Orville Taylor | No wrath for Clarke

Some say it is the root of all evil. Actually, 1 Timothy 6:10 reads, “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” While not as essential as water and oxygen, ‘dollars’ even for Shabba Ranks, is placed between his favourite topic and his God.

He knows money and understands numbers, better than 99.9 per cent of the population. Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke is packing his bags, laptop and maybe his calculator for sentimental reasons, because he has an amazing capacity for mental arithmetic, and heading to Washington, DC, to become a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Of the millions who have any level of expertise in finance, fiscal policy, actuarial sciences and name it, Clarke was chosen. Getting a job in any entity such as the United Nations or any of its arms, such as the International Labour Organization (ILO) is, without question, a mark of distinction.

As exceptional as the achievement is, however, as deputy managing director of the fund, he is lower in the hierarchy than Gita Gopinath, an India-born American economist. Gopinath, with an impressive body of work, is a Princeton graduate, who migrated to the IMF from no other place than the prestigious Harvard University.

ENRICH THE IMF

Nevertheless, he is in good company, and given everything that he carries, should enrich the IMF.

It is hard not to be proud of this man, especially if you have children. Seeing Jamaicans in places, generally reserved for the metropolitan elites from ‘first world’ countries, creates an immense sense of pride. Not the first time that we have beaten the world; we certainly can recall when Justice Patrick Robinson was recruited to the International Court of Justice in 2015 and served with distinction until earlier this year.

We are exceptional people, and my apologies to those repatriationists, who believe that we are simply displaced Africans, who have added nothing to the original package, and therefore as photocopies of the real thing, we should continue to play catch-up, because we are simply no longer African.

There is a lot which occurred here on this little piece of rock, which makes us unique among populations with an African majority, wherever in the world you go. Clearly, it cannot be coincidental that apart from our athletic prowess, which is now legendary, we gave the world Marcus Garvey, Bob Marley, reggae music, dancehall upon which both reggaeton and afrobeat is based, and too much to mention.

Jamaica’s impact on American and British life is not limited to music. We gave them Colin Powell, Dianne Abbott, and indeed, inasmuch as she seems to treat him as an anecdotal bookmark, the father of presidential frontrunner Kamala Harris.

SOMETHING IS SPECIAL

Something is special about the coincidence of our DNA and the natural selection via the transatlantic trade in Africans, as well as factors associated with being ‘trapped’ on a little piece of rock, barely 11,000 km2.

Rewind to the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, Jamaica’s impact in the struggles for African independence, anti-apartheid movement, the non-aligned movement and myriad other fora, demonstrates how enigmatic we have been. Thus, the point must be made that, yes! His appointment is indeed historic; but not surprising. He is Jamaican.

But on November morning, he will still have a diplomatic passport. However, it will not be because he is the representative from Jamaica. Clarke can make us no promise, because as an international civil servant, employed to the IMF, he has to act in the interest of his employer first. Indeed, demonstrating any kind of functional bias, irrespective of whether or not such activities are approved of and are carried out in Jamaica, is almost a guarantee of an early termination of his contract. Neither he nor any of his colleagues or friends here, should attempt to make any promises.

In reality, this is no real difference between when an individual gets a job as a police officer or judge. In fact, my suspicion is that when it comes to matters relating to the country of his birth or nationality, he would be structurally required to step away and let other persons from other nations make such decisions. Clarke took the IMF job as any ambitious individual did. It suited him and his family best.

Among the organisations which form part of the UN belt, there is only one, the ILO, which has persons appointed to the governing body to specifically represent said interests. The IMF is not one of those.

That the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) may wish to use Clarke’s appointment for bragging rights is really of no great consequence. One may even feel comfortable enough to boast that the IMF’s choosing him is a tacit endorsement of the fiscal policies the country has pursued since he was chosen as finance minister.

And why would it not? After all, when then managing director, Christine Lagarde, visited Jamaica and publicly lauded the efforts and stewardship of then finance minister Dr Peter Phillips, the People’s National Party was tickled orange.

Yet, just call a spade a spade; Clarke is not being sent as an envoy to the IMF; he is leaving us for ‘greener pastures’, and I wish him luck. In his situation, almost every Jamaican, including me, would ‘tek di wuk’

Still, the question arises as to whether the departure of this key persona of the government will leave an unfillable vacuum? Of course, he is exceptional. But no person is indispensable. Did the JLP do enough succession planning, assuming it prepares for another term in office.

Clarke has left what my mother would call something like a ‘spit pot’ of unfinished work; and any undertaking to complete them, before he departs, including the public service negotiations, is simply unrealistic or downright dishonest.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has suggested that the government is a well-oiled machine and the transition to a replacement should be seamless.

The proof of the pudding will be in the eating.

Dr Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at the Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com