An Idea Factory: An Idea Whose Time Has Come

A Think-Tank for Jamaica: Improving Political Decision Making through Research, Analysis and Consensus Building.

Basil Waine Kong, Ph.D., JD

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has arrived. Chile climbed from 3rd world status to a booming economy with good ideas and purposeful implementation. Their leaders decided to rid the country of graft and corruption, educate their people, feed their citizens and increase exports by expanding agriculture. These initiatives transformed a country in a brief ten years.

It is becoming increasingly clear that Jamaica needs an institute where the full time occupation of really bright and committed people is to focus on generating ideas and guiding the changes needed to empower our people to unleash their energy, creativity, innovative and competitive spirit in their quest for financial security, health and happiness. The value of an institute to address a wide array of public policy issues at both national and local levels cannot be overestimated. Let us act quickly before we cross the Rubicon and lose hope. Without vision, our people perish.

Almost all important political and social change started with an idea. The ideas often originated with people who spent a great deal of their lives thinking and focusing on solutions to problems that plague the rest of us. Across the political or ideological spectrum, it would be difficult in the modern age to point to any major public policy initiative that did not originate from a think tank of some sort. Well researched, analyzed and developed ideas are important first steps to addressing the social, economic and legal issues facing our country. Objective non-partisan analysis and effective solutions are desperately needed and are essential for nation building.

As the incubator of innovative ideas, the proposed Jamaican Think-Tank (JTT) would work with decision makers in both the public and private sectors to find solutions to our difficult, sensitive, and important problems. In the United States, Health Care Reform, welfare reform, School Vouchers, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the War on Poverty Program and The Great Society initiatives all evolved out of think tanks.

Jamaicans have excelled in every field of human endeavor. Unfortunately, the United States, Europe and Canada are, on the most part, the beneficiary of our talents and contributions because of the migration of talented individuals from our island. These scholars are anxious to participate in the development of Jamaica in some meaningful way but are never asked. There is currently no forum to garner their input and make use of their formidable insights and intellectual acumen, the incubators of which may have been cultures far from the shores of Jamaica.

The Internet has made communication cheap, easy and immediate. It is now possible to bring a diverse group of scholars together to interact and brainstorm (at will) regardless of where they may live in the world. Because we are goal oriented, we can also contract with scholars to research specific topics and encourage solutions to well-defined problems and judge their righteousness based on their success in addressing Jamaica’s challenges.

Just like a butterfly flapping its wings can be the start of a hurricane, an idea can grow into an action and a movement once the tipping point is reached. An original idea may occur to someone while reading, praying, sitting in a barbershop,conversing over a game of dominoes or having a drink with friends. It could be subsequently presented in an article or book, brought up in discussions with more friends and colleagues in a speech at a conference or even a simple letter to the editor published in a local newspaper. As more and more people begin to talk about the idea, it will be helped along by people who may benefit financially in its adoption and the audience expands. Eventually political leaders climb on board and make it happen often claiming the credit.

The objectives of our Think-Tank:

1. supply experts to testify on various laws under consideration;

2. write articles for the op-ed pages of newspapers, and appear as TV commentators;

3. advise political aspirants and elected leaders;

4. lead orientation seminars to train incoming members of parliament;

5. create viable alternatives to programs that are not meeting expected objectives;

6. Study, suggest solutions and help to implement streamlined and workable government bureaucratic procedures;

7. Conduct impact studies for proposed programs;

8. Investigate unmet needs in the country and propose programs that could address these needs;

9. Investigate how some government policies are causing road blocks and stifling innovation and find the private sector solutions to better address and reform them;

10. Encourage research and provide a forum for scholarly interaction;

11. Derive income from consulting or research work related to our mandate (Ideas can be marketed like products);

12. Build expertise and institutional memory that could be brought to bear in later years when our political leaders are ready to address them;

13. Convene monthly issue related as well as an annual high level conferences;

14. Travel to distant shores to learn how other countries address these challenges.

This proposed non-government organization (NGO) will be home to our greatest and most creative Jamaican intellectuals and provide them with a forum to offer advice as well as prepare and publish position papers outlining clear options, and solutions that will be both effective and enduring if implemented.

Some of the formidable challenges needing thoughtful attention from the JTT include:

1, Overcoming Poverty.

2. Reducing Crime and Violence.

3. Eliminating Illiteracy by educating the all Jamaicans regardless of their ability to pay for school fees.

4. Developing skill training programs.

5. Promoting business and overcoming unemployment.

6. Promoting higher education regardless of the ability of a student to pay.

6. Improving the health of our people.

7. Using the law to meet the needs of our people.

8. Maximizing the use of renewable and alternative energy.

9. Providing adequate housing.

10. Protecting and improving our environment (air, water, oceans, rivers, etc.).

11. Developing the talents of our people---making it possible for them to become all they can be.

If we play or cards right, I foresee an explosion of intellectual activity and the generation of ideas that will transform and guide Jamaica to prosperity for all its citizens. One does not have to be a politician or actively engaged in the political process to change the direction of our country. This could be the beginning of a revolution that will set the stage for Jamaica to become the paradise it was always meant to be.

Do you know how this institute could be funded? Tell me what you think!

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JAMAICAN IRONIES

Stanley Redwood

Jamaica has the most churches per population with some of the highest levels of immorality, criminality and corruption. We have one of the highest debt to GDP ratio with one of the highest densities of the displays of affluence (cell phones, SUVs, mansions, etc.), with 50 plus million dollars mansions on streets gutted with potholes and with no running water. We are so renowned for our hospitality to tourists, yet so brutally violent to our own people. We are among the happiest peoples of the world, yet we are so frustrated, disappointed, angry and irritable. We are surrounded by such natural and feminine beauty, yet we are so coarse on the inside and require so much cosmetics, wigs and bleaching. We have such talents and potentials yet are so underdeveloped; and we have so much ambition juxtaposed with so much underachievement and mediocrity.

These paradoxes underscore the need for us to get to the heart of some of our fundamental and ideological issues and challenges. We have tended to come to our problems from the back end with remedies, rather than from the front end with prevention and mitigation which ought to include:

1. A spirit of patriotism,

2. Moral and social education,

3. Population growth control, (birth control),

4. Personal and collective pride, self-esteem/worth,

5. Personal and national fiscal prudence and restrictions,

6. Medium and long term planning, and

7. Human development, (with economic education and entrepreneurial training),


I am happy to see the Fourth (Regulatory) Branch of Government getting some currency, from the the Contractor General and ACP Justine Felice. Jamaica is in dire need of it. There should be a clear plan of action going forward. This could be a most abiding contribution to Jamaica's development if we can get our leaders to own and hone the related ideas.

The Seven Things I love the Most About Jamaica

What I love about Jamaica (Our Seven Jewels)

Last week, Stephanie and I were enjoying dinner with friends at "East" in Market Place when the gentleman across from me asked: “So Basil, tell me seven things you really love about Jamaica.” I responded that I could name a thousand, but he insisted that I limit my response to seven. Here is the list I shared from my status as a retired returning resident.

1. Our people
Jamaican people are my people, the people who nurtured, loved me and taught me manners, our songs, our stories and gave me a substantial culture. We are long suffering people who are genuinely engaging, industrious, generous and fun loving. I have received so much kindness from strangers! No other people can charm each other with our expressions. Everyone else can more or less say: “I haven’t seen you in awhile. How are you?” In Jamaica we say: “Long time now me never see you, come mek we walk and talk.” Isn’t that beautiful? And speaking of beautiful, it is no accident that we have so many gorgeous people. Do you remember how Stella got her groove back? When the British went to Africa to bring back slaves to work the cane fields, they were heartless, but let’s give them credit for being shrewed businessmen. They didn’t bring back diminutive, ugly, handicapped, weak, sickly people; and even if they did, they would have perished during the crossing. In order to get the best return on their investment, they selected and brought back handsome, strong and intelligent people. That is our gene pool. Now add a little sprinkling of the Scots, the Irish, the English, the German, Dutch, Chinese, Syrian, Indian and Jewish blood and what do you get? You get some of the most intelligent, talented and beautiful people on earth. We were hand picked unlike places that were populated by criminals and undesirables who England wanted to purge from their society. Jamaica could be such an advanced, thinking and productive society if our wealth was not so badly managed.

2. Our weather
I often joke that the weatherman in Jamaica has the most boring job. Other than hurricane season when a few storms clean the air, the weatherman can make a recording and don’t even have to show up for work; “Just play it again Sam.” i.e. “Ladies and gentlemen, today is just another day in paradise, sunny and 80% Fahrenheit with afternoon showers followed by a glorious rainbow from one horizon to the other. The ocean is 90 degrees and the cool breeze will be blowing at a mild 20 miles per hour. The sunrise was just magnificent and the sunset will colorful and guaranteed to inspire the poets in all of us.” Who wouldn’t want to be in paradise? One of my passions is playing golf which because we are a tourist destination and so few local people play, in addition to the wonderful weather all year long, I can make my way to the club without having to make a tee time any day of the week. I love walking the course with my caddy who has become a very reliable friend. I often enjoy playing with the caddies who give me five a side and still beat me. In the United States, I am robbed of the opportunity to walk the five miles as golf carts are now mandatory.

3. There is always something going on. You cannot be bored living in Jamaica. Whether it is a play, Carnival, Bacanal, Brukins, Jazz fest, Independence celebrations, there is always something exciting and wonderful going on at local live theatre, Sabina Park and the National Stadium. Christmas is an absolutely wonderful time on the Island. My wife and I enjoy going to a friend’s house for soup on Saturday afternoons, church on Sundays mornings and hanging out with family on Sunday afternoons. Beenie Man or some other great entertainer is always performing in a neighborhood close to you. We can partake of what we show off to the tourists. Most resort hotels offer a wide range of music including jazz, mento, calypso, reggae, country and classical. Jamaicans are very diverse in our taste. Obviously the food is unparalleled. Whether served in someone’s home or at a restaurant, Jamaican cuisine is one of the jewels of the Caribbean. The list of options is much too long for this brief discussion but we are creating a food sensation around the world. If you like hot and spicy, you will love Jamaican cuisine. Scotch bonnet pepper is the most flavorful of all peppers. I have a particular fondness for corn pone and corn porridge. I can "nam" Jamaican every day.

4. Excellent Education if you can afford it. I really wish my children and grand children could have a Jamaican private school education that is based on the Classical model. Why don’t we bring some of this excellence to the public sector? How do you explain why so many world class athletes come out of our University of Technology or that a little girl from Jamaica can win the Scripts Spelling Bee?

5. Economic opportunity. With an in-expensive talented labor force, sunshine, good soil and rain, what’s to prevent us from producing our own energy and competing on world markets for agricultural products? The world wants our coffee, rum, spices, ground items, fruits, jams, sauces, honey, nuts, flowers, and the many others, so why haven’t we fully exploited this sector? It pains me to see how many of our mangoes, almonds, oranges go to waste and how much of our land remains fallow when we could be the new bread basket for the world. Our banana and plantain chips could easily replace potato chips throughout the world. I believe food will be the bauxite of the future.

6. The place is very international. We get visitors from all over the world and have more trading partners than most other countries. I met Jamaicans who speak fluent German, Chinese, Japanese, Swahili, Russian, Hungarian and Spanish. Jamaicans live in every corner of the world and the world comes to Jamaica.

7. Opportunity to Serve. Jamaica offers a myriad of opportunities for every citizen to serve the people and the country. Doing very little can go a long way. I am surprised by how much can be accomplished just by calling on my relationships to improve housing, enhance employment opportunities, computers for classrooms, sports equipment and promoting my seven steps to good health. I get a great deal of satisfaction from meeting some of the unmet needs in rural communities that actually have measurable impact on the lives of many. I am convinced that this kind of advocacy is doing God’s work. According to Martin Luther King, we can all be great because we can all serve. Volunteering and giving generously is a very worthwhile mission, especially for retired people like me. No one can meet all the needs in Jamaica but that does not mean we cannot help someone. We cannot do everything but we can do something. Every little bit helps a little.

Yes. Jamaica is a brand. I am not at all surprised that Jamaica was selected as one third happiest places to live by Life Magazine. If you place the names of all the countries of the world on Tee shirts, the Jamaican shirts would sell out first. At this point in my life, I am where I want to be. Count me among one of the happy people living in one of the happiest places in the world. Yea mon! I am in a Jamaica state of mind. Because I have returned to the fountain of youth, I am so much more younger than when I retired. Is it possible that I can live a long life without getting old?

Producing Professionals for Jamaica

Developing More Professionals for Jamaica
Basil Waine Kong

An African proverb suggest that if fathers want to nurture healthy, happy, considerate and contributing children, tend to their mother’s happiness. African Americans added: “If mama is not happy, no one is happy.” A further extension of that would suggest that to produce highly skilled professionals who chose to live and work in Jamaica, we need good role models.

Unfortunately, the brain drain to developed countries, the lack of role models, the indoctrination of children that they should prepare themselves for low paying jobs and most importantly, the lack of will on the part of political leaders to provide the resources to develop this important resource all work together to stifle and maybe even choke off the opportunity for our very gifted children from achieving their potential as professionals.

A cultivator who plants his seeds in fertile soil, expose the plants to the sun, remove unwanted weeds and made sure his vegetables receive adequate water, will be assured of a bountiful harvest. On the other hand, a planter who sows his seeds in rocky barren soil and neglects his crop will starve. But, not all the seeds of the conscientious farmer will bear fruit and not all the seeds from the neglected field will go to waste. There will always be the exceptional students who flourish in a barren land or perish in the land of plenty.

And yet we rise. Through serendipity, pure grit and perseverance, highly gifted and able professionals emerge from the most devastating circumstances in Jamaica. The song, “There is a rose in Spanish Harlem” brings to mind, flowers blooming in slums, trees growing in rocks as well as a clean, groomed well dressed little girls and boys leaving shacks on their way to church on the Sabbath.

As we contemplate the elements of successfully producing gifted and highly trained professionals, we need to consider that there are some thirty “golf schools” in the United States. In other words, instead of a regular high school, gifted and wealthy students attend these special high schools where they live and breathe golf in addition to their academic subjects. They receive coaching, play golf every day and hone their skills, knowledge and attitude. Yet, no graduate from these programs have ever won a major tournament. Tiger Woods, on the other hand, was coached by his father and won them all.

Jamaica, by all our standard measures, is a low resource country with high unemployment, low income, and substandard infrastructure. How is it then possible that we excel at every field of human endeavour? Symbolically, who can explain why the fastest and second fastest human being that ever lived hale from Jamaica and that Jamaicans won more gold medals at the Olympic Games than India and the entire South America combined? Great writers, poets, scientists, political leaders, musicians and professionals from every specialty were born in Jamaica. The question then is not why Jamaica cannot produce gifted, ethical and effective professionals but whether we can produce more---a lot more.

The English ideal was for their citizens to be “Healthy, wealthy and wise”. It is not by accident that health always takes centre stage in any contemplation of the elements of success. Sick and hungry students do not learn as fast and fall behind. Physical handicaps limit participation in the activities of daily living and school performance. But it is probably even more important to contemplate the health of parents and grandparents. Children need good teachers, access to the Internet, guidance and support for their daily needs.

Jamaican professionals migrating to the United States, Canada and Europe deplete our intellectual resources and widen the inequities between Jamaica and the developed countries where many of our intellectuals reside. The loss of nurses, doctors, engineers and pharmacists is particularly extreme. While these individuals benefit and relatives receive financial remittances, as well as improved training and professional networks that will aid future trainees, the loss to Jamaica is high. We invest a lot in their training and we do not benefit from their skills. It is also a significant brain waste when expatriate professionals move to developed countries working in non-professional employment for higher pay than they could earn working as professionals in Jamaica.

Sociologist Jonathan Crane observed that it only takes a very few role models to have a good effect on a community. But without a critical mass of positive role models, a community will predictably “tip” very quickly in a bad direction under the influence of bad role models.

Many of our children are guilty of low aim. The indoctrination of children that they should prepare themselves for low paying jobs is insidious in our educational system. I am appalled that one third of our population cannot do basic reading, writing and arithmetic.

Jamaica must stop promoting a model of dependency on developed countries. We must work together to develop the infrastructure that will make it attractive for home grown professionals to invest in Jamaica and future generations of Jamaicans. We must start with the political will to improve our public health, improve our educational system, reduce the brain drain as well as not frustrate the ambitions of our youth. We can do this!

Educating the Powerless in Jamaica

The Dismal State of our Public Education
B. Waine Kong

What is the difference between a housekeeper and a doctor? In many instances in Jamaica, its one generation. Against all odds, through mentoring, education, perseverance, taking advantage of opportunities abroad and focused individual effort, some rise up from poverty and achieve greatness. But no one succeeds under only his or her own steam. Whenever I hear someone say they achieved through hard work, I always ask: "Whose hard work?" It really does take a village to nurture a contributing member of society. Education is the vehicle in which the privileged transfer privilege and the lack of education is also the vehicle in which we transmit poverty, powerlessness and frustration from one generation to the next. This I believe: "Enlightenment through learning is the only way to improve our condition."

For the aficionados of cricket, do you know the intent of a “Test Match”? I am told by knowledgeable sources that it was a test of loyalty to the crown. Operatives were strategically placed in the crowd to identify people who applauded the English team and criticized the Jamaican team. In other words, only those who identified with the oppressor were chosen to be educated and offered leadership opportunities. So, our government and educational institutions became overwhelmed with those who celebrated the ways of the British and devalued anything Jamaican as butto (Bantu). It didn’t matter how smart, skillful, eloquent and charismatic you were, if you did not speak the Queen’s English or didn’t know how to use your knife and fork you would be excluded. So, these things are highly valued in Jamaica. Does it really matter how food gets into your mouth? I am certain that many British oriented Jamaicans would say yes. But in oriental cultures, people use chopsticks and many advanced civilizations use their hands. Does it make them less civilized?

In my reading of Sidney Poitier's book "Life Beyond Measure", I had a good laugh when he wrote that before he was rich and famous, he fell in love with a Jamaican beauty and went to a family dinner to ask her father's permission to marry. Her father vetoed the marriage because Mr. Poitier did not have table manners and could not use his knife and folk correctly. Years later when Mr. Poitier had married someone else and had in fact become rich and famous while the Jamaican beauty faltered in her relationships, the father had an occasion to meet Mr. Poitier and confessed that it would have been different if he had known the humble Sidney Poitier was going to turn out to be the great Sidney Poitier.

The elitist approach to education we inherited was designed to guarantee that Britannia ruled. We are now independent but Britannia continues to rule. Traditional Jamaican high schools are undeniably one of the great educational experiences in the world but only for the few who are chosen. At the same time, we relegate the majority of Jamaican children powerless and untutored. Can anyone believe that our children only go to school for a half a day? Because we lack classroom space, we must accommodate split shifts. In Japan, children go to school for eight hours per day, six days per week and in addition, are required to do an enormous amount of homework. The final insult is to convince the poor in Jamaica that their condition is a result of their own weak-mindedness, lack of character and ambition.

A massive overhaul is needed. What we have is indoctrination masked as education. Presently, our society is populated at the bottom of the economic and social ladder by darker-skinned people. In a true self fulfilling prophecy, we do not provide relevant educational opportunities because we believe it would be a waste of resources, we then pull the rabbit out of the hat and declare that their impoverished circumstance is their fault, not recognizing that we placed the rabbit in the hat in the first place by not investing in them.

The poor are made to feel inferior, unable to learn and treated like outsiders because they have committed the crime of being poor. To say that the poor are treated like criminals is an understatement. We have made everything the poor are forced to do against the law and made them outlaws. The criminalization and our animus toward indigents must change. While we may not be able to find jobs, provide educational opportunities and housing for everyone, I would be content if our police and government bureaucrats show some respect to poor people as they do for the rich and on a long term basis, reconstitute our educational menu.

Anatole France said sarcastically: "The majestic equality of the law, which forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under Bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread." There is no greater inequality that the equal treatment of unequals.

While we should build on our strength and exalt what is currently exemplary, we must also include more of our children under the umbrella. No child should be left behind. The children of Jamaica should never feel that they are incapable, helpless and unable to change their circumstances. But this is what I encounter.

Our present state of affairs is that we spend lavishly on the education of a few who then abandon us. Less than 20% of the doctors, nurses and pharmacists remain in Jamaica after we train them but we do not invest resources on the ones who stay. The brain drain from Jamaica to the United States, England and Canada is astounding. What about the needs of our own society? Will we have to end up importing the doctors, nurses and pharmacists we need from India?

Our schools can be agents of positive change if the curriculum is relevant to people’s lives. Our government should stop thinking that our people are burdens and mouths to feed rather than talented and gifted people who will advance our cause if they are offered an education. You cannot begin to imagine the inventions, productivity and solutions for our problems that will follow if the masses of Jamaican children felt empowered, valued, self confident and safe! We have a long way to go to remedy the historical neglect for this segment of society.

It is Jamaica’s shame that up to a third of our citizens are illiterate and must buy their driver’s license. It is a disgrace that with the outstanding gene pool we have that so few pass critical exams or can even write a decipherable sentence. How will we compete on the world stage? The solution is in the resolve of our society, strategic planning and the appropriation of adequate resources. Let’s make academic success the rule rather than the exception. If you think educating our people is expensive, try ignorance.

"Lord, make us instruments of Your peace!
Where there is hatred, let us sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy."
---St. Francis of Assisi

bwaine@bellsouth.net

Investing in the Children

One of the most glaring observations I made upon my return to Jamaica is that we, as a nation, lack the commitment to advance the educational needs of our youth. A what a guawn? So many of our pickney appear to be lost to hope, prospect, and spirit that will lead them to a better future. Many of our youth in Kingston, where I live, receive only 4 hours per day of educational instruction which then leads to many idle and wasted hours which inevitably lead to underachievement, frustration, violence, and political upheaval. Ignoring the needs of our youth has now become the paramount political problem of our time as youth gangs take over our communities.

On the other hand, reaching out to our youth and investing in them, becomes the cornerstone for future generations to achieve unprecedented educational objectives, the ability to adequately provide for their future families, and actively participate in the uplifting of our nation. There are communities across Jamaica where parents and local leaders are investing in children and benefiting. It still takes a village to raise a child.

I am appalled that overall, so little resources are being invested in the youth of Jamaica. It is an extremely competitive world. While our children attend school for only four hours per day, the norm in Japan is eight hours per day, six days per week. The excuse in Jamaica is that there are not enough funds to build schools and hire teachers to provide an adequate elementary education. As a result, the pass rate for the CXC and GCE are extremely low. We cannot be proud of that.

If the current government will not do better, can I recommend that our churches at least provide an alternative school system where volunteers will tutor our children for an additional 4 hours per day so our children can learn to play a musical instrument, increase their religious knowledge, learn geography, develop their skills in art, dancing, music, voice, golf, tennis, badminton, football, running, swimming, cricket, chess, card games, to read better, to write, to spell, learn computer related skills and to get them off the street? Jamaica has a lot of retired people who would love to do something substantial with their time. An opportunity to teach a child would be a very rewarding endeavour. If you think education is expensive, you should try ignorance. What does it profit our country to have a workforce that is non-competitive in the world market?

Each day in the jungles of African, an antelope wakes up and know that if he is to survive another day, he must outrun the lion. The lion wakes up realizing that if he is to eat today, he must outrun the antelope. The world is a very competitive place; we must prepare our youth to prosper. We get used to the idea that our athletes are the best in the world. I would like to believe that we can also be the best in the world in all fields of human endeavour. We can be that good if we no linga.

Increased material output (productivity) means that our people will have access to both material goods, the culture we crave, with the luxury of time to create, invent, produce, and enrich our souls. Our gene-pool is probably the best in the world. With this dowry, the lynch pin for releasing that potential is the development of our youth. Their capacity should not be thwarted.