Letter of the Day | Ribbon-cutting ceremonies are symbolic, not signs of meaningful progress

THE EDITOR, Madam:

There’s a recurring pattern in Jamaica where citizens complain about the seemingly stagnant and low standard of living, while the Government increasingly floods our media outlets with evidence of infrastructural improvements across the country. This suggests that there is no genuine positive correlation between these developmental projects and the everyday realities of the Jamaican people.

Since Independence in 1962, successive governments have implemented programmes and initiatives meant to address socio-economic issues such as road infrastructure, housing and employment.

Yet, after six decades, what we’ve seen is a constant turnover of projects tackling the same problems, with the only real change being the name of the project and the administration pushing it.

The vast number of projects being rolled out in such a short time is like flooding a market that lacks the capacity to sustain itself. This is especially clear in the contrast between foreign-funded and locally funded projects. A common example is our road infrastructure, where roads constructed through international partnerships are often well-maintained while locally funded ones quickly fall into ruin because of poor oversight and inadequate upkeep.

The ribbon-cutting moment to mark the opening up of the administrative wing at the Cornwall Regional Hospital highlights the deeper issue of symbolism being used as a distraction to the inadequacies of the government. The administrative wing’s significance fades in light of the fact of the people of Western Jamaica having to wait nearly a decade for the full restoration of a public hospital that should have never reached such a state in the first place.

This is further aggravated by the false optimism that the delayed restoration of the hospital to 2027/2028 is in the best interests of the project. Praises are being made before real impact is felt. But, until then, it is more of an aspiration than transformation, because health workers and patients alike are still stretched thin by the daily strain on the healthcare system.We have taken ribbon-cutting ceremonies beyond their publicity purpose to become a measure of the success of an initiative. We must work towards replacing the outdated government practice of rolling out rebranded versions of the same policies when a new administration comes into office. This undermines the benefits that could derive from long-term planning and coordination.

We also need leaders who are not driven purely by popularity or the need to win elections, but who can think long-term and execute sustainable projects.

Large investments

There are important lessons to be learned from the past before we try to catch up with other developed nations. An important step is moving away from the belief that large investments or ribbon cuttings represent true development, because that definition doesnot align with Jamaica’s current state or how we were brought up in the global system.

This also ties into the lingering questions I can’t ignore: Who is the real target audience of these infrastructural improvements? Is our government single-handedly continuing the plantation economic model?

This is reflected, in my opinion, by the creation of the development zones and policies that are to the detriment of the vulnerable population yet attractive to foreign direct investors who would represent the modern-day equivalent of absentee owners in a slave society.

These projects may look good on paper but, as a collective, we must start asking the harder questions. If development isn’t showing up through the improvement of people’s daily lives, then ribbon-cutting ceremonies are simply symbolic, not signs of meaningful progress.

Alicia Turnquest