Ronald Thwaites | Letting ourselves down

Last week Jamaicans for Justice, one of the most impactful civil society groupings, drew attention to the number of undebated motions on the Order Paper of the House of Representatives. It has long been so and is unlikely to change given the way parliament chooses to operate and the defensive contempt which governments, especially this one, have for any issues and views other than their own.

During three terms when I sat in the House without executive responsibility, I had moved close to two dozen motions on significant national policy and legal issues which were ignored and soon fell off the agenda. Why bother? Research wasted. Duty frustrated.

PARLIAMENT SECOND-GUESSES ITSELF

My experience was extreme but not unique. If you want to champion a cause for your constituents or for good national purpose, becoming an MP is not the effective route. Just check what has happened with Fitz Jackson’s efforts to protect us from predatory bank fees. If he had not taken the matter to court, just as Julian had to do to prevent the administration’s hijacking of the NIDS project, nothing would have changed.

To vindicate their rights, Jamaicans have come to rely more on King Street, the venue of the Supreme Court, than on Gordon House up the road on Duke Street.

DORMANT COMMITTEES

The same ineffectiveness is true with most parliamentary committees. The majority have neutered themselves by having timid government backbenchers as chairpersons. If and when you can get a meeting with a quorum, months of hearings end up in a report being presented to the House which rarely gets debated let alone being incorporated into public policy. Maybe a little press coverage. That’s all.

UNEXAMINED SPENDING

For me, most galling of all was the futile process of questioning budget expenditure. Last month again, billions of tax dollars were splashed around with only a charade of oversight. The more a regime feels itself losing ground, the more intolerant it becomes of any interrogation. Dangerously, the carefully scripted (and probably ghost-written) sectoral “debate”, scheduled for later this month, will more reflect the desperate hubris of officeholders than a honest, critical assessment of a segment of national concern.

BROKEN PROMISES

We must say no to a constitutional dictatorship. That is why the broken promises about term limits; the ever more obvious attempt to dismantle checks and balances and de-fang anti-corruption institutions, are so pernicious.

Andrew, Nigel, some bureaucrats and influencers run the country and determine the texture of our lives. Democracy? The representative system is a shadow of what it should be and there is nothing in the current arthritic effort at constitutional reform to improve it. King Charles’ presence is of minimal significance compared to the dystopia of our central institution of governance. We are letting ourselves down by tolerating the dysfunction of parliament. The toxicity of power is especially infectious in an administration’s second term.

SETTLING FOR SUPERFICIALITY

The new standards regarding the operation of ATM facilities suffer from inadequate thought and logistics. To whom shall we report when the machine does not function? And if I am so dissatisfied with the service at my bank, what can the average Jamaican do? Please don’t bother suggesting that I change banks. Opening a bank account involves a ‘sargasso sea’ of convolution and will soon require disclosing your blood type and the details of your sex life. God help you if you are designated a “politically exposed person” – a mortal sin which taints the official and all his/her close family to the grave. The new measures sound helpful but are likely to be no more than a placebo. Already one bank owner is complaining about the cost of maintaining ATM machinery. Watch for higher fees!

CENSUS BLUES AGAIN

We lock up a guy for stealing a few ackees on the Kings House grass-piece but appear unconcerned (Julian excepted) that $4 billion has been spent on the national census with very little to show for it. The fear of admitting fallibility prevents the powerful from acknowledging they got it wrong, disclosing what became of the money and starting over an essential process.

Isn’t the same true about constitutional reform, crime, education and health. By contrast to this dawdling, the minister of labour is to be commended for apparent willingness to swiftly undertake the long-needed reform of the PATH programme by prodding around the country, humbly listening to the experiences of dispensers and the concerns of beneficiaries.

ON DRIVER EDUCATION

More deaths on the road and the incalculable cost of injuries in the course of travelling caught national attention last week. We are letting ourselves down again if all we do is to plead for responsible driving and urge the police to be more visible. Nothing is being said or done about effective driver training and retraining. This is where problem and solution collide.

The majority of riders and drivers have never undergone rigorous and formal training. A similar number have never passed an honestly administered driver examination. Another swath of operators are still operating, having had no remedial exercise despite conviction for serious and sometimes multiple infractions – even causing death by dangerous driving. Then there are those undetected psychopaths whose condition has never been taken into account before they are let loose on the road to do as they please. So what do we expect? All of this is avoidable. We are letting ourselves down.

EFFECTIVE EDUCATION

The people who are managing the transformation of teaching and learning and the Ministry of Education have in their hands a proposal for the upskilling of early childhood teachers and another to overcome the illiteracy of incoming high schoolers. These address two of the most important inflection points for improvement. Both projects could begin in September if those in authority collaborate. Please don’t let us have a problem for every solution.

Rev Ronald G. Thwaites is an attorney-at-law. He is former member of parliament for Kingston Central and was the minister of education. He is the principal of St Michael’s College at The UWI. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.