The reliance on the integrity, strength and ability
All these defined terms are relevant to symbiotic relationship that is required in making culture matter.
Challenges to Development in Jamaica
Some of the challenges that we face are political partisanship, the non adherence to principles of good governance, the cultural and work ethics of the population. The implementation of mandatory voting, mandatory service in the Jamaican Army, a policy of inclusion for all citizens; decentralisation and legislative and economic strengthening of Local Government authority, and the rewarding innovation and entrepreneurship are some tangible ways that marginalised communities in Jamaica can be transformed. Both the challenges and the perceived changes can be a catalyst that impact the community and nation development that we propose to engender.
The Daily Gleaner article headlined information from a Statistics Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) Report of 2009, indicating that there are 743,300 persons were outside the labour force, and this includes people who are not looking for work, those not available for work. Others do not want to work while some are incapable of working. The vast majority of the people outside the labour force (77%) lack academic qualification and did not pass any examination. This data is startling and one would ask; ‘how do we change this outlook? First we need to change the cultural attitudes.
The Protestant work ethic of John Calvin during the Reformation era, a theory attributable to socio legal theorist Max Weber is an excellent platform on which to start. In essence the Calvinist approach emphasizes hard work. Max Weber argued that European capitalism was predicated upon a unique and unexpected combination of a particular institutional matrix and certain cultural values or spirit (Protestant work ethic). The cultural norm of placing a positive moral value on doing a good job because work has intrinsic value and physical labour became culturally acceptable for all persons, even the wealthy based upon the notion that the Calvinist emphasis on the necessity for hard work as a component of ones calling and worldly success. Hard work and frugality were thought to be two (2) important consequences of being one of the elect in seeking obedience to God, thus the Protestants were attracted to these qualities. How we therefore engage the persons outside the labour force, in essence capture the statistically ‘743,000’?
There are several approaches that have been posited before by social organisation and government, however, these are some of the tangible methods that can change the culture; such as:
Entrenchment of core values
Create opportunities to reorient core values through a disciplined where skills are passed on through mandatory military service especially for those outside the labour force. Mandatory government service programme also known as Conscription or National service would be useful in creating a cultural paradigm. This system could be implemented in Jamaica to foster harmony among the races, institute discipline in society, create jobs, investment and wealth, reduce crime and enhance prosperity in the wider Jamaican society.
Singapore has what is known as the ‘Enlistment Act of Singapore’, which is conscription for all "persons subject to [the] act", which is defined as those who are not less than 16 years and 6 months of age and not more than 40 years of age, with some exemptions and with no specific bias to gender. An Act similar to Singapore’s Enlistment Act could be legislated in Jamaica in an attempt to change the cultural disposition and engage those who need to be gainfully employed and thus contributing to the economy and the development of the country. Additionally, mandatory military service will build a culture of discipline and public service. Some proponents of mandatory military service argue that young people leaving in their teen years, either by graduating or dropping out, create societal disadvantages. Military service instils in recruits an understanding of responsibility and sacrifice from working for a greater cause in unison with fellow citizens. This will foster a change in attitude and negative behaviour and in short order influence our awareness to foster better, more civil and productive communities and the state and will result is a greater sense of national unity and an integration between races and economic classes, with shared consensus of nation building.
Instituting mandatory military service in Jamaica will also institute a more Competitive Workforce, where sufficient skill sets could be deployed across all communities in Jamaica, and excess or underutilized skills could be exported within Caricom and the rest of the world.
In Singapore, those who are liable to serve in mandatory military service, but refuse, are charged under the Enlistment Act. If convicted, they face three years' imprisonment and a fine of S$10,000. This would assist the state in ensuring compliance.
Encourage entrepreneurial spirit
Most, if not all Jamaicans want to be the master of their own being and doing things their way. Many people would prefer to join the labour pool as entrepreneurs rather than employees. This is a return to our ancestral roots where we display ownership of our own things, igniting the entrepreneurial spirit which creates avenues for business centres in around St. James.
Jamaicans are unable to access capital that is typically invested in their homes, due to our property culture and policies. We propose that provisions are for accessibility to capital by implementing changes to the property laws and policies. Capital could be mobilised through the use of cooperative society model. Cooperative societies are voluntary organisations that seek to meet the common economic, social and cultural needs of all its members. It is jointly owned, a democratically controlled enterprise where ownership belongs to all. This would allow for the pooling of resources and for funding to be available to all who wishes to access, and would also foster an egalitarian system. Individuals in communities would now have access to capital, which would translate to conversion of marginalised communities through urban renewal and the general improvement of the societal stock of these communities through training and wealth creation. Wealth creation leads to savings and investment and consequently leads to development of services and infrastructural improvements.
Governance
This is critical to the success of influencing culture, where the adoption of the best governance principles will be facilitated; through legislative oversight and transparency in governance. Additionally, there will be the introduction of mandatory voting to get all citizens involved in the democratic process, thus facilitating participation in the process of ownership and share collective responsibility.
Samuel Huntington reaffirms the importance of culture as the primary variable for development and other studies show the relationship between culture and economic stability of a country. Mandatory or Compulsory voting is another recommendation for improving the cultural paradigm in Jamaica. This is a system in which electors are obliged to in or attend a polling place on voting day. With a , voters remain free to or remove them from the . If an eligible voter does not attend a polling place, he or she may be subject to punitive measures such as , , or perhaps if fines are unpaid or community service not performed. Such a system guarantees that the government represents a majority of the population, and help to ensure that governments do not neglect sections of society that are less politically active (such as the middle class), where each and every citizen give his consensus to what role government should perform and equally has a democratic say in the governance of their immediate communities and the parish in which they reside.
If voters do not want to support any given choice, they may cast or . According to compulsory voting supporters, this is preferred to not voting at all because it ensures there is no possibility that the person has been intimidated or prevented from voting should they wish. In certain jurisdictions, voters also have the option to vote if they do not support any of the candidates to indicate clear dissatisfaction with the candidate list rather than simple apathy at the whole process. Compulsory voting will potentially encourage voters to research the candidates' political positions more thoroughly. This may force candidates to be more open and transparent about their positions on many complex and controversial issues.
Political scientist writes that; “compulsory voting has been found to increase voting by 7-16% in national elections, and by even more in secondary (such as local and provincial elections and elections to the ). The large increases in turnout are found even where the penalties for not voting are extremely low.” Apart from the increased turnout as a value in itself, Lijphart lists other advantages to compulsory voting: firstly, “the increase in voting participation may stimulate stronger participation and interest in other political activities; secondly, as no large campaign funds are needed to goad votes to the polls, the role of money in politics will decrease; thirdly, compulsory voting acts as a sort of civil education and political stimulation, which creates a better informed population; fourthly, high levels of participation decreases the risk of political instability created by crises or dangerous but charismatic leaders.”
Another critical aspect of governance is to de-garrisonize communities that have strong partisan and political roots. Garrisons are a social phenomenon that arose out of “tribal”, political wars starting in the 1960s to control territory. The report of the National Committee on political tribalism states, “at one level a garrison community can be described as one in which anyone who seeks to oppose, raise opposition to or organize against the dominant party would definitely be in danger of suffering serious damage to their possessions or persons thus making continued residence in the area extremely difficult if not impossible”. This party monopoly is imposed with the assistance of party strongmen who are invariably leaders of violent criminal networks. Electoral results (75% of those voting for the candidate of a participation party) are taken as the usual method of identifying garrison communities are zones of exclusions, characterized by high levels of crime.
Some of the steps that could be employed to de-garrisonize communities would be to get consensus from the two major political parties in Jamaica, exposing the idea of political unity, hence, political leaders may be held accountable for carrying out of this agreement and would ultimately change the political culture of communities and the state. Recommendations that would be useful in implementing such changes are:
- Legislate anti-corruption measures thereby disrupting and breaking ‘Party-Crime links’.
- End contracts to Garrison Dons and their associations. That is end the practice of active crime dons making financial contributions to political parties and/or selected party candidates. Hence, all constituencies make all contributions publicly.
Accountability
This is the adherence to the necessary checks and balance that is required for good governance and the obligation to bear to bear the consequences for failure to perform as expected; and therefore build community assets.
Trust
According to Lawrence Alfred Powell, Polling Director at the Centre for Leadership and Governance at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus “Trust is the glue that holds a society together. The efficiency and indeed the survival of individuals and groups within the society depend heavily on the presence of such trust. It is essential to modernisation, to development process and to achieving economic growth” In Jamaica there is the absence of trust and according to a survey conducted by Ian Boyne during the period 2006 – 2008, it revealed that 84% of Jamaicans don’t trust other people.
Rule of Law
A study completed by Harvard University indicated that there is a large Development Dividend of Good Governance: a one-standard-deviation improvement in governance (say, in rule of law or in corruption control) raise incomes per capita in a country by about 300% in a five (5) year period. Jamaica is known to have a negative rule of law where we have little or no respect for private capital and property rights.
The table below (fig. 1.1) shows a comparison between countries with a negative rule of law and countries with a positive rule of law. Additionally, the table also shows some of the attributes of both a positive rule of law and a negative rule of law.
Figure 1.1
IPRI – International Property Right Index
IMF – International Monetary Fund
Population – CIA WORLD Fact Book
Development
Development will inevitably be brought about by the confluence of positive internal and external sources. These will include technology, improvement in education, transparency in Governance and an adoption of other good governance practices, efficient import and export policies and other regulations. Additionally, capitalist institutions facilitate respect for property rights, a rule of law, efficient markets which are key components to spur economic development.
Decentralization of Government
In a paper delivered at the Caribbean Conference on Local Government and Decentralization in Georgetown, Guyana, in June 2002, the advisor to the Jamaican Government on Local Government reform at the time, Keith Miller, made the point that decentralization of authority forges "a sense of unity, common identity and purpose within the community and creates a sense of empowerment which results in the community taking responsibility for determining its needs and aspirations and working collectively for their achievement."
Mr. Miller also identified other factors in the "virtuous cycle" fostered by Local Government Reform and decentralization. This included, he told the Georgetown Conference, "inculcating community spirit among its members, which enhances the recognition of mutual inter-dependence among community members and, therefore, the need to support each other cooperatively rather than to behave in an adversarial manner."
This poignant notation of the advantages brought about by the decentralization of government, fell short of including the further advantages wielded by the economic strengthening and legislative empowerment of these decentralized bodies.
There is a joint causality between poverty and crime (Ehrlich 1973), and the success of local governance in other states based on the principles of participation, transparency and accountability, typically has yielded improvements in the social stock of the citizens through a sense of ‘ownership’, brought about by increased participation in the local political process. Mechanisms for participation such as those provided through Local Government empowerment encourages greater participation and helps to foster the development of sound values and attitudes in the citizenry, thus strengthening the foundations of good governance. One improvement in this area could be the empowerment of the local populace to directly elect mayors, such as was the test case in the recent Portmore Municipal elections, and the constitutional entrenchment of Local Government upon constitutional review.
Current local government framework in Jamaica limits authority to the administration of roads, trade licences, refuse disposal, cemeteries, and town planning (etc.). There is no revenue-sharing agreement with the Central Government, nor is there any legislative structure for expansion of revenue for the councils. The councils therefore are restricted to funding from the Parochial Revenue fund, Government Grants, and local revenue. This furthers their inability to finance meaningful social/economic programs and to address societal scourges such as adverse possession through the provision of ‘council housing solutions’, popular in the UK.
When compared to other states, Jamaica’s crime rate is elevated, and violent crime is predominantly concentrated in informal settlements, built in or close to urban areas, and which are oftentimes difficult to police. The prime demographic for convicts does favour the nation’s poorest, many from these settlements. Psychologists have commented on a theory of ‘learned helplessness’ that is fostered whenever the development stream of any society excludes any prime societal class. Through inclusion of all groups in the process of development, the typical results of learned helplessness indicated by apathy, cynicism, and general withdrawal from civic and community life of citizens can be combated.
Local councils, comprised of qualified elected citizens of the local community are more aware of the needs and idiosyncrasies of local life. Once empowered both financially, and through statute, they would be able to directly impact the lives of citizens within their jurisdiction quickly through interventions in housing, wealth creation, training, investments, and betterment of the citizenry if granted the autonomy to do so.
With a glance at the Leeds City Council report of 2002, it was noted that Council Chairman Robert Shettlesworth indicated the dramatic reduction by 40% of all major crime in that city over 5 years, and commented on the impact of the councils’ economic/social programs in getting ‘at-risk’ youth off the streets and into viable employment. This would undoubtedly be an option available to Local Government with the adequate legislative restructuring, in reducing the economic and social impetus to commit crime.
Community development through tangible learning
The administrative and legislative process can be used to enact laws, which makes education up to the secondary level “mandatory”. Hence, creating young people who are more aware and eliminating the element of illiteracy. This would ensure a more aware and knowledgeable potential young leaders. This maybe propelled through the construction of a community libraries and reading facilities. These community libraries could be used to facilitate a number of learning engagements enabling the young persons of the community to become more aware and conscious through reading to broaden their scope and focus, outside of their existing social norms.
There could be an introduction of mandatory youth service programs for practical technical skills training in conjunction with service clubs in communities to foster social interaction, allow for consensus building of shares values and allows for a positive working partnership among youth for new attitude towards work and service. Self Efficacy- Psychologist Albert Bandura has defined self-efficacy as our belief in our ability to succeed in specific situation. Bandura emphasizes the role of observational learning and social experience in the development of personality. According to the Social cognitive theory, people with high self-efficacy, that is, those who believe they can perform well are more likely to view difficult tasks as something to be mastered rather than something to be avoided.
Additionally, there could be the introduction of community mentorship programs engineered by private sector groups that have their business enterprise within communities to foster development and partnership, on the issues that need to be addressed to become successful entrepreneurs. Private sector organizations could be rewarded through tax incentives for their efforts in transforming communities which will have a positive impact on community development through job creation and wealth for all, thus minimizing deviant behaviour.
The late Professor Rex Nettleford spoke of “decolonizing the spirit; the work of creative imagination and mobilizing the power of culture will be required to foster community development while making culture matter.” Culture does matter and it can be used as an avenue, a catalyst to bring about lasting change to a Jamaican society plagued with crime, violence, poverty and inequity.
Bibliography
Nettleford, Rex. Caribbean cultural identity: the case of Jamaica. Institute of Jamaica, 1978
Harrison, Lawrence E and Huntington, Samuel. Culture matters: How values shape Human progress. Basic Books, 2000
Websites
The Jamaica Gleaner
Wikipedia – On line encyclopaedia
‘, 2010.
Group Members
Delmore Byfield
Lora Frew
Geneieve Harty
Dean Ramsay
Machel Sinclair