Dear Editor,
I noticed that when the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Andrew Holness, told us at the JLP Annual Conference that, if the JLP were in power, it would seriously consider suspending our involvement in Caricom and ignore the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), most of his audience were indifferent. It might well be that most of them didn't understand what he was saying, or they just didn't care. However, I don't think that the JLP is right about either Caricom or the CCJ.
Holness may have been right when he said that the British Privy Council, which is currently our final court of appeal, may be one of the best in the world. But what's the point of us having the best court on the planet if most of us are unable to use it?
Not very many of us can ever dream of hiring lawyers and then having to find even more money to send them to Britain to plead any case. In many respects, our present final court is a powerful symbol of "justice being only for the rich". I do believe that we should have our own court, whether in Jamaica or Caricom. Surely, things cannot be that bad. We may be riddled with scandals, but I am sure that there must be some of us still left with some integrity. If there are any imperfections with the CCJ, we need to fix them and not quarrel about them.
On Caricom, I believe one of the reasons people like Holness oppose it is because Jamaica's economy is performing much worse than most of the other countries in the region. The fact that we are doing so poorly is not really a fault of Caricom at all, but ours. If anything, we should see Caricom membership as a great opportunity to put our house in order. It is clear that we cannot compete with the other Caricom members. That's one reason Jamaica is flooded with Caricom imports, while our goods are having a hard time getting into their markets.
What we need to do is to find creative ways in which we can bring our efficiency to that of other Caricom nations so that we can compete. Being a member of Caricom should actually help us in this regard.
I fear that if the JLP has its way, and pulls us out, we may become too comfortable in our inefficient ways, thereby prolonging our uncompetitiveness. As such, if for no other reason, Caricom membership may be exactly what we need.
Holness is a young man, and I know that the JLP is desperate for power, so maybe many of these statements are based more on exuberance than anything else. However, these positions he has taken in regards to Caricom and the CCJ aren't really in Jamaica's interest.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
JLP wrong on Caricom and CCJ
-->
I noticed that when the leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Andrew Holness, told us at the JLP Annual Conference that, if the JLP were in power, it would seriously consider suspending our involvement in Caricom and ignore the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), most of his audience were indifferent. It might well be that most of them didn't understand what he was saying, or they just didn't care. However, I don't think that the JLP is right about either Caricom or the CCJ.
Holness may have been right when he said that the British Privy Council, which is currently our final court of appeal, may be one of the best in the world. But what's the point of us having the best court on the planet if most of us are unable to use it?
Not very many of us can ever dream of hiring lawyers and then having to find even more money to send them to Britain to plead any case. In many respects, our present final court is a powerful symbol of "justice being only for the rich". I do believe that we should have our own court, whether in Jamaica or Caricom. Surely, things cannot be that bad. We may be riddled with scandals, but I am sure that there must be some of us still left with some integrity. If there are any imperfections with the CCJ, we need to fix them and not quarrel about them.
On Caricom, I believe one of the reasons people like Holness oppose it is because Jamaica's economy is performing much worse than most of the other countries in the region. The fact that we are doing so poorly is not really a fault of Caricom at all, but ours. If anything, we should see Caricom membership as a great opportunity to put our house in order. It is clear that we cannot compete with the other Caricom members. That's one reason Jamaica is flooded with Caricom imports, while our goods are having a hard time getting into their markets.
What we need to do is to find creative ways in which we can bring our efficiency to that of other Caricom nations so that we can compete. Being a member of Caricom should actually help us in this regard.
I fear that if the JLP has its way, and pulls us out, we may become too comfortable in our inefficient ways, thereby prolonging our uncompetitiveness. As such, if for no other reason, Caricom membership may be exactly what we need.
Holness is a young man, and I know that the JLP is desperate for power, so maybe many of these statements are based more on exuberance than anything else. However, these positions he has taken in regards to Caricom and the CCJ aren't really in Jamaica's interest.
Michael A Dingwall
michael_a_dingwall@hotmail.com
JLP wrong on Caricom and CCJ
-->