Days from now, Jamaicans will take to the polls.
Politicians, desperate for power and the glory, are again courting the people, feverishly pressing flesh, handing out goodies, and trying their best to bribe and coerce voters for their support.
Many of these politicians have sat in Gordon House for decades, getting fat from the political trough, some pilfering the public purse and offering very little in terms of real service to the people who elected them.
In the upcoming election, once again the people are being asked to cast their votes blindly, ignoring the fact that some on the ballots are blatant burglars or have partnered in the wanton waste of billions of tax dollars. Even worse, blinkered voters are being led to re-elect the thirteen politicians who are currently under Integrity Commission investigations for illicit enrichment.
Corrupt politicians, without even a hint of remorse, are again offering themselves to reign and rule over the population, as if it were their birthright. Their enterprise is a deeply entrenched criminal operation, aimed to rob the very lifeblood from the poor to line their pockets.
Monies paid into the public system by taxpayers and international grant funding agencies are intended to bolster the education for our children, provide acceptable levels of health care and security for the masses, fix roads, support crucial public programmes, and supply very basic sustenance for the most vulnerable. Billions of these funds are siphoned off and used for the benefit of a few.
Overtly and covertly, this system of wickedness has become entrenched. The majority of the population do not understand the wretched impact this baseless system of corruption has on their everyday lives.
When money allocated to resource schools is stolen, thousands of students attend classes without basic resources, like chalk for blackboards, charts for learning, and even clean classrooms.
When corrupt politicians pocket money that was streamlined for the health sector, public hospitals are starved of much-needed medicine, bed space, sanitization material, and even basic technical support facilities, like working ultrasound, CAT scan and MRI machines.
Poor people who attend public health facilities have to go elsewhere for important tests that are not available because the critical machines are not functioning or were never purchased.
The unbearable stench of corruption in the society is so pervasive and familiar that it is accepted as normal by the very people who suffer the most from its presence. Corruption is properly protected and defended by those who feed at the political trough, gobbling up copious amounts of funds and opportunities, clinging to available power with their very lives.
So normalised is this wickedness, that no real effort is made to disguise the theft and extortion that accompany road works, rehabilitation of major hospitals, and other facilities, and the purchase of large amounts of imported goods and services.
Unexplained wealth is never questioned by the voting public; it is always defended by party faithfuls and shielded by those who suffer the most from the theft.
While politicians have been the main culprits fingered for corrupt practices, there is a secondary tier of offenders. Members of the private sector who gulp down the political largess like nobody’s business occupy that tier. They feed on government contracts and cushy jobs, which provide them with access to the trough.
The next rung in the strata is occupied by party loyalists, who themselves benefit from the smaller contracts and third-party access to power through party lines.
This dance of the corrupt is well-choreographed and rehearsed. Its brutal bounce is taught to generations, regardless of which political party is in power.
This fool-dem system is supported by some in the security forces, who are rewarded by promotion and political protection.
Corruption at election time also fuels the occult. Obeah men and other spiritual deviants make big money performing rituals and casting spells at the behest of evil politicians and their underlings during the silly political season.
There is no regard for righteousness, except to engage elements of the church and haul them into the covenant of corruption with their silent support. Contaminated funds blend in with offerings in collection plates on a Sunday or Sabbath morning.
No one in this network of dishonesty can successfully call out anyone, as too many have been exposed and fingers of accusation are pointing in nearly all directions.
The idea that government is employed by the people through their votes is an alien notion to the Jamaican electorate. Politicians have schooled voters into believing that their power belongs to them and their generations. Voters, believing they have no choice, are committed to playing their stereotypical role in the electoral drama.
Jamaica has honed and fostered this environment of Anansism at every level for too many years.
It is no wonder that Jamaican youths believe that honesty is simply not the best policy. The tomfoolery of their betters suggests that it is better to con than to pursue a legitimate career. Hence, scamming, whether in tourism centres, elections, or on the streets, has become a ready and lucrative option.
To those with their snouts stuck in the public-money trough, repentance and turning away from their mammon are not viable ventures. They readily choose to reject righteousness for the thirty pieces of silver they grab from the gritty underworld of corruption.
This election may be crucial to the crooked politicians and the people who support them, but the righteous know that this nation is under judgement.
The calls for three consecutive days of repentance continue to fall on deaf ears, and will likely go unanswered in the election season. The corrupt seeking power refuse to be detained or sidetracked by righteousness. But, woe be unto them who hear the call and choose to ignore it.
