SHE made a happy entrance at King’s House last Thursday afternoon. Portia Simpson Miller had risen above the harsh campaign and was cool and regal at her swearing-in as Jamaica’s prime minister for the second time in six years.

But as she closed her eyes in prayer and absorbed the words of the stirring gospel singer, we saw a woman decidedly contemplative and serious about what lay before her.

The members of her new Cabinet, sworn in last Friday at King’s House, have to get busy and do so quickly! In a recent interview, a successful PNP candidate said he had received at least 300 phone calls asking for jobs since his victory.

Here we have a country of 2.7 million with a Cabinet of 20, 63 members of parliament, and 227 parish councillors. Approximately 120,000 civil servants are employed in these ministries and their agencies. The ratio of one public servant to 22.5 Jamaicans can be a positive if we have a cohesive and efficient administration.

We have excellent role models within the very public sector that we need to optimise. The reform of this sector has been taking place over several administrations and has empowered some fine executive agencies, many of which now earn their own way and contribute to the public purse. As the country saw recently, the Electoral Commission and the Electoral Office are efficient bodies that can hold their own against the best of their international counterparts.

Contrary to some of those broad-brush comments, Jamaica has some of the finest civil servants in the world. We have excellent training facilities and hard-working professionals who perform under some of the most trying conditions. Change is difficult, and the leadership in Government and the various ministries will have to inspire our public servants so they will make the necessary sacrifices to strengthen our weaker areas and streamline unproductive arrangements.

Our leaders on both sides of the House will be closely watched to see if political manoeuvrings will take precedence over national priorities. If they can collaborate for the greater good, there is no reason why Jamaica cannot achieve economic growth even under trying conditions.

There are two conversations that come readily to mind as we ponder employment opportunities. One was on Newstalk with JHTA President Evelyn Smith, who said that there were indeed opportunities for small farmers in the tourism industry: there was a constant need for celery, cilantro, parsley and other herbs.

The sector also finds out too late about the availability of certain crops — an issue which could easily be addressed by a harmonious inter-governmental ICT system.

The other was with Winford Williams, who has travelled the world covering our entertainers for his popular Onstage programme. He said that invariably the stalls offering Jamaican souvenirs would run out of items very quickly and asked why there wasn’t a national effort to get our art and craft to such locations.

Will we finally have a thrust for a more environmentally friendly, energy efficient country? National Bakery’s operations manager Steven Sykes believes that NHT should be designing units with solar panels and water catchment features. Now that would be an interesting pilot project.

We have already seen the environmentally friendly waterless toilets at Leahcim and Cecile Semaj’s Asante Adonai. We have eaten delicious meals cooked entirely in solar ovens. With political will and private sector partnership, we could make Jamaica the greenest little country in the world.

While political campaigning was at fever pitch, businessman Wayne Chen gave a powerful address at an NDM event on December 18 which calls on civil society to become more engaged in the nation’s business.

Here are telling excerpts from his address:

“The American writer, James Bovard, in his book, Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty (1994) wrote, ‘Democracy must be more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.’

“If we see the wolves as the state and the market, and the sheep as civil society, then it becomes clear that the sheep will have to sharpen its teeth. There has to be a balance of power between the three. Civil society can be far more powerful and assertive than it currently is, but its leadership is too diffuse and there is no clear agreement on the actions and policies that are required to lead Jamaica to accelerated development.

“The State needs our votes and taxes and the market needs the dollars that we spend on goods and services, so we in civil society have the power to make them both more accountable.

“Civil society has to play a greater role in shaping the national agenda. We must guard against populism… An ill-informed citizenry will not vote for fiscal prudence.

An ill-informed citizenry will gladly accept the goodies paid for by borrowed money as long as we are under the impression that someone else is paying for it…

“The truth is often counterintuitive and the current realities may be difficult to accept, but we need to move forward with vision and courage. We need to help our leaders to build the political will to do the right thing because if we have done our work well, the right thing will become the popular thing.”

This is not a time for cynicism. We the people who say we believe in a democratic system of Government must now acknowledge that we have a new administration in place and give whatever support we can to help Jamaica perform at her best.

Lest we forget, the JLP Opposition is also an important part of Government and its representatives will lead the parliamentary committees to ensure the proper conduct of government business.

Courage is best expressed in optimism and hard work. This New Year is a new opportunity to take that brave Jamaican spirit into our homes, communities, schools and workplaces.

lowriechin@aim.com

www.lowrie-chin.blogspot.com