Jamaica civil society’s bid for change

IT WAS inevitable, as the bloody Christopher “Dudus” Coke saga continued taking its horrible toll on Jamaica, that representative civil society groups would recognise their obligations to become involved with urgent creative “rescue initiatives”.Not surprisingly, therefore, as Jamaica on the whole anxiously awaited last week a promised “early ruling” from Chief Justice Zaila McCalla whether or not to entertain an application from Coke’s lawyers relating to procedures for his extradition to the United States,  there has now come a most interesting initiative by a coalition of civil society groups.Quite representative of a cross-section of the Jamaican society, the groups include umbrella private sector and religious organisations; education, media. environmental and academic associations.They have determined to work together, on a long-term basis, to demand “non-partisan” civic participation to help ensure the nation overcome critical social, economic and political challenges, and give that CARICOM partner state a fair chance to move forward.Non-government organisations and other civil society groups in Barbados and the rest of our Caribbean Community (CARICOM) may wish to consider the work programme this Coalition of Civil Society Groups has decided to pursue. For a start, the coalition made clear in a statement this past weekend, that collectively they “hold the Prime Minister responsible for implementing , without delay”, the eight-point commitment given last month at the time of his public apology to the nation about his party’s role in the lobbying  of a US law firm to prevent the extradition of Coke.Further, they pledged, that as a “collective” they stand ready to “insist that immediate steps be taken to break the links between party politics and organised crime  . . .” In this context, the coalition has outlined a set of proposals for action that should be of interest to civil society groups in the rest of CARICOM in relation to their own philosophical and programmatic objectives:First, that the Bruce Golding administration and the opposition People’s National Party of Portia Simpson-Miller immediately move to implement recommendations with respect to political party financing and other crucial legislative provisions. This is intended to ensure that parties operate “with transparency, accountability and no taint of connection to criminal elements or undue influence by special interest groups . . .”Second, that there be established a national framework for “integrity testing of political candidates”. The modalities of achieving this goal should prove quite helpful in influencing a new approach to enhance electoral democracy and good governance.The coalition deserves to be commended for the initiatives taken and commitment made for changing Jamaica’s political culture with known links between parties and criminals. They should also be aware that they too would be monitored to determine how well they proceed with stated commitment to help rescue Jamaica.