By Lynford Simpson, Parliamentary Reporter
Patterson, Simpson Miller, Dabdoub and Charles
OUR LOCAL parliamentarians either have a twisted sense of humour or they regard the Jamaican masses as largely ignorant. Perhaps it is both.
How else does one explain the level of gamesmanship, outright hypocrisy and cynicism that followed last Tuesday's announcement by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that the long overdue Local Government elections would be postponed for a third time?
The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), pretending it was ready to face the electorate, ranted and raved, while urging the Government to "call the elections now."
A convincing argument was made by Dr. Ken Baugh, JLP General Secretary, that the Government could call the elections now, then hold a separate election afterwards for the people of Portmore, St. Catherine to elect their own Mayor.
They will not publicly admit it, but the truth is that the JLP is happy that the elections have again been postponed. The party is reportedly broke, and this was reinforced by an absence of any serious campaigning although the party had expected the elections to be held during the course of this month.
And, lest we forget, it was at the urging of the JLP's Pearnel Charles that a joint select committee of Parliament was set up to examine the proposed Municipalities Act. Apart from allowing them to elect their own Mayor, Portmore residents will not get municipality status until this important piece of legislation is debated and passed in Parliament.
Joint select committees are known to sit for months on occasions before arriving at a compromise, and the one examining the Municipalities Act only commenced sittings on March 12.
Judging by the performance of Mr. Charles and his colleague, Abe Dabdoub, there is no great haste on the part of the JLP to have the elections. Not after calling for a referendum to determine whether an area qualifies as a municipality, or threatening to walk out of the first sitting of the committee. Both were rightly accused of "playing politics" by Portia Simpson Miller, Local Government Minister.
For its part, the governing People's National Party (PNP) continues to regard the people of Jamaica with contempt while making it increasingly difficult for anyone to take it at its word.
The Prime Minister had insisted that the local polls would not have been postponed beyond March 31. And, while demonstrating, with a third postponement that Local Government issues are not all that important in the scheme of things, the PNP wants the country to continue to believe that it fully embraces local governance. A close look at Local Government issues shows that the Parish Councils and the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC), are increasingly being divested of their functions.
Some councillors complain openly that the only thing they are in charge of are cemeteries and markets. And, they charge that they are not given enough money to maintain these. In some councils, a mere $500,000 is allocated annually to councillors for the maintenance of roads. That will barely fix half a kilometre of road in a single division.
There is little doubt that the PNP is blessed with some good actors. I found it most strange last Tuesday that the PNP Members of Parliament saw it fit to bang the tables as the Prime Minister outlined his reasons (which were not convincing) for postponing the elections. If it were not a serious matter I would laugh at the excuses Mr. Patterson presented this time around.
Firstly, he pointed to the fact that the Municipalities Act was now before a joint select committee. But, in his capacity as Head of Government, and based on the provisions of the Act, he would be well aware that the elections could still be held and the people of Portmore be allowed to vote afterwards. This makes sense since a municipality only grants partial autonomy. After all, Portmore Councillors will still sit on the St. Catherine Parish Council. So why keep the rest of the country waiting?
Secondly, according to Mr. Patterson, there was need for legislative reform to bring Local Government elections under the same system governing Parliamentary elections. With this as a reason for delaying the elections, the Government must now understand why it needs to stop its piecemeal approach to legislating. The legislation governing the two elections should have been taken to Parliament at the same time so this does not qualify as an excuse.
Again the third reason offered by the Prime Minister does not make sense. Talk about allowing parliamentarians to concentrate solely on the upcoming Budget. Wow!
If our parliamentarians are unable to concentrate on the upcoming Budget while campaigning for an election, then that says a lot about their ability to govern. The truth is that Mr. Patterson and his Government know when the Budget debate gets going it is the same time each year yet it was he who insisted that the elections would not be postponed beyond March 31.
That's a joke for an excuse and only Mr. Patterson and his Government does not think so. How can the Government be taken seriously when it offers such poor excuses? It points increasingly to the contempt with which this Government regard the Jamaican people and it alone does not see it.
On the one hand, the Government wants us to believe that it is serious about Local Government, but, on the other, it is demonstrating to us that it is not so important. By its actions the Government has contributed to the level of voter apathy that exists in the country and more and more people, unfortunately, are joining the ranks of the uncommitted.
Local Government elections, which were last held in September, 1998, are constitutionally due every three years. Between 1990 and now, only two such elections have been held. This does not suggest that the Government has Local Government as a top priority.
Having already committed $350 million to the Electoral Office of Jamaica for the upcoming exercise, the same amount as that spent on the General Election, the Government must now decide whether it can maintain the Parish Councils and the KSAC in their current state. There is a lot that a cash-strapped Government could accomplish with $350 million so a decision must be taken as to whether Local Government has served us well and whether as a country we can continue to pour taxpayers money down the drain.
The Local Government reform process started nearly 10 years ago with millions spent and very little to show by way of change. One positive aspect of the process, however, is that both parties have seemingly accepted that reform should start with the quality of the personnel who offer themselves for selection. Some interesting names have come forward and interesting days are seemingly ahead as we anticipate a level of debate in the councils that hitherto, has been absent.
In the meantime, we are left to wonder whether the promised June 30 deadline will be met by the Government. Your guess is as good as mine.
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lsimpson@gleanerjm.com
