

At the Jamaica House press briefing before the retreat, de facto Information Minister Sandrea Falconer indicated that Cabinet ministers will discuss the "growth agenda, including job-creation strategies, human-capital development, social inclusion, improved security and safety, fiscal prudence, and the pursuit of a credible economic programme".

This gave many persons the impression that the Cabinet planned to go into brainstorming mode which should ordinarily result in new solutions. However, at the end of Day One, the goodly minister reported that: "Cabinet had approved the 2013-14 Budget; and at the press conference at the conclusion of the retreat, the focus was only on the delayed IMF agreement, prompting the Gleaner editorial titled 'Damp squibs from Cabinet retreat'.

First of all, if the Budget was presented at the retreat, it suggests that brainstorming must have gone on before; with the retreat used to get buy-in on the Budget itself, which seems an excellent way to go. What prevented Madam Information Minister from simply telling the nation prior to the retreat that the Cabinet will focus on the Budget and on the IMF agreement? Why can't the Cabinet simply level with us?

The prime minister must lead her Cabinet colleagues in taking tough decisions to effect transformation. This will require levelling and being open with the people. Gorbachev's intentions may not have all come to fruition, but his perestroika and glasnost philosophies started a revolution. We need to follow suit.

Robert Wynter is managing director of Strategic Alignment Limited, which facilitates organisational transformation and leadership development. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and rob.wyn@hotmail.com.