Can a new prime minister inspire the nation?
After today, Jamaica will have a new prime minister, the youngest to date. The question is not whether a younger person in the office will make a difference, but whether or not the needed change can re-instill confidence in the leaders of the country and then inspire action on the most pressing challenges facing the nation.
Any Jamaican not looking at the country through green- or orange-tinted glasses can see that there are very serious challenges, some that existed before 2007, some since and many that even the JLP has made little progress on since forming the Government.
Poverty has doubled since 2007, the debt has ballooned, the IMF agreement is literally off track (although I firmly believe that the IMF does not have the interest of Jamaica and Jamaicans at heart), the international community looks down on the country because Jamaica seems to have preferred to defend criminality and corruption instead of standing up for what is right, the education system is still producing tens of thousands of under-educated students, and the healthcare system continues to be stressed because of under-funding.
Promising to continue down the same path is no way to inspire confidence because that path is filled with all the above, plus a misguided belief among some that the outgoing prime minister “did nothing wrong”, a belief so ridiculous that a person with integrity should believe that and be able to sleep at night.
Citizens of a country draw inspiration from having a vision they can believe in, and seeing action from those in power that helps them to believe that not only will the vision be accomplished but that they will also benefit.
Last week Wednesday, I asked people on Twitter and Facebook what they felt were the most important things that Andrew Holness had to do in his first 90 days in office. The list was full, as expected, but included the following: tax reform, addressing all the waivers, party financing reform, really tackling crime, choose new champion sectors for Jamaica, a policy on PE and sport, declare war on illiteracy and getting people with the right skills into the right positions in the civil service.
Tall orders for 90 days, but some clearly can be started, unless an election is called. Holness must realise that he is starting on the back foot. Despite some corners rejoicing at youth, Holness has to prove that he is in fact new and different. He is on the back foot because the JLP has been badly tainted by the relationship with an accused major drug-dealer, the relationship with OLINT, and the way in which their leader addressed the legal issues.
Admitting that Golding erred would be a start to inspiring trust and confidence, especially of those citizens who no longer vote because they are so fed up with both parties.
The last driver faced a fork in the road and chose one path, saying that he would risk his political life. He has paid the price for driving down the wrong road and putting party before country. Holness now needs to find a way back on to the right path, a safe way.
If he reshuffles his Cabinet and any more damaging things take place, like visa revocations or worse, his credibility will take a major hit in the eyes of many Jamaicans. This is a chance to start fresh and it is only sensible to question a person if their choices for people in high positions end up with question marks.
Now is the time to make a clean break from the politics of old, otherwise the new and different youth will prove to merely be more of the same.
The damage would be far worse than if one of the older politicians continued the same old ‘politricks’. People expect change for the better and it is up to Holness to live up to those lofty expectations.
I close with some words from Lee Kuan Yew, one of the greatest leaders of a country to date:
“No prime minister can achieve much without an able team.”
Choose wisely.
David Mullings was the first Future Leaders Representative for the USA on the Jamaican Diaspora Advisory Board. He can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/davidmullings and Facebook at facebook.com/InteractiveDialogue