Taino Heritage

There is a wonderful feature in the Sunday Gleaner (7/12) called "The People's Business." In it, Parliamentary Reporter Daraine Luton writes vignettes from presentations made by M.P.s in Gordon House during the Sectoral Debate.

One of the three presentations featured this week,was that of the MP from North West Clarendon Michael Stern. Mr. Stern is one of the Government MPs who's eligibility is being challenged by the Opposition because he holds dual citizenship and based on the court's past decisions, it is almost certain that Mr. Stern will have to face the electorate again in a few weeks.

In anticipation of a by-elections, Mr. Stern chose to use his opportunity to speak in Gordon House, to launch his re-election campaign. Here is a litany of his many achievements:

He told the House that he had distributed 30,000 chickens, 36 bee colonies, equipment and 40 goats. He also pointed to the distribution of over 8,000lbs of ginger plants and 1,000 tissue culture plantlets for the Top Alstron ginger project.

Stern said that he spent a whopping $18 million for the purchase of 80 computer systems and equipment for the Edwin Allen and Claude McKay high schools.

He also pointed to several other instances of community development and intervention programmes that had been put in place since he was elected in 2007.

Stern, however, did not highlight aspects of his achievements, which were contained in his prepared speaking text. These achievements include assisting over 200 families with funeral grants and his attendance at over 230 funerals.

Conspicuously absent from this list is any mention of legislation he introduced to the floor, his stance on issues of national policy, like say Jamaica's anticipated return to the IMF or the new energy policy. No mention of his work on a Parliamentary Committee, or ways in which his contribution has led to: saving tax payer money, reducing the debt burden, or improvement in the delivery of a government service. Nothing about health care, education, national security, trade, CARICOM...ok I think you get the picture.

There needs to be a serious discussion in Jamaica about the role of parliament. The status quo of having MPs rubber stamp the the secret works of the Cabinet while handing out goats and attending funerals is just not going to cut it. Jamaica's democracy needs to mature, MPs ought to be involved in serious legislative work. They ought to be delving into the business of national governance and helping to chart a course for the future of the country. The people of North West Clarendon would have been much better served if Mr. Stern were spending his time working on policies that would stabilize the Jamaican dollar and reduce interest rates; so that small farmers could go a to a local bank and get a loan to buy their own chickens. They would have been much better served if he were to putting his mind to tackling the crime problem, instead of offering to help pay for the casket and the programs at the funeral.