Martin HenryCHRISTMAS IS a time of celebration. Christmas - never mind the date - began with a miracle. And our Minister of National Security has been speaking of seeing miracles in the opening up of inner-city communities. Christmas is a time of hope. But what is there to celebrate and to hope for? Plenty, although things can always be better.
In a little out-of-town wrap at this cool, moist time of year the breath-taking varied beauty of the land stands out again. And in many places the roads have been patched up pretty nicely, allowing smoother, safer passage and more enjoyment.
We are cued in to complain and to be afraid almost as a reflex action. But all is not a disaster. There are bright spots. Take the roads: the Jamaican road network in general is now better than it has been in the last several years although there are still major patches of disaster. And there seem to be better rhyme and reason to the programme of repairs.
Besides new highways which some say we can well do without, the major arterial network has had significant improvements in big enough patches for celebration. But it is always easier to see the remaining potholes. After all, one has to avoid them. But in focusing on the potholes one will miss the fabulous green-clothed mountains and valleys, the waterfalls now running full strength from the recent rains and the indigo-blue Caribbean kept off the road by the retaining walls some of which are quite new after flood damage.
It is remarkable how a month or two can change things. What has been the biggest change of the last couple of months in this nation of ours? We are still in the economic doldrums. Despite the new security measures, the murder rate trundles on relentlessly and we are up to similar numbers as at the same time last year. This newspaper did well to publish a roll call of all the names of the recorded dead up to the 960 mark a couple of weeks ago.
But there has been a distinct, almost touchable shift of mood. And this is the biggest change. There is a sense that the crime and violence problem can find a solution, though not necessarily a quick one. There is an understanding that things can be better all round if this war is won. There is greater commitment to pitch in. The people in the most violence-prone communities where there have been lockdown security operations are perhaps the most relieved and hopeful of all despite everything.
Leadership matters, and not just political leadership. Indeed the gobbling up of other kinds of leadership by the political monster, like Cookie Monster of Sesame Street, is a major part of the problem.
A major leader in the mood swing has been the media. The generally very positive coverage of the new security operations and the better mix of good news and bad news have helped enormously. The media is the principal shaper of public opinion, public sentiment and feelings about current public affairs. In this regard, balance is so very vital. Reporting and commenting on what's wrong is extremely important. The public authorities will seldom volunteer to tell. But reporting and commenting on what's right or at least is heading in the right direction is just as important. The crime plan must continue to be rigorously monitored on both its plus and minus sides. Not just the security forces but the citizens' actions for and against crime must be kept under the microscope.
The security forces themselves, with a shift on a large enough scale in their approach to policing crime and violence and communities, are providing significant leadership for the mood shift which can either progress or regress from here on. The forces must cease to dwell in the long shadow of political leadership and get on with their jobs fair and square under the law.
It is a delicate moment. On the upswing of a mood shift, a broke and very deeply indebted Government with a large budget deficit, is introducing new taxes. One of the difficult tasks of any government is to time and sell increased taxation. Honesty, transparency and humility help along with the demonstration of purpose and benefits. The upswing can become a downswing pretty rapidly.
The way the state serves citizens as customers has to change for a better Jamaica. With the softening of hard policing must come a softer, gentler, more responsive and efficient Public Service. This newspaper has turned the spotlight on Citizens' Charters and is actually checking how well they are working off paper in the field. It was about this time of year that the Prime Minister launched the Citizen's Charter idea way back in '94. The launch was to mark the 50th anniversary of Universal Adult Suffrage (December 13).
From being in at ground level in discussions with the Prime Minister, I have followed with keen interest the fortunes (and misfortunes) of the Citizens' Charter proposition which can do so much to improve service delivery and improve the quality of life of citizens.
At about the same time the PM unveiled Citizens' Charters, he launched an Attitudes and Values campaign which took the same pathway of too little input and too little progress over too many years. If I am reading correctly the national mood of the moment, the time is right for the renewed effort to be put into the Attitudes and Values programme under the leadership of Minister of Information, Burchell Whiteman, old schoolmaster and Methodist lay preacher.
The media, which has been running its own conflict resolution PALS programme for peace and love in schools, should give balanced and fair, and fairly full, coverage to the resuscitated A&V programme, indeed should hold the Government to task to keep the thing up and running.
One of the best things the Government can do for Attitudes and Values is to vigorously police and uphold quality of life laws. As I told the Prime Minister via this column when A&V was launched, it is the instruments of state power which he has best at his disposal to improve attitudes and values and preaching won't help very much. Another sound strategy is to offer quality public service, as the Citizen's Charter specifies, setting an example and providing a tangible stimulus for the spread of improved A&V.
Martin Henry is a communication specialist.
