Sir Patrick believes in Jamaica

Chester Francis-Jackson, Gleaner Writer

It has long been argued by many that the Jamaican state can ill-afford, both socially and economically, a titular head whose primary functions are to cut ribbons, kiss newborns and embrace beauty queens!

The president of the Court of Appeal, Justice Seymour Panton, breathed more life into the debate only recently when he declared that it is inappropriate that Jamaica should still hold as its final appellate court the United Kingdom-based Privy Council. This is based on some 'recent' developments which now require Jamaican nationals to apply for visas to attend their highest court! And frankly, most Jamaicans are ambivalent when it comes to the matter of still swearing allegiance to Her Majesty The Queen.

 But it can be argued that the ambivalence is partially due to the role of the British monarch in the daily existence of Jamaicans. It is for all intents and purposes non-existent, and so is not given any serious contemplation or weight. Some do find the existing situation somewhat anachronistic, and even debilitating to the national psyche, to be still paying homage to those who once enslaved us for social patronage!

In this respect, the role of our titular head of state, the governor general, has been a curious one. While most embrace the aura of pomp and pageantry, it presupposes and, to some extent (and this could be generational), is embraced by others for what they see as its umbilical connection. However, the majority have moved on from the monarchy and those ties. Instead, they have opted for the contemporary realities of modern Jamaica, and those social and economic ties!

The role of governors general over the years has not only been largely ceremonial in scope, but the extent of that ceremony has been left to the interpretation by individual office holders, and has led to some taking a more proactive role, while others have opted to blend in with the ghosts and artefacts of the official domicile. In this respect, it has been nothing more than a drain on the national purse! What has been unquestioned where the governor general's role is concerned over the years, is that the office not only carries colonial prestige, but the holder can use the office to initiate social change and dialogue as the office commands bipartisan reverence and respect.

Enter Sir Patrick Allen, the nation's sixth governor general since Independence and a man whose appointment, like that of his predecessor, took most by surprise. It did not come from the traditional quarters but the ranks of the Adventist church. Anyway, the appointment of Sir Patrick was seen and received as a departure from the expected role and he was welcomed as a man of the cloth. It was anticipated that he would take some of the church activism to the pulpit of the governor general. And so he did.

 In his inaugural address, Sir Patrick extolled the virtues of our people and nation. His mantra: "There's nothing wrong with Jamaica that cannot be fixed by what is right with Jamaica"; has not only found favour with many private-sector leaders, but has also become the mantra of many in the public sector. With Jamaica continuing to wrestle with its teething pains, Sir Patrick, in an effort to arrest the slide into social decay, has revisited the foundation of his office in an effort to seek to right the wrongs besetting the nation!

And so it was that a few Thursdays ago, Sir Patrick and Lady Allen opened up the portals of King's House and invited a number of the leading citizenry to share the vision and initiative designed to use what is right with Jamaica to fix the ills that beset us! Dubbed the 'I Believe Initiative' (IBI), it is a timely intervention coming when confidence in our political leader and some institutions of governance has waned considerably.

Sir Patrick and his message of hope and belief through intervention is not only practicable, it addresses the vacuum of social renewal, while setting the foundation to build bridges of partnership and understanding between the haves and have-nots. Indeed, the IBI is uniquely poised not only to raise the dialogue, but represents an agent of change through practical social intervention that can help create hope and opportunities while affording a wider cross section of corporate Jamaica the effort to stem the cycle of dependency by contributing to help teach the collective to fish!

In this respect, wider corporate Jamaica is tasked with partnering with the IBI, as well as men and women of goodwill, service clubs and organisations, in one cohesive effort to facilitate individual and community growth. The expressed aim is staying the societal decline in traditional and cultural values and precepts!

Musical offerings

The launch was quite the stately affair! Chaired by Fae Ellington, with presentations by a number of involved individuals, the mid-morning event was definitely the preferred social do and saw musical offerings from the wonderfully talented Paulette Bellamy who, accompanied by Alex Martin-Blanken, did a suite of inspirational arias. Plus there were a number of performances from choirs and schools, adding to the vibrancy and good-natured for a marvellous outing and sobering intervention! The IBI is a call to all Jamaicans, both home and in the diaspora, to return to the core values of the Jamaican family and culture, where we are all our brother's keeper and the governor general should be lauded and supported in this social venture!

Now, among those sharing in the occasion were, Prime Minister Bruce Golding; former Governor General Sir Kenneth Hall and Lady Hall; Chief Justice Zaila McCalla; Contractor General Greg Christie; Canadian High Commissioner Stephen Hallihan; National IBI coordinator Nicholas Chambers; Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller; Custos of St Andrew Marigold Harding; President of the Jamaica Teachers' Association Nadine Molloy Young; Professor Trevor Munroe; Jamaica National's Earl Jarrett; Lasco's founder/boss Lascelles Chin; Jamaica Broilers Robert Levy; J. Lester Spaulding, chair of the RJR Board; Paul Issa, deputy chair of Couples Resort and the Issa Trust Foundation; Digicel's Mark Linehan; Scotiabank's Bruce Bowen; RBTT's Minna Israel; RJR's Gary Spaulding; TVJ's Kay Osborne; LIME's Gary Sinclair; columnist and commentator Ian Boyne; Lloyd B. Smith, in from Montego Bay.

We spotted Chair of the Digicel Foundation, Major-General Robert Neish; Jean Lowrie-Chin; Marvin Hall; the charming Pat Reid of the Office of the Prime Minister; singer and entertainer Tony Rebel; entertainer Queen Ifrica; Gordon McGrath; Vincent Taylor, the young web-page designer who designed the IBI page; plus a number of others.