Imani Tafari-Ama | Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown

Multiple thoughts must have swirled around in Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness‘ mind as he took the oath of office for the fourth time in his elongated political career. Did it occur to him in those glorious moments that he was placed at the flashpoint of a political paradox?

Was he musing that a sizeable sector of the public he must govern for the next five years, must see a stark contradiction between his refurbished license to lead and the cloud still swirling over his head over the unfinished business of his battle, as head of state, with the state-led Integrity Commission, over his 2019-22 tax returns?

The issue of corruption has haunted political protagonists in Jamaica for decades. Various actors have weathered the storms of public outrage that mushroom for the normal nine-day-wonder after such offences, before resuming the rhythm of business as usual. The weathervane is still working on predictions of the outcome of the illicit enrichment investigations that promised much but has, to date, delivered little by way of tangible outcomes.

To compound the prime minister’s dilemma, the United States (US) recently named Jamaica as one of the top drug transitioning countries. Drugs being alluded to in this designation included cocaine and marijuana. This pressure is ominous, amid the US’ ongoing threat of war against nearby Venezuela, allegedly over its role as a drug supplier for the lucrative US market.

As he moved through the motions of the inauguration ceremony, was the PM feeling unease about the US bombing of the two boats, which they claimed were drug-transportation vessels on their “narco-terrorist” mission? With the defiance of international law represented by the extrajudicial killings of the boats’ occupants stoutly defended by US Secretary of War, Marco Rubio, did our re-branded PM consider that Jamaican fishermen could be next on the US’ list of unhinged aggression in Caribbean waters?

Ironically, marijuana is legal in 40 out of 50 states in the US. Recreational marijuana use is legal in 24 of those states. Did it occur to Dr. Holness that Jamaica is qualified to ask the US if that country has also been accorded top threat status in the War on Drugs? Or do his knees buckle at the thought of trapping the self-designated bodyguard of the region in the throes of its own deceit? Fear of our warmongering northern neighbour might be a palpable deterrent for even the most determined local power broker.

For the years 2021 and 2022, respectively, local-law enforcement seized 34.8 and 22.7 metric tons of marijuana. The 2022 marijuana haul was valued at just over $150 million. In 2022, 1.3 kg of cocaine, with a street value of $10 billion was seized, while in 2023, 1.5 kgs of cocaine, valued at US$98 million was confiscated by the authorities. While this represented a decline in interdictions, law enforcement claimed to have cauterised loopholes at sea and airports. They also said that they prevented local and, potentially, regional distribution networks from doing their dirty work.

PERFORMANCE BENCHMARK

Does the US set a performance benchmark beyond which countries should not transgress? How does a country get evaluated? Who decides on the supply boundaries? What enables the US to expand its own production and supply chains, while presumed competitors are contained? Countries are placed on the list based on geographic, commercial, and economic factors even if they cooperate or act diligently.

Prohibition has a long and race-specific history, which is also entangled with the US’ seizure of territory from Mexico and weaponising its borders for political leverage. It is all connected and no doubt, the PM understands that things do not always add up. Therefore, as he maintains his composure over the inconvenience of the offence status, he might be wondering what more the US could really expect this little island to do. What does it mean that Jamaica is doing poorly?

As Jamaica’s newly minted, but all too familiar prime minister pondered the plethora of tasks on his to-do list going forward, did he consider that he might have to advise the Ministry of Health to partner with the Ministry of Justice to run a public education campaign? Was he calculating the cost of continuing to treat marijuana users as law offenders although the courts moved to decriminilise this naturally produced substance? This could also remove marijuana from the US’ list of drugs to police.

SEND A MESSAGE

Perhaps as part of his present operational plan, the PM plans to send a message to the public that citizens have a right to put whatever they want in their bodies, providing they have information about potential harm. This is why death warnings are printed on cigarette boxes. It is ridiculous that criminalising people’s personal habits has resulted in the senseless clogging of the court system with unnecessary marijuana use cases. It also has left Jamaica vulnerable to drug transitioning classifications that might result in the kind of illegal muscling that is now being used to check-mate Venezuela into regime change or total take-over.

As Prime Minister Holness marshals his team and steps into his large leadership role, secured by the footprints of freedom fighting ancestors, how is he thinking of new foreign policy formulations that are required to address global and local political anomalies? Will he have a plan to interrogate the impediments to living in the US’ “backyard” – a regional insult – or will he continue to capitulate to Washington’s whims and fancies?

Perhaps PM Holness is taking a playbook approach to ensuring that great powers are appeased while remaining resolute on retaining a firm grip on the unipolar power mechanisms afforded his administration, which has led government for a decade. By now, he is probably seasoned to the US’ modus operandi of slow violence, as Rob Nixon calls it. He might also have the diplomacy-speak antidote for this kind of power game.

The real headache for Bro Gad, as he is known on the streets, is that the Opposition, chaired by Dr. Angela Brown Burke, has indicated that they intend to use their improved numerical leverage in the Senate and House to refuse to endorse the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) previous two House - speaker selections. This is a harbinger that governance with more criticism and contestation could be on the horizon.

Imani Tafari-Ama, PhD, is a Pan-African advocate and gender and development specialist. Send feedback to i.tafariama@gmail.com and columns@gleanerjm.com