Ian Boyne
THE PRIME Minister's establishment of the Office of National Reconstruction (ONR) was an excellent move, and his appointment of the country's most respected, highly efficient and no-nonsense public servant, Danville Walker, to head the ONR, a masterstroke.
Indeed, the Prime Minister's entire handling of both the threat and aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Ivan has been commendable. To reinforce the serious threat of the impending hurricane, the Prime Minister had a live address to the nation on Tuesday night, urging the nation to take the necessary precautions. On Wednesday evening he held a press briefing, again emphasising the dangers posed by Ivan and outlining the Government's efforts to assist people to mitigate any possible damage.
PUBLIC EMERGENCY
On Friday, he wisely and proactively instituted public emergency measures to protect life and property, one of the most popular decisions he has ever taken in his entire tenure as Prime Minister. The least said about the reaction of Leader of the Opposition Edward Seaga on this, the better. Suffice it to say that many of the reactions of Jamaicans from all walks of life (and political persuasions) to his reaction are unprintable and unflattering. The examples of criminality which emerged after the hurricane demonstrated what would have taken place on a much more massive scale had the Prime Minister not taken charge of the country at this most delicate time. Full marks to the Prime Minister.
On Saturday, even before the rains had subsided, the Prime Minister again was communicating to the nation via a press briefing carried live from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emer-gency Management (ODPEM). On Sunday he again spoke to the country and also on Monday. Thereafter, he followed up with meetings with the key private sector leaders, the diplomatic community, the churches and the trade unions. No one can ask, "where is the Prime Minister in this particular crisis?" The PM is clearly leading from the front.
The fact that the Prime Minister has appointed Danville Walker to head the Office of National Reconstruction and to report directly to him is very significant. It means that Walker will have a free hand in pulling out all the stops in the bureaucracy and in plugging all the holes in the system. It also means that the corrupt in the political system who would use crises like these to feather their own nests will not be able to intimidate Walker (as if he could be intimidated anyway), and would have to deal with the Prime Minister himself.
The Prime Minister knows that Walker cannot be bought and that he is no loyalist to any political party. Walker is a person of unimpeachable integrity and is one of those public servants who are old-fashioned enough to believe that ethics is more important than money and professional advancement. The political system and the public sector are not overflowing with persons like Walker.
The fact that even the most cynical media people have so unreservedly embraced the appointment of Walker shows what a brilliant innings Patterson has scored with this appointment. By making this appointment, Patterson has taken the wind out of the sail of the Opposition JLP who could be expected to start making early howls about victimisation in the distribution of benefits.
This does not mean there won't be absolutely any howls. That's what Opposition politicians do but their effectiveness will be severely muted, and the media won't be as receptive to them with Walker's appointment as they would with the appointment of a PNP insider.
CREDIBILITY AND THE ONR
There is no confusion between the work of the ODPEM and the ONR. Importantly, the ONR is to coordinate the work of all government ministries, departments, statutory boards and public sector agencies which are relevant to the reconstruction effort. The ONR will also, significantly, work with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Planning Institute of Jamaica to ensure the most effective contribution and support from foreign governments, international aid agencies, donor groups and Jamaicans overseas.
The ONR will also monitor and "ensure full accountability of the projects and programmes being undertaken by the implementing bodies and will set up an acceptable framework, timetable and modalities for implementation."
It is foolish to suggest that this is duplicating the work of the ODPEM. But more important than all the technical and logistical aspects of the work of the ONR is the credibility of the ONR. In a highly tribalised, politicised and divisive society like ours, it is critically important that people who command broad bipartisan support and national respect be placed in sensitive positions.
It is in crisis situations like these that one recognises just how important it is to have people of integrity, high ethical standards and impartiality. Anyone who reads this column regularly will know that I constantly emphasise the importance of values, ethics, social capital and the building of a society based not purely on materialistic values. We must have entrepreneurs and business people with the fire in the belly to create vast empires, build wealth and achieve great success.
We need people who are materially ambitious and who stay up late at night dreaming of new and innovative ways to create wealth. But if all we can boast about is that we have an abundance of people who are materially ambitious then we are proverbially building on sand. If we sacrifice commitment to truth and integrity as well as public service, then our wealth creation will not be sustainable. We have failed to calculate the immense wealth reposed in a person of integrity and credibility.
When the Prime Minister was reading out his long list of requirements for the job of CEO of the ONR, there was a number of persons who came to mind as qualified. But when he talked about the persons being non-partisan I gave up guessing.
Too many bright, technically competent, professionally over-qualified men and women in this society have sold out themselves to the political parties. In this crisis period we will see the importance of having people of integrity and credibility. And we will see why a society which is not nurturing a good supply of non-partisan, impartial, and fair-minded persons is not incalculable harm to itself.
STRATEGIC APPOINTMENT
With the strategic appointment of Danville Walker, who has established his bona fides and impeccable reputation as Director of Elections, the Prime Minister has staved off a lot of potential criticisms and wrangling. But the JLP cannot afford for the country to get the impression that Patterson is a good manager after all, and that he is the man to manage crises.
If the country recovers in record time and life gets back to normal with unusual haste, people might just come to see PJ Patterson in a better light and the PNP might get a surge in the polls. Therefore, the JLP, as a pragmatic political party intent on state power, with all the good intentions and patriotism in the world, will be more than a little concerned that Patterson does not emerge smelling like a rose after this crisis.
GREATER ROLE FOR OPPOSITION
It is in both the nation's and the Prime Minister's interest to give the JLP an integral part of the national reconstruction efforts. Don't just call the JLP to ad hoc meetings and out of courtesy keep them informed. Find a way to make them a part of the team. This is a national crisis and it requires a national response meaning all the stakeholders, including the political parties.
There are times when national interest coincides with political objectives. Involving the JLP integrally and intimately in the reconstruction efforts will benefit the country, for when they are so involved they will have to face us the public and tell us why they are not cooperating in the national interest.
If it is clear that the PNP is involving them every step of the way and know about the distribution of scarce benefits and they still behave cantankerously, then we will know they are up to no good. But if they are left out of loop, their cries might gain legitimacy. Good thing, though, is that Danville Walker is accustomed to dealing with the politicians and he is not easily flustered. He is one tough cookie, but eminently fair, responsible and patriotic. He is the right man for the right job at the right time. But there is a bigger problem we face which the Danville Walker appointment will not solve.
'HURRICANE PERCY'
A political storm will soon develop over how much the performance of the economy has been affected by Hurricane Ivan or 'Hurricane Percy'.
The Government will be reminding us about how much Ivan affected the economy and the Opposition and its supporters will point to PNP mismanagement as the cause of our expected failure to meet projected fiscal targets.
I suggest that just as the Prime Minister's appointment of Danville Walker has served as a kind of battening down from the potential storm from the Opposition, so the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank should be brought in to do an independent assessment of our economic situation in light of the Ivan disaster, and that they publish their findings.
Our financial analysts and media commentators here see the IMF pronouncements as oracles from God, so their assessment would have far more potency than Omar Davies' saying, in effect, 'Is Ivan fault'. Anticipate the controversy and kass-kass and bring in the IMF and World Bank assessors.
Also, as workers, farmers and consumers begin to feel the pinch, and as social expenditures are slashed as the Government struggles to meet its tight fiscal constraints, there will be moaning and groaning all over Jamaica, with grave political consequences. There will be greater incentive to crime and social disorder. This situation the PNP will have to manage well, and any politically astute Opposition will seek to exploit. The political storm following Ivan could be more devastating and far-reaching than the weather system which has now left us.
* Ian Boyne is a veteran journalist. You can send your comments to ianboyne1@yahoo.com or infocus@gleanerjm.com
