Delroy ChuckTHERE IS never a dull day in Jamaica. The country moves from scandal to scandal. Intrigue follows the revelation of every scandal and even though everyone has an idea of what has happened or is happening, we never seem to resolve any problem satisfactorily. The Michael Gayle affair, the Street People scandal, the 'fat cat' salary revelation, the prison beatings, jailbreaks and so on seem to fade away as new scandals surface and take prominence for the usual nine days.
Is it any wonder that the country appears headed for even deeper levels of chaos, confusion, corruption and criminality?
Things are falling apart. The people are distressed and stressed out. They cannot take it any longer, as nothing works. It is not only one sector, one area, or one institution that is in trouble, the whole country is in trouble. People demonstrate against police brutality and injustice, against poor roads and lack of utilities and against incompetent government. Roads are blocked and daily lives disturbed as demonstrators take their anger to the streets. Indeed, it is downright dishonest for government agencies to give out work and then weeks, nay months, pass and still the workers are not paid. These are poor people, desperate and vulnerable souls, who have expended time and energy in the hope of making a little money; yet, in St. Mary, St. Ann and St. Elizabeth, so far, they have had to take to the streets to demand payments for work done.
In the Prime Minister's Westmoreland constituency, across Hanover, indeed everywhere, the roads are so bad, in such growing states of disrepair and neglected for so long, that residents are forced to walk miles as vehicular traffic is endangered. Residents have protested in their dire attempt to get the government to respond to their plight. Citizens and visitors alike must wonder if we have a government. Certainly no government that cares or even thinks of the basic convenience and necessity for decent living would neglect the infrastructure of the country for so long. How can tourists feel when they leave the harmony, convenience and luxury of their hotels and venture onto the decrepit roads, into roadblocks and even to hear the plights of a distressed people?
Jamaica is a land in turmoil and it seems to get from bad to worse. Is it any wonder that the vast majority of people would emigrate, given the opportunity? The recent spate of killings, especially of businessmen, without any clear motive or even reasonable prospect of clearing up these murders, has left the business sector frightened. Businessmen and their families are panicking, as they no longer depend on the agencies of the state to protect them. Many more have had to surrender to the demands of the area dons for protection money and the psyche of the nation suffers as illegitimate activities become the norm and acceptable in many business districts.
The wire-tapping scandal that has rocked the top echelons of government and the police is certainly the most frightening development in recent times. It has created conflicts within the government, pitted ministers against ministers, and deeply divided the police force. Perhaps the government deserves this mess as it has not truly respected the rule of law and has failed to conduct the nation's affairs with decency, decorum and certainty. People are left in a quandary, as they can never be sure just what decision or action to expect from the government.
Now the government is caught in the same trap of uncertainty, as they simply do not know how many tapes exist and what is on them. What is clear is that tapes exist. I understand that many are quite benign. However, some have incriminating evidence and undoubtedly expose the strong and close links between the government and area dons.
My understanding is that area dons were being targeted in this wire-tapping scandal as the police sought evidence on drugs and guns; but, alas, ministers were heard regularly communicating with them in a manner that, if the truth could be revealed, the government would have to resign. Yet, it seems unlikely that we will ever know the truth. There is a concerted effort to deny the existence of the tapes and to quell the furore that surrounds the revelation of this illegal wire-tapping.
How can a country progress with so much confusion? How can the police force adequately control, solve and prevent crime and violence when there is so much disunity, distrust and disquiet within its ranks? Truly, we are a nation in trouble and we are unlikely to get out of the obvious mess in which we certainly are, until we let the chips fall where they belong. There has been too much cover-up, corruption and unresolved wrongdoing. There is no accountability, as the buck stops nowhere and no one seems responsible for the spate of wrongdoing, chaos and corruption.
When things fall apart, good governance demands that someone take responsibility and accept the blame. Yet, that is not the norm in Jamaica. This government allows the dark clouds of pessimism and bad publicity to pass away, hoping no doubt for the clear skies of optimism and 'feel good', but recent events have shown that even darker clouds of gloom appear on the horizon. It is not enough for the Prime Minister to simply shift this wire-tapping scandal to the DPP and hope that the matter will be resolved. This is a matter of national concern that demands international assistance to clear up and expose the illegality and wrongdoing that have occurred.
If we should simply allow this wiretapping scandal to quietly pass away, then as sure as night follows day, another scandal will appear. If we should allow the cries of the people for justice, for better roads, for water and a better life to remain unanswered, then it will only be a matter of time before Jamaica becomes ungovernable.
Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Opposition Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by e-mail at delchuck@hotmail.com.
