To Avoid Political Abscesses, Practise Political Hygiene.

aquest
May 2
5 min read

In medicine, an abscess is a pocket of pus that the body forms in response to infection. Painful and often hidden beneath the surface, it festers unless treated. Left alone, it can rupture, poisoning the bloodstream and threatening the entire organism. Jamaica’s political system, if we’re honest, has long harboured its own abscesses—scandals, cover-ups, sudden unexplained wealth, back-room deals, and a steady parade of unaccountable functionaries. These aren’t random. They arise from chronic neglect of what I... and Prof PLO Lumumba of Kenya...call political hygiene.

Political hygiene is the daily discipline of democratic cleanliness. It means systems, habits, and cultural expectations that prevent political decay. Like brushing teeth or washing hands, it may seem basic.

But without it, rot sets in.

1. Radical Transparency

Sunlight disinfects. Jamaican leaders must practise radical transparency—not minimum compliance. Procurement contracts, budget details, Cabinet memoranda: all should be routinely published, not only when forced by court orders or media exposés. Integrity declarations, too, should be open to public scrutiny. We should not have to pry open truths through lawsuits or leaks.

Alright, hear mi now. So when wi honourable Prime Ministers, Ministers, or Members of Parliament suddenly buck up pon some unexpected fortune — and cyan really explain it proper-proper — we can’t just brush it off as a likkle smudge pon dem reputation, can we? No sah. Dat deh look more like a big blinking sign seh someting stink… rotten, even — yes, man, like right inna St Bess.

Look pon di former JLP education minister — big man, Munro Head Boy an’ all — still haffi drag round dat scandal like a old zinc pan tie to him foot. An wi know it never did a one-off ting, either. Him outta di game now, thankfully.

But wait deh — memba di odda one too? Same parish, but PNP dis time. Former Munro prefect. Him one jus swell up wid wealth weh nobody cyaah trace, an somehow dat slip tru widout serious question? Him vanish from di scene now too, but di taste still sour, enuh.

All a dem story yah, dem mash up people faith in di whole system. Sometimes mi haffi stop an ask miself: dis ‘Bread Basket Parish’ we boast ’bout — land of scellion and thyme culcha and hard-working people — wah really go wrong when some o’ di privileged sons and granpikini dem end up a Gordon House? A wah kinda hygiene culcha we really a talk ’bout?

2. Swift Accountability

Like a surgeon lancing a wound, political hygiene requires swift intervention. Credible allegations—whether of nepotism, enrichment, or abuse—must trigger immediate action. Delay invites suspicion. Silence breeds cynicism.

Accountability means acting on reports from the Auditor General, the Integrity Commission, and other watchdogs. These findings must not be tabled and ignored. Consequences must follow. Otherwise, investigative institutions become ceremonial, and public faith withers.

3. Preventative Oversight

Hygiene is not only reactive—it’s preventative. Jamaica must strengthen institutions that monitor power.

The Integrity Commission, Auditor General’s Department, and the Office of the DPP must be shielded from political interference, funding cuts, and public disparagement.

Parties also bear responsibility. Ethical vetting of candidates must be standard practice. Popularity or donor support should not trump moral fitness. That’s basic hygiene. Would our current slate of candidates survive a Georgian-style vetting? In Georgia, anti-graft reformers fired all traffic police and rebuilt from scratch with integrity-tested recruits. Within a decade, bribery rates dropped from 90% to under 5% in that European country.

4. Public Feedback as Political Check-Up

Leaders who fear criticism fear diagnosis. Listening to citizens is part of political hygiene. Town halls, agro-industrial fairs, consultations, and listening tours must be honest, not staged performances. Major policy shifts—energy, education, constitutional reform—require real dialogue, not mere pronouncements of "big lies", clap-clap-clap!

When people feel ignored or blindsided, resentment festers. That silence becomes an abscess. Consider Rwanda, where corrupt officials are publicly exposed and sacked. Citizens know their feedback matters. Rwanda, that notorious African country of a recent genocide, rose from the bottom 10% to the best 50 globally in corruption rankings in just 15 years.

5. Avoid Crony Contamination

One of the most infectious political diseases is cronyism. When critical roles are filled with loyalists, friends, or funders instead of competent professionals, the entire bloodstream is contaminated.

Jamaica needs enforceable anti-nepotism rules and protection for whistleblowers. Governance must be insulated from private enrichment. Look to Singapore: there, leaders are paid high, clean salaries and face career-ending consequences even for minor infractions. Corruption has no safe harbour in that South-East Asian country, and shame is still a deterrent.

Contrast that with our own landscape. The culture of “eat-a-food”, "bobol", and political kickbacks continues largely unchecked. And we wonder why the system stinks shamelessly.

6. Practise Ethical Self-Care

Just as doctors must watch their own health, public officials must monitor their moral integrity. That means living within known means, avoiding ostentation, and disclosing conflicts of interest.

Political hygiene is not only about avoiding illegal acts—it’s about avoiding even the appearance of impropriety. When public servants “billioneer” themselves on modest salaries, or accept free mansions, luxury vehicles, or foreign trips and covert wet pleasures full of salacious picadillos, the population connects the dots.

Costa Rica in South America, with no standing army since 1948, reinvests heavily in education and health. There, a robust Electoral Tribunal enforces strict campaign finance rules, and a free press keeps leaders in check. Jamaica once had a press that truly bit. Now, too many are house- and crib-trained press poodles.

7. Promote a Culture of Integrity

Ultimately, political hygiene is not maintained by laws alone. It requires culture. A shared belief that politics is for service, not self-enrichment.

This means political parties must reward honesty and competence, not just charisma or winnability. Parliament must be a chamber of honour, not only numbers. Leaders must be prepared to lose power rather than compromise principle.

Botswana has modelled this. It built a Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime, enforced strict asset declarations, and cultivated a tradition of clean leadership. As a result, it remains Africa’s least corrupt country. Not because its citizens are saints, but because the system punishes decay and rewards integrity.

Estonia went digital—putting nearly all government services online. E-governance and open budgets have removed much of the space for petty bribery. Estonia now ranks above France, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, and the US in corruption indices.

Credit: Clovis Toons -- Use Corrective Measures.

Jamaica doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to enforce existing laws, empower oversight bodies, and break the cycle of patronage. Our problem isn’t lack of knowledge—it’s tolerance for politically necrotic tissue and gangrenous pus.

We are not doomed to perpetual scandal. We are not inherently corrupt. But we’ve become too accepting of decay and too cynical to expect better. Political abscesses don’t erupt from single bad acts—they form from chronic neglect. They fester in secrecy, impunity, and indifference.

The cure? Hygiene. Daily, disciplined, uncomfortable, and essential.

Let’s clean house before the system goes irreversibly septic.