Orville Taylor, Contributor
I am tired of this cursed Trafigura incident because it is another distraction from the other important things we would like to focus on. After all, it is the beginning of Heritage Week and we ought to be reflecting on the achievements of our historical heroes.
We should have been honouring the contributions of Marcus, George, Paul, Sam, Nanny, Busta and, not least of all, Norman. All of them would perhaps have different reasons to feel a sense of shame for the things that we have done with the rights for which they struggled.
Although I am unsure as to what Nanny did to become a heroine, it is 'woman time'; I will not question it. In a previous column, I had enquired why her brother, Maroon Chief Cudjoe, was not the hero since he was the one who led the troops against the British and ultimately signed the treaty that led to peace. My respected colleague Michael Burke enlightened me that Cudjoe was a tyrant and rapist, so he could not be enshrined in the gallery of heroes.
$31-million question
A further reason for his exclusion should also be that like the fallen minister who inexplicably holds tenaciously to his seat, he signed a document that is not in the better interest of us all. Under the 1738 treaty that he signed with Colonel Guthrie, Cudjoe agreed to capture all runaway slaves, or at least not to harbour them. Interestingly, like the most popular politician who is seen as the heroine of the poor, there is yet no connection between her and the treaty. In fact, historical documents suggest that Nanny opposed it. The evidence as to whether history will repeat itself is the $31-million question.
As for the resigned minister, why does he feel that the positions of minister and general secretary are more important than the seat in the Upper House? Colin, your resignation from these positions is less important, don't hand-deliver the other one, just 'Senate' by bearer.
George William Gordon would have been angered by the demise of the financial sector in the mid-1990s, especially since Mutual Life, the company that he founded, along with Edward Jordan, also went under. It was the destruction of the financial sector by the black capitalists in Jamaica that led to the need to create FINSAC and our massive indebtedness.
Garvey would have been peeved
Garvey would have been peeved about the Trafigura relationship because a mostly black set of ministers buying oil from a country governed by blacks, has it sold on its behalf by a European company, which then uses the profits earned from our oil, to make a gift that compromises our sovereignty.
Sam Sharpe would have squirmed because the largest People's National Party (PNP) gathering in history was in his named square in 1980, where there were 150,000 strong, who were wrong. But this year, there was the largest PNP conference in history, but not financed by nationals. He would "rather die on yonder gallows" than live under neo-slavery.
Bogle, from the grave must be convinced that there is something 'wacky' in the JLP leadership, which obtained classified confidential information and used it stupidly. His parish is the 'greenest' but he has a 'stony gut' feeling that the Trafigura money was not rock solid. And for all the trouble and disingenuity surrounding the toll roads, he would have gladly welcomed it instead of trekking through the bushes to Spanish Town.
Bustamante would perhaps feel that the deal was not in our interest and it is a sell-out. However, despite his role in the founding of the PNP and the journey towards independence, he is responsible for the 1947 Mining Regulations. Under this piece of legislation, any prospective mining company wishing to gain a mining lease, was first required to own the land. The regulations, which provided for a 99-year lease to such companies, facilitated the foreign ownership of more than 142,000 acres by three main companies. It was not until his younger second cousin Michael Manley imposed the Bauxite Levy in 1974 that we started to earn real money from our ore.
Earnings from the first decade of the levy were US$1.691 billion, compared to the 1964-1973 total of US$269.8 million.
Manley would be most alarmed
Nonetheless, of all the heroes buried in the former Race Course, it is Norman Manley who would be most alarmed. Unlike his cousin who was a populist and egoist, he founded a party and trade union that were to be bigger than him. In his humility he refused to personalise both the party and the union. Therefore, the union is the National Workers' Union (NWU) and the party the People's National Party (PNP).
The concept of 'putting people first' is not a Michael or Portia invention. Norman punched out my friend Stanley Vernon over the word 'people' in the title instead of 'Jamaica.'
He would have been disturbed that at the conference there were no other portraits of all who had built the party and be deeply saddened that it was a Portia party. This omission has never been done as far as I can remember.
And Norman believed in collective responsibility because the Trafigura is not a Colin Campbell, Paulwell, Pickersgill or A.J. Nicholson issue. It is a PNP matter. Although it might suit Sister P to isolate herself from the debacle and play the innocent victim, misled by her 'intellectual arm,' it is un-prime-ministerial to wait so long. If she pleads ignorance, it shows that she is not in control. If she knew and was involved, then she shares collective blame.
Whichever way, she must step forward and be the heroine. She can't be the heroin because the time for hallucination is over.
Dr. Orville Taylor is senior lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology and Social Work at the University of the West Indies, Mona.
