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'Leadership weak' - Seaga says partisan politics has slowed Jamaica's growth
Published: Thursday | December 10, 2009
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
Edward Seaga at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street offices. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Freelance Photographer
The tendency of leaders to opt for easy political short-cuts at the expense of long-term developmental goals for Jamaica has been blamed, in large measure, for many of the ills besetting the country, 47 years after it gained Independence.
Edward Seaga, former prime minister, and Dr Peter Phillips, former vice-president of the People's National Party, were among a panel of persons who expressed the view that divisive, partisan political culture has severely handicapped political leadership.
They were speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum this week.
"The state of leadership is weak. It is not providing guidance and not sufficiently mindful of the problems facing the country," asserted Seaga, who served as prime minister between October 1980 and February 1989.
But it was Phillips who, early in the discussions, sought to put the leadership issue within the context of the tribalised political culture.
"It is generally accepted that Jamaica has not performed well over the past four decades. There have been peaks but, comparatively, we have failed when we look (at the development) of other states," Phillips declared.
"Why have we not done as well as we had expected to in leadership and other spheres of national life?" he asked.
Phillips cited what he described as the excessively partisan nature of the country's political culture which, he said, had increased over the years since Jamaica's first elections in 1944.
He argued that Jamaica's leadership at the national level was further undone by a preoccupation with short-term electoral objectives over a long-term developmental cycle.
Citing an example of the short-sightedness afflicting national leadership, Phillips referred to the severe drought affecting the country.
He said the last major water catchment facility - the Mona Reservoir - was constructed in 1952, but since then no decision had been made to construct others to deal with the increasing demand for water over the years.
"It would take another major engineering feat. We did not make use of the resources when we had it to build another dam," argued Phillips, who has served as government minister of health, transport and national security during the PNP's 18-year stretch in office.
"Going forward, we are going to need leadership which will reflect the courage to look at long-term developmental needs," he asserted.
Phillips said the economy, national security, education and community service were areas requiring special attention and bold leadership.
Pollster Bill Johnson expressed disappointment that over many years his experience had found that political expediency had, almost invariably, reigned supreme over developmental considerations.
"People enter politics with goodwill, but change after they get elected; few are the exceptions, very few have shown courage to do what is required of them," Johnson lamented. "The majority have lost sight of the reason that they went into politics in the first place."
Johnson referred to a poll he conducted for The Gleaner two years ago, which found that Jamaicans were largely in favour of the reinstatement of capital punishment, even with the likelihood that innocent persons could be caught in the hangman's noose.
"It is an indictment on political leadership that people were prepared to overlook the issue of collateral damage in order to deal with the crime problem," argued Johnson.
President of Generation 2000, a group of young professionals in the governing Jamaica Labour Party, Delano Seiveright, conceded that his organisation, which had started in 1999 as a think tank, had lost its way in its attempt to assist the party's campaign machinery.
Seiveright is of the view that Jamaica would only extricate itself from the mire in which it had found itself by engaging young professionals to assume the mantle of leadership.
"For the most part, leadership has been a failure. The older generation of leaders will not change; we need to use a cadre of young professionals, who are unshackled by the past, to bring about change," contended Seiveright.
Daniel Fider, vice-president of Facility Planning and Information Systems at the Northern Caribbean University, suggested that leadership which can look beyond the next five years was critical at this juncture.
"We need to look at simple things about life, such as how we relate to each other. We have to find better ways to reflect best practices."
[email protected]
Published: Thursday | December 10, 2009
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
Edward Seaga at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street offices. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Freelance Photographer
The tendency of leaders to opt for easy political short-cuts at the expense of long-term developmental goals for Jamaica has been blamed, in large measure, for many of the ills besetting the country, 47 years after it gained Independence.
Edward Seaga, former prime minister, and Dr Peter Phillips, former vice-president of the People's National Party, were among a panel of persons who expressed the view that divisive, partisan political culture has severely handicapped political leadership.
They were speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum this week.
"The state of leadership is weak. It is not providing guidance and not sufficiently mindful of the problems facing the country," asserted Seaga, who served as prime minister between October 1980 and February 1989.
But it was Phillips who, early in the discussions, sought to put the leadership issue within the context of the tribalised political culture.
"It is generally accepted that Jamaica has not performed well over the past four decades. There have been peaks but, comparatively, we have failed when we look (at the development) of other states," Phillips declared.
"Why have we not done as well as we had expected to in leadership and other spheres of national life?" he asked.
Phillips cited what he described as the excessively partisan nature of the country's political culture which, he said, had increased over the years since Jamaica's first elections in 1944.
He argued that Jamaica's leadership at the national level was further undone by a preoccupation with short-term electoral objectives over a long-term developmental cycle.
Citing an example of the short-sightedness afflicting national leadership, Phillips referred to the severe drought affecting the country.
He said the last major water catchment facility - the Mona Reservoir - was constructed in 1952, but since then no decision had been made to construct others to deal with the increasing demand for water over the years.
"It would take another major engineering feat. We did not make use of the resources when we had it to build another dam," argued Phillips, who has served as government minister of health, transport and national security during the PNP's 18-year stretch in office.
"Going forward, we are going to need leadership which will reflect the courage to look at long-term developmental needs," he asserted.
Phillips said the economy, national security, education and community service were areas requiring special attention and bold leadership.
Pollster Bill Johnson expressed disappointment that over many years his experience had found that political expediency had, almost invariably, reigned supreme over developmental considerations.
"People enter politics with goodwill, but change after they get elected; few are the exceptions, very few have shown courage to do what is required of them," Johnson lamented. "The majority have lost sight of the reason that they went into politics in the first place."
Johnson referred to a poll he conducted for The Gleaner two years ago, which found that Jamaicans were largely in favour of the reinstatement of capital punishment, even with the likelihood that innocent persons could be caught in the hangman's noose.
"It is an indictment on political leadership that people were prepared to overlook the issue of collateral damage in order to deal with the crime problem," argued Johnson.
President of Generation 2000, a group of young professionals in the governing Jamaica Labour Party, Delano Seiveright, conceded that his organisation, which had started in 1999 as a think tank, had lost its way in its attempt to assist the party's campaign machinery.
Seiveright is of the view that Jamaica would only extricate itself from the mire in which it had found itself by engaging young professionals to assume the mantle of leadership.
"For the most part, leadership has been a failure. The older generation of leaders will not change; we need to use a cadre of young professionals, who are unshackled by the past, to bring about change," contended Seiveright.
Daniel Fider, vice-president of Facility Planning and Information Systems at the Northern Caribbean University, suggested that leadership which can look beyond the next five years was critical at this juncture.
"We need to look at simple things about life, such as how we relate to each other. We have to find better ways to reflect best practices."
[email protected]