Trevor Munroe | ‘Get up, stand up for your rights … don’t give up the fight’

On January 31, I had a most interesting conversation on his Bridge 99 FM programme with one of my former students, former Prime Minister Bruce Golding. The subject was ‘Governance in Jamaica’. Towards the end of our conversation, we agreed that successive administrations in Jamaica have put many good laws on the books; some of which, I had to remind him, to his credit, such as the establishment of the INDECOM, he had proposed and was passed during his tenure as prime minister.

However, a big governance issue in Jamaica is the extent of public participation and of citizens’ engagement on particular issues and in public affairs generally. This, we agreed, was a major factor in determining whether weak law remained weak or was strengthened; and whether existing legislation was implemented or not, particularly in relation to offences by privileged persons. In this regard, how could it be, Bruce wondered aloud, that no one was brought before the Courts when I pointed out during the programme that three of every four public entities in Jamaica were in breach of the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act, some, like the National Works Agency, for as many as 10 years?

This chronic breach represents a failure to report annually to the responsible minister and through the minister, to the Parliament and people on what the agencies have done in discharge of their responsibility and how they have spent hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money. Similarly, how could it be that the auditor general reported in December 2020 that only 9% of 769 contracts for road infrastructure – valued at $8.9 billion over three years – was actually put to competitive tender? How could it be that many of those contracts, awarded on a non-competitive basis in breach of procurement law, did not result in a single public official being charged, prosecuted and/or given an administrative sanction?

KEY ELEMENT

In wrestling with this question, we both agreed that one key element, admittedly not the only, in understanding this repeated failure to enforce the law and to hold persons to account is the extent of public interest or disinterest, the extent of public participation or apathy. Therefore, a major issue of governance is to understand the extent of citizen participation, engagement or apathy on particular issues.

Those who, like myself and, I believe, Bruce and so many others working for a Jamaica of rights and justice for all, constantly ask ourselves the question – to what extent is the ordinary man in the street interested in what we are doing? When people do show an interest, is it only a nine-day wonder? Obviously, our people are not as active as they were in decades gone by, but does this mean they have given up hope of being able to do anything to improve the conditions for the majority?

We agreed that this was not an easy question to answer and that this issue needed a full two hours on another instalment of Bruce’s programme for it to be fully discussed.

For my own part, in thinking further about this matter of citizen engagement, I detect increasing signs that a significant number of our people are in ‘two minds’ – “Should I speak out?” or just “mind my own business?” On the one hand, there is a small but growing voice which is saying “things are getting from bad to worse; I really have to do something”. This is the thought I am detecting influencing some of the episodes in which citizens have recently been speaking out. Some examples are:

- The heightened, sustained and growing objections by homeowners coming together in citizens’ associations, many under the banner of the Community Advocacy Group and in the Golden Triangle Neighbourhood Association. One result of these and other citizens standing up - the Courts are now granting injunctions against developers engaged in construction of high-rise buildings in breach of the rights of homeowners, of relevant covenants, regulations and law. Further, is this determined stand not related to the minister of national security now calling on Jamaica’s anti-corruption agencies to put real estate developers under closer scrutiny for potential money laundering offences?

- In her 2021 annual report, the auditor general describes “a surge in whistle blowers’ activities in this financial year … (34 reports received) in comparison to the previous year 2019/20 (when only 6 reports were received). Could it be that more persons were encouraged “to blow the whistle” on wrongs because they were noticing more positive, if limited, results in more board resignations following public disclosure of irregular behaviour by public officers?

- The growth in complaints to the Integrity Commission from 23 in 2019/20 to 91 in 2020/21. Can anyone doubt that these numbers could have been larger were the Integrity Commission not gagged from disclosing when it was undertaking an investigation?

- The escalation in calls to the Crime Stop anonymous hotline, 311. In January 2022, tips from citizens to Crime Stop climbed to 80 in that one month, an average of 20 per week or almost three per day. Compare that to January 2021 when there was 62 or to January 2020 or January 2019 when there was 64 and 54, respectively. This January upsurge is of course not yet a tendency but a hopeful sign that more of our people are beginning to provide intelligence to the police. In fact, as I am writing this column on Thursday afternoon (February 3), the ‘breaking news’ is that 13 more guns, including 10 high-powered rifles, were seized in a community in Trelawny. This seizure is on top of 88 illegal fire arms recovered since the beginning of 2022, a 17 per cent increase compared to last year this time.

SMALL SIGNS

These are, as yet, small signs of more Jamaicans speaking out. They need, however, to be supported and encouraged by ‘influencers’ at all levels in our society and by organisations such as National Integrity Action (NIA).

At the same time as we are hopeful, let us be clear. The majority still remain disengaged, taken up in making two ends meet, afraid of victimisation, convinced that “nothing nah change”. We have to demonstrate that things can change.

Had many not spoken out, may not the withdrawal tax proposed by the finance minister in 2014 still be with us? May not Chief Justice Sykes still be Acting Chief Justice Sykes as he was in 2018? May not the Birdsucker Lane and Evans Avenue illegal developments still be proceeding? The St Thomas Plantain Garden farmers still be threatened with eviction? May not National Commercial Bank (NCB) and Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) be still going full steam ahead without any pause in raising bank charges?

We must learn and teach the lesson of our past and our present: more public assertiveness equals more equal rights and justice. On this February 6 anniversary of his birthday, let us recall how Bob Marley put it: Get up, stand up for your rights ... don’t give up the fight.

- Professor Trevor Munroe is principal director, National Integrity Action. Send feedback to info@niajamaica.org or columns@gleanerjm.com.