Avoid the selective memories about the 1970s
Anyone who is prepared to exercise rational and unemotional thought about Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s comments at the launch of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Education Fund scholarships last week cannot fault the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) for taking some amount of umbrage at his reference to the PNP’s contribution to Jamaica during what he termed “the period of industrialisation and industrial development”.
Mr Holness, obviously referencing the 1970s when the PNP formed the Government, said Jamaica’s departure from course during that period was not due to external forces, “It was due to the misadventure of the PNP which diverted us from the path of economic growth, selling the people of Jamaica false hope and unrealistic dreams for which the country is still paying today.”
He argued that, with all the social problems that we had to address, had we stayed the economic course and ensured that our economy was aligned to the opportunities that were created by the industrial transformations that were taking place — instead of flirting with “ideologies that were foreign to us” — Jamaica would be in a better place today.
The PNP, in response, said Mr Holness sullied the name of its late president and former Prime Minister Michael Manley. Mr Holness’s statement, the party charged, revealed “a profound ignorance of the significance of Michael Manley’s contribution to the development of modern Jamaica, in particular, his promulgation of a raft of social legislation and policies, which uplifted the under-served poor Jamaicans and campaigned to permanently sever the vestiges of our colonial heritage”.
No one can deny the accuracy of that statement by the PNP, for, indeed, the Government of the 1970s — particularly through the use of social legislation — “levelled the playing field for thousands of marginalised Jamaicans”.
Mr Holness, therefore, fell short in his comments by not acknowledging those achievements which not only infused Jamaicans with pride, but strengthened our independence and our democracy.
However, the PNP’s response was equally short of complete analysis, because there can be no credible assessment of the 1970s without reference to the country’s economic performance.
Between 1973 and 1980, when the PNP lost the general election in a landslide to the JLP, Jamaica suffered seven consecutive years of negative growth.
Jamaicans old enough will recall that the country, especially after the 1976 General Election, experienced a loss of capital and skilled labour due mostly to the then Government’s economic policies and its embrace of communist and socialist regimes across the world.
Of course, that political position, adopted at the height of the Cold War, placed Jamaica in confrontation with Western governments, particularly the United States, our largest trading partner.
While Mr Manley never denounced his ideology, given his deep commitment to the politics of equality, we recall that on his return to power in 1989 he admitted that his Administration in the 1970s made serious mistakes.
While a lot more could be said about this period in Jamaica’s history, our advice to both sides in this debate is that it will serve future generations well if they discuss the issues with all the facts, rather than being selective.