THE NEW parliamentary session began yesterday, in the wake of the October 16, 2002 general election, with the swearing-in ceremony at Gordon House for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives.
Every member of the Senate and the House of Representatives in attendance, pledged to be faithful and bear true allegiance to Jamaica, to uphold and defend the Constitution and the laws of Jamaica and to conscientiously and impartially discharge their responsibilities to the people of Jamaica.
Prime Minister Patterson said the oath had resonated within the chamber and beyond and described it as "solemn obligations which we must strive to fulfill. Indeed they must.
The new House of Representatives, the most numerically balanced in more than 30 years, by its very composition - 34 for the governing People's National Party and 26 for the opposition Jamaica Labour Party - has the potential to make a positive impact on Jamaica "as we engender a new spirit of unity", to quote Mr. Patterson again.
But will it? The unity that is so vital now, will not come from memorable quotes. It has to be fashioned from the realisation by the national political leaders that the time has come to end the political tribalism that has for so long been holding back the development of this nation. They have to realise that the interests of Jamaica must be given number one priority and pride of place over the short-term concerns of the political parties they lead. And they have to be practical about it.
They have to realise that even as the newly-constituted Parliament was being sworn in, crime, and with it, anti-social behaviour, is the number one problem in Jamaica. They must know that cocaine trafficking, and the guns that are an essential part of that trade, are threatening the rule of law in Jamaica, and challenging the very authority of the state.
Prime Minister Patterson said: "High on the list of priorities is containing and then destroying the monster of heinous crime and organised violence, which is tearing at the very heart of our development agenda".
The only way that this can be done is for politicians from both the PNP and the JLP to distance themselves from the dons, the druglords and the warlords who see to their political interests in the inner cities and other communities.
Only then will the nation begin to attract the investments it needs so desperately secure the high levels of employment for which it is yearning, and achieve the economic development it has set its sights on.
There is no other way for it to develop the public services, bring about the reforms in education, health and local government that both parties promised during the election campaign, and bring to the nation not only prosperity, but peace of mind.
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