Mark Wignall | Ease up on the arrogance, Dr Holness

At his recent swearing-in Prime Minister Holness stated to Opposition Leader Golding, “ Mark, let’s partner together to complete the work we started in making Jamaica a republic”.

Good. A reasonable person would conclude PM Holness means PM Holness in person as prime minister and Mark Golding, as leader of the Opposition, should meet. Both powerful men in the same room (with their respective teams) talking with each other. At the same time, let us assume that constitutional reform is very important to Jamaica and Jamaicans.

At that first meeting, it would not matter if little of the overall objective of reform was achieved. What would be important is both leaders signalling where the country was heading in its new chapter. Meetings of the sub-teams like minister to opposition representative, technocrats, experts, etc. would operate behind the scenes dealing with the heavy lifting and codifying the new reform, the amendments. And understanding how to fit the raw politics into the skilled delivery of constitutional reform to a people better at cussing than debate.

A serious person, in my view, would have requested a meeting with Mr Golding, and, at that meeting, have Mr Chuck present. At the meeting, advise Mr Golding that Mr Chuck, with his law degree and legal experience, will be an important part of the government team working on constitutional reform. And, of course, the PM would be present.

A reasonable person would also conclude that the PM made a mess of constitutional reform in his last term in office. The designated point person, Mrs Malahoo Forte, was a resounding failure; nothing was achieved. She came across as stubborn, inflexible, pedantic and bordering on inept, a word I feel uncomfortable in using against the councillor, the judge, the minister. A person who ought to merit accolades instead of harsh criticism.

Then, last week, the PM announced he wants Golding to meet with Delroy Chuck, minister of justice and now also constitutional reform/affairs. That is really odd. Why make a point of telling the Leader of the Opposition that the two of you should work together and your first move is to tell the Leader of the Opposition to meet with Mr Chuck. Why?

Constitutional reform is a high priority. Why delegate it immediately? Could it be that you have had internal polls conducted and they have indicated that the general public is not even half interested in constitutional reform? Are you, PM, not interested because you are driven by those poll results? Do you not want to meet with Mr Golding?

Do you harbour ill will towards Mr Golding because he pointed out your personal financial affairs and your failure to comply with your constitutional duty to file Integrity Commission reports?

HORRID, BRAWLING MURDER

A Jamaican reader who resides in Florida, that he increasingly calls ‘upside down America’, emailed me. “If we could feel pain and sadness because we are human, we would be overcome by emotion that another mass shooting with multiple deaths occurred this past Sunday in St Catherine. It was obvious that significant planning was behind the attack.

“Early reports indicated that the attackers were dressed in police outfits and had high-powered weapons like the police. They even announced themselves as police before starting to shoot. Horrific and tragic. But Mark, with all the police operations in the last year that resulted in the police killing many people, what if the killers were policemen moonlighting?

“After all, from where I stand, it seems to me that the government has given a green light to specific police squads to shoot to kill, and rank-and-file officers know this and some may have become empowered and omnipotent and are moonlighting. I hope not.”

The ferocity of the multiple gun attacks doesn’t seem to mirror US multiple killings. In the States, some form of randomness usually drives multiple killings. The nature of the killings in Commodore, St Catherine, which include a young child, seems to be driven by vengeance and anger and the need of one clan to send a message to the other.

Let this sink in. Four killed ,including a four-year-old, an 11-year-old, a 19-year-old female, and five wounded.

Another real, scary part: Although homicides are trending down, all we need is one or two horrific attacks and we’re back at square one with fear gripping the nation. But, as I implied in my last column, many Jamaicans are out, unsurprisingly, way after midnight every night. We’re not folding up, lying down and shivering under the bed.

KILLERS SENDING BRUTAL MESSAGE

I would hate to think that young men with their new guns and age-old motivations have awakened just after the elections to tell PM Holness and his government that they are going to take what they want and there will be a price if they are stopped.

It is quite obvious that new stocks of guns are on the streets and inside zinc fence city, and many youngsters who have short-circuited schooling are anxious to embrace a nine or an AK. At one end is the vast majority of the population supporting extra-judicial killings. At the other end are not-so-silent special police squads willing to hear and able to assist.

New gang members, many of whom are unbothered by learning, know that a spate of killings at this time is a slap in the face of the newly elected Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) government. And, of course, waiting in the wings is the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), ready to say, loud and embarrassing, “ JLP, I know you would soon fall apart.”

Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com