WITH TIME running out as his last term as Prime Minister of Jamaica draws to a close, Mr. Patterson is concerned - and understandably so - that he completes as many projects as possible before the curtain comes down. He seems especially anxious about Highway 2000 for which completion deadlines and funding are lagging. It is understandable, therefore, that he is looking at the possibility of entering into a loan agreement with Venezuela to complete the project.
There can be no denying that Venezuela, under the leadership of President Hugo Chavez, has been a generous neighbour to this country. The Petro-Caribe energy initiative has provided a much-needed cushion against the current world oil crisis.
Mr. Patterson has been at pains to reiterate that there are "no strings attached" to the bilateral agreements between our country and Venezuela. In recognition of the mood of the times, he was also quick to state his belief that we should have no need to fear that the relationship between ourselves and the United States would be affected by our ties with Venezuela. It is no secret, however, that Washington is not happy with Caracas.
Senior officials in the Bush administration, Donald Rumsfeld and Condoleezza Rice in particular, have been open in their disapproval of Presidents Chavez and Fidel Castro, both of whom the Jamaican Government, especially under PNP leadership, has embraced.
This country, as a sovereign nation, has every right to choose its friends but it also has a right to be prudent. Mr. Patterson, as a former Minister of Foreign Affairs in the seventies, will recall the hardships imposed on the nation because of our friendship with Cuba at a time when Cold War politics exerted pressure.
The fact that Jamaica stood firm with Cuba in the matter of sending troops to the African front line, in the final push against Apartheid, is nothing to be ashamed of, risky though it was at the time. Who knows, one day we may be called upon again to defend our beliefs. We hope it will not have to be merely on the grounds of political expediency but because we are fully cognisant of the implications and can defend them, no matter who is in power, at home or abroad.
Let us be gracious in receiving the assistance and cooperation of friendly neighbours but let us not forget the old Latin axiom - Festina lente - "Make haste slowly".
THE OPINIONS ON THIS PAGE, EXCEPT FOR THE ABOVE, DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS OF THE GLEANER.
