OPPOSITION Leader Andrew Holness yesterday called on Jamaicans to resist any attempt by the Government to muzzle or regulate civil society groups, the Opposition or anyone else who criticises their way of doing things.
“Recently we noticed a trend whereby civil society is being attacked by the Government (and) the most recent was a resolution seeking to further regulate civil society,” Holness told guests at the Rotary Club of Kingston luncheon at the Jamaica Pegasus in Kingston.Holness, in an apparent reference to the recent stand-off between Youth and Culture Minister Lisa Hanna and rights group Jamaicans for Justice over the need to address various issues relating to children in custody, said it is dangerous for democracy and the first step in trying to create a totalitarian mindset.“If civil society [groups] cannot speak their mind or criticise the Government without fear [and] that Government uses its authority in legislation to indirectly muzzle them… this will effectively lead to a breakdown in our democratic traditions,” Holness said.Holness, who accused the Government of wanting the country to follow one mindset, said although the Government has to implement austerity measures, it is always important that there are voices that will not only hold them accountable but that can also point out alternatives.Alternatives, he said, should be presented to the Government on the cutting of public sector expenditure as well as the cutting of teachers’ leave entitlement as this was not the best way to go.“Government has to be very careful that in trying to cut cost you don’t cut motivation and productivity. All it takes is for a group to become frustrated and the very results that you need for a productive labour force, you could see your education results decline,” Holness said.A better policy, he said, would be to improve the systems of accountability.“…So if the teacher has leave, make sure that leave is working to ensure that the teachers go and study subjects that are relevant to the curriculum,” he said.At the same time, Holness questioned the rationale behind the Government’s decision to put wards of the state into foster care instead of institutionalised care, as a way of cutting cost. This, Holness said, is done despite the children needing specialised attention of state institutions.” It is being done because it is cheaper to send children into foster care than it is to keep them into institutionalised care,” he said.Meanwhile, the Opposition leader said while austerity measures have to be applied, the application can be like a knife.“In the hands of a butcher it will kill you, [but] in the hands of a doctor it is scalpel which could save you. So we need to decide which hand has that knife,” Holness said as he questioned if what was being applied to the economy was bitter medicine or poison.HOUSE RULES
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Holness: Resist attempts to muzzle civil society groups
