Melissa has exposed political flaws

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Hurricane Melissa has brought out the best in us and the worst in us as Jamaicans. It has exposed the strengths and weaknesses in our physical infrastructure and our political system. The fact that the Jamaica Labour Party won the general election in September is a good thing. This is the party that successfully guided us through the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are not new to the wicket. It would have been harder for a brand-new administration to be trying to find their feet and manage a crisis of the magnitude of Hurricane Melissa. The current administration could hit the ground running, so to speak. It would be wonderful for both the members of parliament and their constituents if all elected representatives had equal access to resources to assist their constituents, but this is not the case. The ruling party has the power to make the decisions for all the constituencies, including the ones that they lost. Therein lies the dilemma.

The posture of the ruling party, as expressed by some of its members, is that they were elected to govern and the opposition was rejected by the people. Is this really so? No one sitting in Parliament was rejected by the people. When elections are over, all members of parliament should be responsible for all the people in their constituencies and each member of parliament should now be representing his/her constituents and not the party. The bickering and charges and countercharges are not benefiting anyone. Parliamentarians throw barbs at each other while people suffer, but we are doomed to carry on as we are because both parties want their time to govern in a manner that gives them the right to ignore the party with fewer seats. They each want their turn to be the ruling party.

Can we learn anything from Melissa? Are we willing to learn? Tribal politics hurts the most vulnerable, especially in a crisis. Can we just stop the politicking and assist all those who are in need?

WINNIE ANDERSON-BROWN

winabenator @gmail.com