The Opposition People's National Party (PNP) has been exhorted by Bruce Golding, leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), to awaken from its painful slumber of disunity and answer the urgent call of getting its act together.

Of course, Golding is not singular in tendering that piece of advice. An appraisal committee, under the chairmanship of Professor Brian Meeks, had that admonition as the very first recommendation in its report, tendered much earlier, suggesting the way forward after the party's loss in the general election of September 3 last year.

Unity is strength

It cannot be doubted, as Golding has correctly intimated, that unity in each of the political parties that have formed the Government of Jamaica from time to time makes the process of governance in our troubled country that less challenging.

In any event, unity is the abiding strength of all human organisations, and the higher the level of togetherness, the greater the standard of output.

Therefore, the PNP can ill afford to ignore, for much longer, the advice that has been, and is being, proffered from several directions. It should welcome and act upon that advice with alacrity.

It is also being suggested in certain quarters that "the vaunted PNP machinery is about to crank up". That may be so, but the greatest gift that the party can receive as it marks 70 years of its existence must come from itself.

It has been said that coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. We work better when we work together. It is so for the PNP. It is so for Jamaica.

Beams in JLP's eye

In as much as it must be acknowledged that what Golding wishes to be removed from the eye of the opposition PNP could never be described as a speck, he is obliged to examine whether there are any beams in the eye of the governing JLP as it marks its first anniversary of assuming office on September 11, last year.

For, as he assumed office, the new prime minister moved to put in place the largest Cabinet in the history of Independent Jamaica, and, in that very first act as head of government, he threw out the window a pledge that he had stridently made to our people. That was not a good omen, lest we forget.

According to former Prime Minister Edward Seaga, every new administration has had to deal with its fair share of bad luck which, he contends, is "worse than obeah".

Prime Minister Bruce Golding ... could have done more to foster unity between the Government and Opposition. - File

On that score, we should not be quick to doubt the strength of that kind of observation coming from someone with such an immensely long tenure in the process of governance.

The question that is asked of him, however, is whether any other head of government has come to office in Jamaica with as good a prospect of moving our people along the road to unity as that which was presented to the incumbent prime minister.

challenging elements

That silver spoon presented itself in the form of an alignment of three uncommonly challenging currents which required a united force if they were to be navigated with any measure of success.

The new administration had to face the ravages that had been left by Hurricane Dean.

Up until today, families in several communities are still reeling from the effects of that act of God. The cause could not be laid at the feet of the political leaders, or either of them.

Second, Jamaicans had to contend with the bombardment of skyrocketing prices and with constant body blows of higher and higher bills that have continued unabated to this day. These were caused by external forces and could not be laid at the feet of the political leaders.

The third challenging element was presented by an election outcome which left both political parties with almost equal strength in the House of Representatives.

That was a collective act of the people of Jamaica which impelled the leader who had the edge on the night of the final election exercises to call for a cautious approach to this highly unusual state of affairs.

Faced with such an unprecedented confluence of challenges, Golding had the opportunity of calling on the leader of the Opposition, publicly, to join him in a united assault on this three-headed monster of a problem.

That is an invitation that could hardly have been refused by the Opposition leader, without major political fallout and a serious dent in credibility.

OPPORTUNITY LOST

That tide in the early affairs of the new administration was not taken at the flood of public expectation of a 'change in the tone' of the approach to governance in Jamaica, as Golding had constantly pledged before, and even on the night of the national elections.

The silver lining that made a clear ring beyond the dark cloud which hovered over the fortunes of the citizens of Jamaica escaped the attention of the new head of government. Opportunity lost!

It did not stop there. Despite the urgings and pleas of persons and institutions from several quarters to abandon a proposed course of action, the new prime minister soon chose to embark on a turbulent journey which would come to be known as the 'Vasciannie affair'.

That journey has not come to an end, and some say that the unfortunate road that was taken is likely to leave a stain on the public service and the posture of that indispensable entity in a Westminster-style democracy such as ours.

That painful journey has already called into question the constitutional powers and duties, and the actions of Jamaica's Public Service Commission and the Governor General.

And these are some of the reasons that moved the Opposition, very early on that journey of the prime minister with his attorney general at his side, to warn of a constitutional crisis in our country.

And this crisis will remain, regardless of the outcome of the case before the courts involving the members of the Public Service Commission.

SALT IN WOUND

Salt has further been rubbed into the wound that has been inflicted on the operations of our public service, to the extent that there is grave disquiet surrounding the appointment of several senior operatives during the first year of the administration.

Three examples will suffice.

The appointment of the losing JLP standard bearer in the South Eastern St Andrew constituency to head such a sensitive organ as the National Solid Waste Management Authority has never met with any semblance of approval.

The appointment of the individual, who broke the hallowed tradition and breached the legal strictures imposed against the divulging of matters concerning the accounts of the customers of a bank, to head our flagship institution of social development, no less, has been seen in several quarters as insensitive and barefaced.

Several questions surround the recent appointment of the Karl Rove of the JLP campaign in the last general elections to the position of permanent secretary, without any clarity as to whether the post had even been advertised.

No political interference

These are not initiatives which inspire our people to a platform of unity and inclusiveness, Golding's mantra for such an extended period of time. We are still searching to discover the logic and the reasoning behind this divisive journey.

For my part, the prime minister is committed to a path of pleasing some among us who believe that certain institutional characteristics of the United States constitutional framework can be engrafted on to our Westminster-style system without serious disruption in the way the system is meant to operate.

For, it has been stoutly asserted by supportive public commentators in defence of his actions that any new administration is entitled to have persons around them, including in the arena of the public service, who should be 'loyal' to them - loyalty above competence.

That concept is a complete stranger to the operations of our structure of government and the practices that must be employed. It attacks one of the pillars on which our system of democratic governance stands: the insulation of the public service from political influence and interference.

The children of Independence in Jamaica have been widely exposed to concepts that obtain in government practices in the US to the extent that, in certain respects, they have become a part of their very existence.

Those of us who appreciate the clear differences that must obtain in a continental-sized confederation of states must eschew pandering to misconceptions that are held by others and, in particular, the young.

Elusive goals

It is easy to project concepts such as 'fixed-date elections' and 'term limits' and 'separation of powers' and 'special prosecutor', which are music to the ears of those among us who have been inundated with the way the system is structured and operates in the US.

As I have said before, if those concepts are engrafted on to our system, without more, disruption, disunity and dislocation will follow, as we have witnessed during these last 12 months.

So, in several areas, there is the spectre of intimidation and victimisation which the prime minister had promised would be banished from the landscape of governance, to be replaced by 'a unifying and inclusive approach'.

That remains elusive and the country, like the PNP, remains disunited. The chief servant has failed to deliver on his protracted promise of transparency and unity; and the promise of a united PNP is now found wanting, having been weighed in the balance at the end of its 70th year.

This leaves a monster beam in the eye of governance in Jamaica.

A.J. Nicholson is Opposition spokesman on justice. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.