THERE IS an old Jamaican saying - 'when trouble tek yuh, pickney shut fit yuh'. It's a proverb, no doubt, born out of the need to act quickly and decisively in the darkest hours.

Sadly though, it seems that the saying is one that our parliamentarians - especially those in the House of Representatives - have never heard before.

So power hungry, this bunch of elected leaders appears to be, that they constantly and shamelessly abandon the people's business to campaign for seats wherever there is a vacancy.

Who would have imagined that our elected leaders would abandon Parliament on Tuesday, in the middle of our misery, and head to Cornwall Mountain in Westmoreland for a by-election which does not even concern central government?

We are deeply troubled that despite all indicators pointing to perilous times, our Parliament appears to be comfortably in cruise control.

The world economic recession did not arrive at our doorsteps yesterday; it certainly did not arrive last week either. We knew of it long before the west Portland by-election; we knew of it long before the north east St Catherine by-election, and certainly before the local government by-election in Westmoreland, which took on a national tone because our leaders are so greedy for power.

At a later stage, perhaps next week, The Gavel will share with Jamaicans the number of parliamentary man-hours and days lost because those elected to serve have failed to understand their purpose.

Take Tuesday for instance. Aside from postponing the day's sitting of the House of Representatives for the parochial by-election, members of the Public Accounts committee, with the exception of Dr Omar Davies, Dr Morais Guy and Ronald Thwaites, all abandoned the job for which they are being paid.

The Gavel has long that advocated Parliament revisit the way it does business, especially in light of the crisis.

The best opportunity, we thought, was to use the Sectoral Debate to analyse, evaluate and plan a recovery path for Jamaica.

The current structure of the sectoral debate only facilitates tripe. It is nothing but a platform for self-assesment and for MPs to massage the ignorance of their constituents.

Add to the nonsense which often comes from the mouths of many speakers, it would appear that the members themselves do not even seem to regard the sectoral debate as serious. Most members are otherwise engaged on Blackberry phones, or engaging in cross-talk while the speakers are on their feet, a telltale sign that there is no great level of importance attached to same.

Development and growth

Without a doubt, we believe that in its current form, the sectoral ought to be abandoned. We need to come this time with a debate that takes place in a national context of recovery, development and growth.

These are no ordinary times. We don't have the luxury of cutting the cloth to suit our size. The country's unflattering balance of payment and its dried-up pool of revenue are enough evidence to suggest that a hurricane is blowing, and that now, more than ever, we have to be prepared to wear pickney shirt.

The Gavel believes that it is time for the leader of Government Business, Andrew Holness, and the leader of Opposition Business, Derrick Kellier, to meet and agree to scrap the nonsense called the Sectoral Debate in its current format, and usher in a new day in parliamentary proceedings.

We would like to see a new debate - a debate structured in a way where the Parliament picks five critical issues of national importance and carefully debates and crafts policies for the implementation of solutions.

The roles of MPs in this new dispensation would not be to grandstand. Instead, they would be asked to share best practices of things implemented in their constituencies, and to suggest alternatives to approaches.

The Gavel remains disappointed that Parliament appears blind to a way forward. We lost an opportunity to shine the light on where we intended to take the agricultural sector. Aside from Dr Christopher Tufton's limited presentation, and one to come from J.C. Hutchinson, we don't suppose we will hear anything substantial about agriculture in the Debate.

What about issues, such as irrigation, access to land, access to credit, land titling, the use of technology? ... and the list goes on.

We feel that if Parliament was serious, it would have spent two weeks discussing agricultural development, after which it would roll out a comprehensive plan, which all stakeholders would embrace as their own.

The same can be said of the post-bauxite years of St Ann, Manchester, Clarendon, St Elizabeth and St Catherine. Where is that plan from Parliament? The Sectoral cannot just mention these issues and move on.

It was Maxine Henry-Wilson who said that MPs were not delegates, they were leaders. But sadly enough our MPs seem to be neither of the above.

With the exception of Central Kingston MP Ronald Thwaites, few have been bold enough to ask for a plan; few have made it their duty to say Parliament can't go on this way.

For too long, the floor of Gordon House has been used as a safe haven to patch up the chronic structural weakness in our government structure. Gordon House seems to have become an excuse for MPs not spending enough time in their constituencies listening to the voice of the people.

Hunt for power

The Gavel will be bold to suggest that if MPs were doing this, then Parliament would be demonstrating an understanding of the pain and fears being experienced by ordinary Jamaicans and the business class alike.

If they were touching base with their constituents often enough, there would be no need to use the sectoral debate for grandstanding. We would have seen some urgency from the leaders of this land and certainly, they would not be caught up in the shameless hunt for power in by-elections.

These are no ordinary days, and it is getting worse by the minute. All we ask of our elected officials is for them to do the job they asked for, were employed to do, and are being paid for. The answer is simple: PLEASE LEAD.

thegavel@gleanerjm.com