TWO NEWS items published in The Gleaner last week, one on Thursday, the other on Friday, threw into sharp focus the wide gap which remains to be closed, in terms of public utterances and effective action.In the earlier story, Minister of Information and General Secretary of the governing People's National Party, Burchell Whiteman, told Kiwanians that concerns for the integrity of the political system had constrained a number of ageing politicians to remain in active service.
The minister in a subsequent interview with The Gleaner said some people have remained in politics because of a belief that those from the 'old school' should be there as protection from others who don't share the same principles and values of dedicated public service.
This echoed a concern expressed by Dr. Peter Phillips, the minister of national security in an address to Parliament in May last year. The minister urged his colleague (MPs) to set the right example by dissociating themselves from so-called dons involved in violence, drugs or worse.
All of this sounds good and sends the right signal, but only up to a point. Ironically, in the Friday story, it was reported that rival gangs affiliated to the People's National Party's stronghold of Rockfort and Jarrett Lane in East Kingston were to meet with party officials in a bid to end a flare-up of violence in the area. Paul Burke, immediate past leader of the PNP's Region III, and an aspirant for the post of party president, told the media that the political directorate had already held two meetings with the warring factions. A third meeting, he said, was scheduled "with people that we think can exert some influence on those involved."
It is worrying that while the police have great difficulty in executing arrests of the perpetrators of violence in various strongholds of both sides of the political divide, the 'political directorate' has no difficulty in identifying 'people who can exert some influence on those involved'. The political system, whose integrity Mr. Whiteman is seeking to protect by soldiering on in office, is already seriously compromised in its connections to criminal elements.
The great fear that drug traders and outright gangsters may gain control of the political system has validity. But the gate has been opened long ago.
What we really need now is not protection and preservation of what does not exist, but a reversal of the trend undermining the integrity of the political system. It is highly doubtful if the older players on whose watch the dragon was hatched and have developed, are the best ones to lead that reversal.
The society cannot await the good intentions of politicians to break the link. Pressure must be brought to bear on those who continue to maintain these contacts, not only to have them leave the system, but for the police to go after whoever is involved in criminality and are its beneficiaries at whatever level.
