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Bishop Herro Blair and Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller.Brian Bonitto, Gleaner Editor
HALLELUJAH! PRIME Minister Simpson Miller's call for a 'chosen few' to be appointed to Government boards has received a resounding amen from a majority of Jamaicans, according to a Gleaner-commissioned Bill Johnson poll.
Johnson's revelation is that 58 per cent of 1,008 respondents support the April 1 call for pastors to be on public boards to ensure probity, while 19 per cent reject the idea.
Eighteen per cent of those who share the PM's vision for 'divine intervention' believe the Church should play a role in Government while more than half of the dissenting voices believe that Church should not have 'lot nor part' with politics.
NO SURPRISE
But, the results of the poll are no surprise to Herro Blair, Political Ombudsman and Bishop of the Deliverance Evangelistic Centre in Kingston. He said that given Jamaica's religious background, most people would embrace Portia's Christian pronouncements. A claim, supported by the poll, which revealed that 14 per cent of those agreeing with the PM's views feel God-fearing people should be involved.
"To include independent people of all religion cannot be worse off than what is normally practised," said Bishop Blair.
He was quick to point out that the inclusion of pastors on boards was not new, as it has been the norm for all leaders. "What is new is that she [the PM] is the first leader to openly express it and extend it to all boards," he added.
However, Rastafarian dub poet Yasus Afari has a different take on the matter. He said that people must be guided by religious principles, but feels the twain of Church and State must not meet.
"People get cagey when politics and religion are married," he said.
The dub poet's assertions may explain the seven per cent rejecting the PM's call on the grounds that the Government may corrupt the pastors.
He raised a critical point that given Jamaica's plural society - multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious - as our motto suggests, the PM's call shows a bias towards one religion.
"There are some people of no religious or other religious conviction, but of high moral standing," Afari said. "People should be chosen by track record ... content, character and composition rather than a superficial branding."
RESISTING 'ALLIANCE'
Gerald Thompson of Fletchers Land, central Kingston, also feels that the lines between the Church and State must not be blurred. His stance would also place him in the more than half of those resisting this 'alliance' in the poll which was conducted on May 13 and 14 with a plus or minus three per cent margin of error.
Thompson, who declared himself a Jamaica Labour Party supporter, who knows the PM, quips that with the inclusion of pastors, some persons may be sent packing as there is 'no more room in the inn'. "And, you wouldn't want to upset some big guys," he said.
But while the polls results may offer PM Simpson Miller some redemption, especially from the Opposition party which questioned her motives, Thompson warned of possible retribution. "If she upsets too many big shots ... it can affect her votes in the long run."
Pastors on State boards
Do you think it is a good or bad idea to appoint pastors to boards?
%
Good idea 58
Bad idea 19
In-between 16
Don't know 7
Do you think pastors are different from the rest of us?
%
Different 9
As good and as bad 80
Don't know 11
