We have entered the “Silly Season” in Jamaica. Significant numbers of Jamaican lose all sense of morality and reasonable behaviour. And for what? Will the quality of life in warring communities be any better after the next election, irrespective of the winner?

We have a Police Force and an Army, yet year after year the same communities, with intimate political connections, continue to have militias that are well equipped with illegal weapons and what appears to be an unlimited supply of ammunition. During the “Silly Season”, we have the predictable “flare-ups”, the police and soldiers arrive and stand around for a few days, then leave (without most of the illegal weapons) and we will call this a restoration of peace. Is this a joke or a game? I am not laughing nor do I agree with playing with peoples’ lives.

What Do You Do For a Living?
I have a problem with the concept of the “professional” politician. I speak of those persons who have never had to live as an ordinary member of the society. These are people who make laws that they never have to live by.

I strongly believe in term limits for all political positions. No one has been ordained by God to rule over us for all the days of their working lives. I can understand taking off up to ten years from your career/business/profession or job to offer service to your country; but for your entire working life? That cannot be healthy for you or for democracy.

How many of our “professional” politicians know what it is like to create real jobs and run a successful business? Perhaps if they had a more intimate understanding of the trauma and drama that the average small to medium size business goes through every monthly to pay staff and the G.C.T. and statutory payments on-time, the policies and the methods for execution would reflect the realities on the ground.

In Exchange For My Vote
Jamaican politicians largely see us only as “voters” and not as “customers” and this is why in successive elections the candidate called “none-of-the-above” has received the largest number of votes. The artiste Shantia has some very powerful lyrics in a song on the Consuming Fire Rhythm produced by Gussie Clarke. She makes some basic requests of the politicians indicating what she wants in exchange for her vote.

An understanding of good customer service and of some of the emerging management practices that have propelled companies, both local and international, to success would not hurt our politicians. For example, are they aware of the issues that arise in enterprises when there are two (2) canteens – one for management and one for the other workers?

I want four things in exchange for my vote. My requests will serve as a crash course.

1. I will vote for the party that will mandate that within six months all sitting Members of Parliament and Caretakers must have their primary residence in the constituency that they represent. This I believe will for the first time will give us true representation. This will once and for all put an end to the cry that “im onli kum roun when im a look vote. Fram de laas election wi nuh si ‘im.”  Our people would no longer have to take part in the degrading and destructive practice of blocking roads in order to get the attention of their representative.
   
   
2. I believe that we should take full care of the health needs of our politicians and so I will vote for the party that requires all elected officials and their immediate family to be provided with full health coverage, inclusive of medical, dental, optical, lab services and hospital stays, at the government-supported health facilities only. There are facilities right across the island. I will allow that if there is an accident at Jamaica House for example, emergency attention can be sought at Andrews Memorial but then the person would move to Kingston Public or University Hospital for ongoing treatment.
   
   
3. The nation should be fully responsible for the educational needs of our politicians and their immediate families. So, as our leaders, they and their children should only utilize the educational facilities that are directly provided/supported by the government. They will however be exempted from cost sharing and other fees from basic school through to the University of The West Indies or UTECH.
   
   
4. I do not begrudge our politicians their duty free SUVs but I think that they are not able to truly appreciate the reality of transportation in Jamaica. So for this reason, politicians should only be able to use their duty free SUVs when they are off duty. As long as they are traveling on state business, they would use public transportation. The options are wide – Air Jamaica, JUTC bus, truck or route taxi. Mayor Bloomberg rides the New York subway. That is a good ‘farin’ example to follow.

Any party that offers me these four commitments (not promises now, commitments) will have not just my vote, but also my support as a member. These four steps will lead Jamaica into the age of enlightenment.

Dr. Semaj is a frequent facilitator for Strategic Planning Retreats, Cultural alignment and Organizational Restructuring. He conducts Staff Selection and Development Programmes for different business sectors across the Caribbean.