Excerpt from Jamaica Observer column published Monday, March 22, 2021
By Jean Lowrie-Chin
In his budget presentation last Thursday, Prime Minister Andrew Holness, while acknowledging the crises of crime and COVID-19, signalled that his Government would be going fast forward into infrastructure investment and crime fighting. Commenting on the global shortage of vaccines, he noted, “This means that we still have a few more months ahead of us for the strict maintenance of protocols.” He warned that, with an over 30 per cent positivity rate, and hospitals at capacity, he would be announcing “a new set of stronger measures designed to protect our health care system and save lives in the short term, which eventually protects and preserves our economy and livelihoods in the long term”.
He noted that police officers will shortly receive body-worn cameras: “This will have a positive impact on the speed at which incidents are investigated and disposed of.” He said that, in addition to Denham Town, West Kingston, Mount Salem (St James), Greenwich Town, and August Town, his Government will be adding two additional communities as zones of special operations (ZOSO). The Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) will have the urgent task of managing social transformation in these communities.
We welcome the prime minister’s announcement of a National Commission on Violence Prevention and hope that there will be close collaboration with the private/public sector Crime Monitoring and Oversight Committee (CMOC).
The impact of COVID-19 has been hardest on the poor, and the financial safety net created by the Ministry of Finance will bring some relief, but their suffering continues. We cannot fault Opposition Leader Mark Golding for bringing attention to this perennial problem. However, it is up to our leaders, regardless of political party, to partner with JSIF for the social transformation of their constituencies.
Whenever I mention that Jamaica has 63 Members of Parliament and over 200 parish councillors for a population of over 2.7 million, some people are genuinely shocked. It is amazing that, with this huge cohort of political leaders, gang violence could have become so deadly and the conditions of the poor so pathetic. Better policing and anti-corruption measures should help us turn this corner. Those politicians who may have consorted with gangs should pray for forgiveness and do better. If they do not, they should be named, shamed, and made to pay the price. There has been talk of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as was set up in post-apartheid South Africa, but we will not hold our breath.
Plans to repair roadways and expand our highway system will boost our economy, create thousands of jobs, and grant faster access to our towns and cities. Criticism is rife over plans for the new parliament building, but again that will bring employment to some of the neediest inner-city residents.
I do hope the Government will adopt Senator Don Wehby’s approach. When GraceKennedy was planning the construction of its new building he insisted on the hiring of inexperienced, young people by the contractors. They got on-the-job training, which resulted in many of them achieving certification for future employment in the construction industry. This is the kind of fresh thinking that will fight poverty.
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