Agenda for reform in governance

Three of the prime minister's promises are circled in red on the full-page advertisement run by the independent Trevor Munroe-led National Integrity Action Forum (NIAF), to which I am attached. The ad is supported by the Jamaica Civil Society Coalition (JCSC).

Last May 17, the prime minister, facing a massive outcry by citizens and pressed by civil society over the Coke extradition and Manatt engagement issues, and with his very political life on the line, gave 14 specific, measurable commitments for reform. The three circled in red in the ad are the ones the NIAF/JCSC think are not completed or well advanced and needing special attention. These three, with their "actions to date", are: "Measures to reverse the institutionalisation of political tribalism and garrisons as manifested in many constituencies across political lines (proposed to be anchored in the [public sector-private sector] Partnership for Transformation and with a commitment to implement recommendations)/Approval for drafting instructions from Cabinet"; "Laws to regulate political party financing/Political parties considering proposal from Electoral Commission"; "Criminal sanctions for breaches of award of contracts/Drafting instructions for legislation being developed".

Ten of the 14 commitments have had significant advances, with four having laws already passed and two more having bills before Parliament. The NIAF/JCSC concludes: "Much progress made. Unite for needed action on campaign financing, criminal sanctions for breaches of contracts awards process and the dismantling of garrisons."

Patriotic Jamaicans

Despite some progress made, this is no time to relax the efforts by patriotic Jamaicans in our various civil-society configurations to push for further and deeper and entrenched change in governance in a positive direction. The largest political segment of the society cares little for either political party, but simply wants good and effective governance which will tackle the fundamental problems of the country and their negative effects upon the society in which we are citizens, not members of warring tribes.

As I said last week, various entities of civil society, rather than bundling up together and spasmodically mouthing platitudes, should each tag a point of reform - and there is much left to be achieved - and doggedly push it to successful conclusion. The political parties, in and out of Government, are well versed in waiting out nine-day wonders in citizens' actions. We must surprise and discomfit them by relentlessly being there on the 999th day. And if necessary coalitions are going to cohere, we must focus on the critical issues of reform of governance which unite us and not on the issues which divide us, of which there are many.

Let me say a few words about the red circles on the NIAF/JCSC ad before turning to some other issues of the reform of governance. Tivoli Gardens, from incursion last May until now, provides valuable insight into dismantling garrisons and starting the process or reversing the institutionalisation of political tribalism. The big disappointment is that the push into TG by the security forces, and the neutralisation of anti-state forces there, have not been followed up in other garrisons. Spanish Town, for example, as the news last week made abundantly clear, is crying out for attention.

Development opportunities

The stranglehold of the politically affiliated gangs and of crime must be neutralised. The economic and social lives of citizens in these areas must be regularised and their full rights and freedoms as Jamaican citizens restored. Voting must be normalised, and the Electoral Commission has been doing a good job to make this so. Jump-start development opportunities with clean-up/fix-up work, thereby providing help for citizens in areas who have been deprived of both opportunity and normalcy for too long.

As unpopular as recognising and commending the achievements of an unpopular Government in governance reform must be asking for support for the police. But we desperately need an effective police force as a critical tool for the improvement of governance. The police play a critical role in restoring law and order, in ensuring public safety, and in protecting the freedoms guaranteed by the new Charter of Rights. Rather than just wielding the big stick of human-rights abuses over their heads, the police need critical support to carry out their duties for improved governance without any political interference whatsoever and with adequate resources with which to get a difficult job done. The Independent Commission to investigate abuses by the security forces, one of the commitments given by the prime minister, is now anchored in law and in operation.

On the matter of regulating political-party financing, a matter which again leapt to the fore in the Manatt issue and the commission of enquiry, I stand with the proposition of the Electoral Commission, to have declarations made to an independent authority (itself) as a reasonable halfway house between the non-disclosure which now prevails and full public disclosure in a highly polarised political environment with palpable risks of victimisation.

On the matter of criminal sanctions for breaches of award of contracts, not only must the law be strengthened, but so must the capacity to prosecute. I am however, as an advocate of separating and balancing of powers to reduce the risk of abuse, wary of the proposal by Contractor General Greg Christie, supported by the NIAF's director Trevor Munroe, for concentrating investigative and prosecutorial powers in one powerful anti-corruption agency. This is something that competent civil society should carefully think through some more and provide evidence-based advice and advocacy. At the same time, we also need to look at the seriously hindering effects of the growing body of procurement rules on the efficiency of public administration.

Public-sector transformation, itself, is crying out for competent and dogged civil-society activism to help create an efficient and cost-effective public service. The Report of the Public Sector Transformation Unit is now before Cabinet for consideration and sign-off. The public must seek and seize opportunity to engage the matter.

We now need a broad-based human-rights activism going well beyond reacting to police abuses. The freshly legislated Charter of Rights allows, at Section 19 (2), class action against human-rights abuses.

One of the most far-reaching of the commitments given by the prime minister and the problems of governance it seeks to resolve has received far less notice than it deserves: "Fiscal-responsibility legislation to, among other things, exert control over our fiscal deficit and accumulation of debt." What this means is that the political recklessness manifested across virtually all administrations since Independence in spending more than revenue collected, some of it to satisfy the demands of political clientelism, and in constantly racking up debt to make up shortfalls is to be brought under manners. The law has been passed. Some of the terrible consequences of years of fiscal irresponsibility are that Jamaica has one of the highest debt-to-GDP ratios in the world. The Jamaican dollar has been devalued nearly 90-fold since it was introduced on parity with the US dollar in 1969.

More than half of the Budget is devoted to debt servicing, which means just paying down the interest alone while public infrastructure and services have suffered serious decline from lack of budgetary support. Taxation has dramatically increased to the point where a PAYE worker is easily paying in accumulation more than 50 per cent of income in taxes on income, on consumption, and on property like cars and savings.

And the printing of money for Budget support has led to high levels of inflation which, with devaluation, savages the real wealth of citizens, with the poor affected most.

Reform of governance must include Budget management, debt management, currency stabilisation, inflation control, and tax reform. Competent civil society must tag and stick to these items of the reform agenda. The political pressure on governments to "run wid it" is enormous. Civil society can perform a very useful function in not only piling on pressure, where necessary, but in reducing, where necessary, clientelistic pressure which could drive a government to act with economic imprudence for political gain.

Reform of governance is going to require the strengthening of Parliament as the legislative arm of Government. The Standing Finance Committee of Parliament, which is the whole House of Representatives, as I have argued for years at Budget time like now, should be debating and crafting real development Budgets rather than simply rubber-stamping the executive's budget or, more to the point, the minister of finance's Budget. The stranglehold of the political parties on Parliament, established by a Constitution which does not recognise political parties is as real, as dangerous, and as destructive as the chokehold of the political parties on their garrison communities.

The prime minister has committed to legislating term limits for the Office of Prime Minister, ostensibly, to control abuse of power. This will not solve the problem of the executive dominating and overwhelming the legislature. The new prime minister will simply carry on for the party.

Some very important strategic moves that ordinary citizens could make for the strengthening of the House of their Representatives is to petition and pressure their representatives on governance and development issues, and to appear before the Parliament, as the law of the land allows to make their own cases backed by numbers which cannot be ignored.

In short, if we are going to have a sustained reform of governance in the public interest, we must identify the critical issues, tag them and stick with them to resolution. The failures and weaknesses of governance in Jamaica is as much a failure of citizenship as it is of political leadership. Time for a change.

Martin Henry is a communication specialist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and medhen@gmail.com.