Arise and Renew (What is Renewal?)
There have been a lot of discussions surrounding the issue of renewal of the People’s National Party. But what exactly do we mean by renewal?
A critical component of renewal of the People’s National Party must of course be the recruitment of new personnel. Norman Manley understood this best when at the 24th annual conference of the PNP in 1962, he stated: “And, comrades, we want new blood in the party. Go out and look for men and women of all classes and tell them now that Jamaica is a nation. They cannot sit on the fence. We want them to join us.”
But in that very same speech he further went on to say “And lastly, we want new thinking in the party –at all levels. The leaders want to hear new ideas and sit with humility and wrestle with them. The rank and file member wants to open his mind to new ideas and new methods and new thinking.” Renewal of the PNP is therefore not just simply a recruitment of new personnel. The Arise and Renew campaign believes that the end result of Renewal must ultimately be an injection of news ideas, new concepts, new methodologies and even a new culture into veins of the People’s National Party.
We believe that the Renewal of the People’s National Party must first begin with a critical assessment of Party itself. That assessment must take into consideration our history as a party and the role that we have played in the political landscape of Jamaica, the Caribbean and the world. It must take into consideration the role that we have played as government and the role that we are playing as opposition. It must take into consideration the structure and its effectiveness, given our mission. It must take into consideration our successes and shortcomings in keeping with our mission. The assessment must also take into consideration the impact of globalisation on our party. Finally that critical assessment must take into consideration our future as a party, and the usefulness of new personnel in the fulfilling our mission. The fact that the party is now in opposition, has provided us with a glorious opportunity to concentrate on enhancing and developing the party thus preparing us to take back the reigns of government at the appropriate time.
Ideology of the Party
Renewal of the PNP must first begin by redefining the ideological space of the Party. It was the principles of socialism that guided the creation of the PNP during the 1930s. It was what guided many of the social and economic polices of the government during the 70s. It was what made us relevant during the 80s. It was the principles of socialism and the many programs that emerged out of these principles during the 70s and 90s that made us capture the hearts of many Jamaicans home and abroad. It is partly because we have deviated from these principles that have caused the party to become so fragmented.
Several of these policies have now been implemented by the JLP. Whilst the implementation of many of these policies might have been improperly done and in some cases reckless, there is no doubt that the JLP have gotten some credit from the public. This, by itself is proof that socialism is very much relevant in today’s society. As a part of the renewal process there is obviously a need for a “Political Renaissance” within the PNP. We must renew our commitment to the principles of socialism. This is why the Arise and Renew Campaign believes in political education as being fundamental to the renewal of the PNP
Group Structure
Another critical component of the Renewal process is that of the group structure. The group structure was initially created so that the ordinary man may not only have a say in the affairs of the party, but also that of the country. Groups also existed as a means of the party keeping their fingers on the pulse of the people. The real owners of the party were therefore the group members. Unfortunately, to a great extent this is no longer so. For many in the party the group structure only become important when there is an internal election where they tend to be subjected to all forms of manipulation.
There is obviously a need to give back the PNP to its rightful owners-the people. This presidential election is obviously a step in the right direction. But we need to go further. The group structure must once again occupy a position of pivotal importance to the operations of the PNP. The ordinary man must once again feel as if they have a say in the affairs of the party and the country. The officers of the party must be answerable to them, especially on the floor of conference. The leadership of the various constituencies must put measures in place to ensure that groups are meeting on a regular basis with copies of the minutes for each group kept at the constituency offices. Periodic auditing of the groups by the party secretariat must take place on an annual basis.
Empowerment of our Members
Empowerment of our members is another important aspect of the Renewal process. We must find innovative ways of ensuring that our workers and members of the party are empowered to provide for themselves and their family. We must ensure that they are aware of and are educated about the many government programs and initiative that they and their families can benefit from. The group structure is obviously the best way through which such information can be disseminated.
Party Funding
Given today’s realities, the renewal process must take into consideration the issue of party funding. A party cannot carry out its main functions adequately and efficiently if there is a lack of funding. But we run the risk of tainted money making its way into the coffers of the PNP. We also run the risk of being held ransom by special interests who might have contributed to the party with a view of reaping some benefits at a later date.
The Arise and Renew campaign believes that it is important for the party to be empowered in such away that it will be able to raise its own funding to carry out its functions.
Integrity of the Party
There is no doubt that most members of the public view the PNP as a corrupt party. While this might just be a perception and not the reality of the PNP, in the eyes of the public, perception is their reality. There is no doubt that as a part of the renewal process there is a need to address this perception before it is permanently etched in the mind of the public. The Integrity Commission that was chaired by Comrade K.D. Knight had made some recommendations on how the party can address this issue. We now need to move into the implementation stage.
Policy Development
For the Party to be truly effective both as an opposition as well as in presenting itself as a viable alternative to the JLP administration, there is obviously a need for the Policy Commission of the PNP to be up and running. Whatever policy paper emerges from the commission, it must be anchored by the overarching ideology of the party.
Globalisation
Globalisation has undoubtedly affected every sphere of life that one can think of. The PNP is no different. Given this fact we need to ensure that as a party we position ourselves to take advantage of this.