Jamaica's leadership crisis

Delano  Seiveright, GUEST COLUMNIST

A couple of recent developments brought to the fore once again intermittent concerns about Jamaica's perceived leadership vacuum. It is clear that after 49 years of independence, and now with our eighth prime minister, confidence in our political system and its leaders remains low.

Just two weeks ago, the Mona School of Business, in partnership with the Spanish Court Hotel, in an intimate breakfast talk series, hosted a discussion featuring Jamaican-American scholar, Professor Peter Blair Henry, the dean of New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. He spoke eloquently on some of the economic challenges facing Jamaica and, more intently, on our severe productivity deficit and ways in which we can tackle this perennial dilemma. Following short contributions from attendees, that included some of Jamaica's leading scholars and thinkers, it became apparent that there is deep-seated frustration oozing from our people impatient in their desire for Jamaica to enter a phase of sustained economic growth and development.

The Jamaican economy is renowned for its doggedly anaemic growth rates. Barring the Jamaica Labour Party governments of the 1960s, very early 1970s and late 1980s, Jamaica's economy has either been in a state of decline or stagnation. The economic growth-rate statistics are comparable to countries that have been in the throes of war! That is what makes Jamaica so unique.

The Gleaner editorials of recent are ones to take serious note of. The Gleaner articulated concerns about the lack of confidence in our political leadership. It recalled damning statistics coming out of a United States Agency for International Development-funded University of the West Indies and Vanderbilt University project analysing democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. In it, a third of Jamaicans supported a military coup and less than half are satisfied with the state of our country's democracy. The Gleaner also equated both major political parties to gangs whose sole aim is to grab state power and promote narrow partisan interests. Further yet, one of The Gleaner editorials pointed out that Prime Minister Bruce Golding and Opposition Leader Portia Simpson Miller will be 65 and 67, respectively, at the next general election.

More pointedly though, the Tuesday April 5 Gleaner editorial said, in part, "Maybe, after 40 years in its embrace, Mr Golding and Mrs Simpson Miller cannot liberate themselves from a political process which prizes slow evolution to the top which, for instance, would have precluded Mr David Cameron's leadership of Britain's Tories after only five years in Parliament and leadership of the country within a decade of going to Westminster. He is 43."

GENERATION X

Last year, G2K articulated its call for transformational leadership and the need for Generation X to take a more central role. Generation X generally refers to the generation born between 1961 and 1981. They come after the famous baby-boomer generation. Even before our call, there was a strong undercurrent out there for more of our older political leaders to start seriously thinking about retirement. Many have served our country for decades, and while some good was done, the general outcome is what we have today as a society. It is nothing to be proud of and is not deserving of accolades. Several of them have opted to have their children grow and develop themselves in other countries, knowing very well that Jamaica can be quite hostile to the development of an average young and bright citizen. The focus for them must then be to work diligently at correcting the wrongs of the past, and sooner, rather than later, honourably leave the front rows of the political field and allow Generation X to bring to the fore new ideas, new leadership and fine-tune and continue the game-changing initiatives in train now.

The deep-seated concerns for political renewal are discussed within some circles extensively. There is an acceptance of the fact that a wholesale changing of the guard would be naive and potentially destructive. There needs to be a coalition of young and old minds, Jamaicans here and overseas, political and non-political, to effectively address the challenges facing Jamaica. The political parties, in essence, need to attract and accommodate more of Jamaica's best and brightest. What is disconcerting, though, is the entrenched position of members of our elderly political class. In a society plagued by poverty and ignorance, any politician with crafty use of albeit limited state resources and reasonably good management abilities can cement himself into a constituency and leave only when he desires, or, in many cases, when he run out of steam altogether. This is even more so in an environment of limited financial resources, limited opportunities and burgeoning ranks of apathetic young people. It is a conundrum that may only break by some sort of 'shock' event or several more decades of evolution.

One G2K member argued that the year 2022 or 2027 may be the time that Jamaica will see a fundamental shift in its political class, resulting in younger, more vibrant and transformational leadership. There is still incredible doubt that this will happen, though. In truth, and in fact, Jamaica's generation of 40-somethings should be the ones leading us at this stage, as is the case for many progressive countries throughout the world, including the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Canada, Barbados and several Western European countries. These 40-somethings should be ably supported by older and wiser persons who have racked up tremendous experience in leadership and management positions. We are fooling ourselves if we think the current status quo can take this country out of the malaise it's in.

SETTING THE FOUNDATION

The most that can be done is to set the country on a foundation for sustained growth and development. On that score Prime Minister Bruce Golding and his administration have succeeded in many ways. The economy has been stabilised, interest rates have fallen to some of the lowest rates ever, and our debt crisis has been significantly addressed through the game-changing Jamaica Debt Exchange and, generally, sound economic policies. On the crime front, murders, year to date, have plummeted by nearly 50 per cent, meaning hundreds fewer Jamaicans have been slain! The Government has effectively tackled two of Jamaica's biggest dilemmas and must continue its focus to gain further successes, as lots more work is left to be done.

CRITICAL FRONTS

On other critical fronts, much progress has been made amid the biggest global economic meltdown since the Great Depression of 1929, on top of an already-hobbled economic situation inherited from the previous administration that spent a whopping near 19 consecutive years in office. The education, agriculture, transport, energy, mining and tourism sectors benefit from visionary, skilled and clear-minded leadership, possibly the best in Jamaica's history. The growth and development of these sectors, despite the incredible odds, comes as no surprise then. On the tourism front, for example, Jamaica continues to outperform almost every other competing destination in the region. On the energy front, the country has finally articulated a clear energy policy and plan that will guide us effectively for the next 20 years. On the education front, the Career Advancement Programme, the Alternative Secondary Transition Education Programme, and an increasingly more relevant and practical HEART/NTA are just a few of the game-changing developments required for building a better society.

Despite the strong foundations being developed in these and other sectors for future generations to build on, there remains a myriad of serious debacles that continue to threaten our nation's ability to enter a phase of sustained growth and development. These include a puzzling bureaucracy, rampant corruption, a fatigued economy, lawlessness, a failed political system and uninspiring leadership across the board.

Transformational leadership is needed, and it's incumbent on the younger generations to deliver, sooner rather than later. A study of Lee Kuan Yew's leadership of Singapore makes perfect reading into what transformational leadership is truly about.

Delano Seiveright is president of Generation 2000, the young-professional affiliate of the Jamaica Labour Party.