(Jamaica Gleaner) Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson is lamenting over the state of Jamaica’s moral decline, which he said has deteriorated ‘beyond belief’ over the last twenty years.
Addressing the Rotary Club of Spanish Town’s meeting on Tuesday night at the Police Officers Club in Kingston, Patterson said there is a greater level of mistrust swirling around the country than when he launched the Values and Attitude campaign back in 1994.
He expressed that irreproachable leadership is needed in various sectors across the country, from the political arena to the church.
“What we need now is … a new trajectory that spans the political, religious and social divide that avoids the mistrust and risk averse character of some in our society and the tensions which exist”.
He noted that the absence of criminal charges or the acquittal from a crime should not be the yardstick by which political parties and voters use to measure those contesting for public office.
“Today there is a growing sense of alienation and greater distrust of leadership in politics, in our legal system, our national institutions, corporate business, the church,” the former prime minister stated, adding that the country is now at the extreme edge of a major precipice.
He said in spite of the efforts that were made at the time, crime and violence and urban ghettos along with ethical standards have now become the mainstay across Jamaica.
Citing what he referred to as a few disturbing trends such as widespread electricity theft, the reported fire-bombing of the Tacky High School and the attacks on Jamaica Urban Transit Company buses, Patterson said he did not need statistics to prove that the moral fibre of the country is withering away.
