Neita

The selection of former prime minister Hugh Shearer's image to grace the new $5,000 note should be of no surprise, based on the central bank's reminder of the policy which affords the honour only to national heroes and to late prime ministers.

That the announcement should have caused some amount of controversy is also no surprise as this is expected when at least three other names have been proposed, setting the stage for a lively debate, Jamaican style.

What may not have been recalled at the launch of the new bank note is that the successful conversion of our currency from a complicated sterling system to dollars and cents was presided over by Hugh Shearer himself as prime minister in 1969.

The old money included the farthing, half-penny, penny, threepence, sixpence, shilling, the two-shilling piece, two-and- sixpence, and further coinage such as the quattie (penny-half-penny), and the florin (two shillings), all leading up to the 10-shilling, one-pound and five-pound notes.

It was always laborious to work out addition and subtraction, and it took one of the most comprehensive public education programmes ever carried out in Jamaica to achieve the desired changes in mind-set and new application.

Outstanding impression

True to form, Shearer was always quick to attribute the planning, strategies and successful accomplishment of that project to his finance minister, Edward Seaga, who was the architect of the programme.

The debate over whose portrait should be on the bank-note should not be allowed to distract us from focusing on the implications that this new bill has regarding the declining value of our currency.

However, if the arguments call for a measurement of influence on Jamaica's image abroad, then it is fair and also instructional to point out that Shearer made an outstanding impression and had lasting impact on world international relations on behalf of Jamaica.

His raft of achievements include the United Nations declaration of 1968 as the International Year for Human Rights, while as president of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Council of Ministers he earned multiple benefits for Jamaica.

His close friends and confidantes, however, have pointed out that apart from one street in Tivoli and one road in Martha Brae, his birthplace, he never allowed memorials or honour for himself, and would not support the naming of any Hugh Shearer monument during his tenure as prime minister or during his lifetime.

Humorous exchange

It is, perhaps, this modesty that may have obscured his legacy and helped to fuel the arguments raised that other contenders, perhaps Bob Marley or Miss Lou, were better positioned to deserve this recognition.

No discussion on this issue can be complete without reference to a humorous exchange which took place in 1969, and which is all the more relevant as we reflect on the naming of a currency bill after a politician.

With the new currency about to be launched, Gleaner columnist Morris Cargill, noted for his pungent wit and irreverent view of politicians, published a piece expressing the hope that the finance minister would not name the new currency after any politician as there was nothing he would dislike more "than having to carry a Seaga or a Shearer around in my pocket".

As luck would have it, Seaga appeared on JBC-TV that evening and, in direct reference to Cargill's column, declared he would support a competition to name the new currency, and he himself would enter by suggesting that the lowest denomination, the one-cent coin, be called a Cargill, "because that would mean having a Cargill would be next to having no cents at all".

Today, Shearer's legacy is back in circulation, and justifiably so.

Lance Neita is a communications and public relations specialist. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com.