Edward SeagaTHE SELECTION of Portia Simpson Miller as Prime Minister of Jamaica is a defining moment in Jamaican history. She is the first woman to occupy the highest executive office of government: Prime Minister. She has also broken the mould of the People's National Party (PNP) which prides itself on selecting leadership from the middle class, well-educated backgrounds befitting association with the intelligentsia.
The deep background of Portia Simpson Miller, whatever her circumstances may be today, is of humble origin and modest education. Perhaps the perception of the people is that there is more than one kind of intelligence and certainly the academic type has not done well.
As a woman, she has captured the pinnacle of political power advancing to the ultimate the trend of the past two decades when women began a mass movement into high positions in many fields. In my period of responsibility as Prime Minister, 21 women reached top positions in the agencies, departments and statutory organisations in which they worked in the public sector. This is a movement which is spreading its wings of accomplishment into the private sector with equal success.
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR FEMALES
It should not be surprising that this is happening. Seventy per cent of all students at university level in Jamaica are women and, of course, a greater percentage is in the teachers' colleges. Women are learning more and achieving more because they study more and are more focused than their male counterparts. They are also more dedicated performers in the labour force at all levels. So the future is bright for female ascendancy to the ranks of authority.
Jamaican women are not unaccustomed to holding authority. They 'run things' in their households. Some 45 per cent of households in Jamaica have female heads. Recognise also that whether men are present or not, it is the women mostly who impart character training to the children, discipline them and set the course and stage for their advancement. They do so most times without the resources, carrying the heavy burdens of household expenditure and educational costs. The results have been the high success rates of their daughters and granddaughters who are focusing their lives on learning something, whether it be at HEART or college, or getting a job because they know that they are on their own.
In my inaugural address at the University of the West Indies, May 12, 2005, I singled out women in dealing with the forces that shape traditional Jamaican society:
"The burden of determination to achieve is part of the assertive coping strategies of the
challenging and competitive upbringing which make many women symbols of achievement in Jamaican folk society. They are the bastions of the church, the backbone of political support, determined players in civic organisations, achievers in scholarship and a source of great reliance at any work place. As such, they are more than women or mothers; they are a resource base of cultural identity."
"Sizzla says: 'Thank you Mamma, for the nine months you carry me through the pain and suffering...' But it is not just nine months. It is often all her life."
This is the background of the first woman Prime Minister. She has an army of female supporters and well wishers behind her who were waiting for something like this to happen to bring maximum respect to the women of Jamaica.
VALUE OF RELIGION
Like most women from her roots, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller knows the value of religion in Jamaica. I expressed in my inaugural address, referred to above, the powerful base which religion has established:
"Religious faith is a fundamental guiding principle in character formation from infancy. The role of religion is both a stabiliser and base of strength to meet challenges and overcome problems. It is one of the given bedrocks of established traditional folk life."
"Most Jamaicans in traditional society stamp their characteristics of cultural identity as a people of deep and abiding faith in the ancient wisdom of the roots of their heritage and the divine guidance of their Christian God, securing a stable space in life where they live with respect and in respect. It is they who have planted the strongest, deepest roots of all in the culture of folk society".
Separate and apart from religious dogma and worship, the value of religion in the society is its stabilising influence (hope and faith) and the tenets of Christianity which provide a moral base important to character formation. It is a well founded perception at this point in time that Jamaica needs more acceptance of Christian values, not less. The church can be a true agent of change if it is fully brought on board. The failure of the values and attitudes campaign of the Patterson administration was, in part, due to its secular approach and lack of fulsome support.
It is not easy to sell platitudinous values to those who need it most, the counter-culture youth. It needs the powerful voice of authority from the Prime Minister and her government to make an impact. This is what the Prime Minister has started to do in the expectation that those who believe in the need for greater morality will join in. But it will need more than the voice of political authority. It will need the voice of the deejays sending their message of transformation because the most dynamic instrument of learning in Jamaica is music. The Prime Minister is in a position of great influence here.
JOBS ARE EXPECTED
The popularity of Portia Simpson Miller is both her strength and weakness. Populism is a demanding form of governance, requiring early satisfaction, not later gratification. The demands to be satisfied centre around employment, the most pressing problem. This, of course, has to be financed from budget resources which are scarcer than ever this year for many reasons.
This brings into sharp focus the critical challenge which has to be met to sustain the momentum for change: jobs are expected and jobs have to be created. Fail here and the slide will begin.
The pattern of job creation in the last part of the last four decades is instructive:
Period Average annual change in employment ('000)
1968-1969 35,100
1977-1980 7,600
1986-1988 32,900
1996-2000 -3,800
1999-2004 16,933
The data is from a paper by Dr. Michael Witter and Dr. Pat Anderson on the Structural Adjustment Programme of the 1980s. I quote the relevant passage:
"However, by the end of the 1980s, the combination of Structural-Adjustment policies had effected a remarkable change in the Jamaican labour Market. After an initial period characterised by a relative stagnation of the formal sector, and an increase in informal sector activity (1977-1980), employment generation moved onto an expansionary path. This expansion rivalled the high-growth years of the sixties and early seventies, and was most pronounced for the period 1983-88".
In the meantime, the present situation will continue with the same macro-economic model that has failed to produce adequate revenue, jobs and growth for the past 15 years.
I hope the new Prime Minister and the people will have the patience to wait for the promised performance which has failed to materialise. I do not get the impression that they can.
Edward Seaga is a former Prime Minister. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at the UWI. Email: odf@uwimona.edu.jm.
