Michael Abrahams | From ‘Brogad’ to ‘Anju’

Over the holiday weekend, I took the opportunity to check out some of the vloggers on social media, especially on YouTube and TikTok, to see what they had to say about what was happening in our country. To my surprise, I found an overwhelming number of them and other people calling out and berating Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his administration for a litany of transgressions. The vitriol I encountered was astounding.

But how did we get here? How did Andrew Holness devolve from ‘Brogad’, a term of endearment, to the pejorative ‘Anju’? Holness came to power riding a wave of popularity like a rock star. He was young, vibrant, relatable and bursting at the seams with ideas. One could see how he matured from the time he took over the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leadership from Bruce Golding after his departure following the Dudus/Tivoli catastrophe. I am one of those who was impressed by Holness and voted for him to remain in office, as I thought he was leading Jamaica in the right direction. But, like many Jamaicans, I am very disappointed.

One of the main factors causing discontentment with Holness is distrust. On Sunday, February 7, 2016, during a mass meeting in Sam Sharpe Square, Montego Bay, St James, Holness announced that if he got elected, “Within our first 100 days of government, we will start the legislative process to fix the date for general elections in Jamaica,” adding, “So no government will be able to come and make false promises and hide the truth and tell you half-truths, and trick you into voting for them, and then when they win, they draw poison on you.” He also promised that within the first 100 days, “we will start the legislative process to institute impeachment proceedings in Parliament”, and “we will start the legislative process to introduce term limits on the office of prime minister”. Holness won the election on March 3, 2016. He has been in office for over 2,500 days, and those promises remain unfulfilled.

At that same meeting, Holness declared that as prime minister, he would “hold a grand referendum on the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final appellate court”, and “also place on that referendum the removal of the buggery law”. He has not done these either. While on the campaign trail, he promised to tackle crime so that we would be “able to sleep with our doors and windows open”, but crime continues to spiral out of control.

UNACCEPTABLE

Then, there is the situation of his statutory declarations needing certification for two successive years. This is a requirement. For the leader of a country to be in this situation is unacceptable. This has created a serious trust issue. And it goes beyond trust into arrogance and disrespect, as not only has Holness reneged on his pre-election promises, but he has also offered no explanation as to why he has done so. As for his declarations, we are yet to receive a rational and convincing explanation for their lack of certification.

The states of emergency, marginalisation of the vaccine-hesitant and unvaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the massive salary hikes of parliamentarians also caused discomfort and resentment among many Jamaicans. The Government keeps telling us that our economy is thriving, but many Jamaicans have yet to see a significant improvement in their quality of living.

Part of the discontentment is not just with Holness but with some of those around him as well. Several senior party members have resigned, been transferred and disciplined, and one was even arrested and charged, contributing to the perception of high levels of corruption in his administration. Many of my fellow Jamaicans are of the impression that the Government is raping the country. This is not a good look.

The recent fiasco in Parliament has only served to make things worse. Walking out on Opposition Leader Mark Golding, with his colleagues in tow, shutting down not only Golding’s presentation, but also Parliament itself, was a bad move for Holness. Not only did many find it petulant and disrespectful, but it drew attention to the issue being addressed by Golding at the time: governance. The delay in tabling of reports from the auditor general and the issue of the House Speaker and the prime minister being a married couple, thereby presenting a potential conflict of interest, were among the concerns Golding raised.

DOWNHILL

Things have gone downhill since then. The narrative put forward by the party that the Speaker was attacked and that she is a victim of misogyny has been rejected by many. The shenanigans involving the Speaker, the auditor general and the clerk to the Houses of Parliament, Valrie Curtis, have also intensified the disgust and distrust towards Mr and Mrs Holness. Holding on to the reports for months, then sending them back to the auditor general and immediately announcing that there are no outstanding reports, was seen by many as very dishonest. The reprimand and perceived scapegoating and bullying of Ms Curtis by Mrs Holness also drew the ire of many Jamaicans. The fact that Holness has no jurisdiction over Ms Curtis, and that the letter to her was reportedly made public before she saw it, incensed many. And when the reports were finally tabled, the findings angered many of us even more, as it was found that the Government had spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on properties that have remained unoccupied, with at least one belonging to a JLP member of parliament.

The close results of the recent local government elections should serve as a wake-up call for Mr Holness. He has a lot of work to do to regain our trust and confidence in him. This requires humility, admitting his errors, keeping his promises, sorting out his statutory declarations, and addressing the allegations of corruption, nepotism and cronyism, and the perception of a lack of transparency and accountability among him and his colleagues.

Michael Abrahams is an obstetrician and gynaecologist, social commentator and human-rights advocate. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and michabe_1999@hotmail.com, or follow him on X , formerly Twitter, @mikeyabrahams.