Daraine Luton, Staff Reporter

Left: Newby: Infrastructural development is at the heart of the garrison problem. Center: Chevannes: Take back the garrisons by getting the guns. Right: Waite: Garrisons thrive on social and economic dependence.

OPPOSITION SENATOR Basil Waite has said there needs to be a development agenda to transform garrison communities throughout Jamaica.

Speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum Monday, Waite said the dismantling of garrisons was unrealisable until the deplorable social conditions in which people live were addressed.

"Until we deal with that, this whole 'developed country' status and social and economic independence that we speak of, we will never achieve that as a country," Waite said.

Government Senator Warren Newby and People's National Party (PNP) member Damion Crawford, along with Waite, a PNP firebrand, were the young politicians at the Editors' Forum.

Waite, who is being tipped to replace Member of Parliament Sharon Hay-Webster in the PNP garrison of South Central St Cathe-rine, said an inner-city redevelopment task force must be established to transform these communities.

He said further legislation was needed in dismantling garrisons, adding that a set of performance indicators to measure the restructuring should be agreed on. Economic empowerment and social redevelopment are important planks for degarrisonisation, Waite argued.

Widespread poverty

Garrisons are generally characterised by widespread poverty and mostly monolithic political affiliation. They are ruled as informal fiefdoms, where might is right, and community 'dons' impose their will, dispensing reward and judgement.

Newby, president of Generation 2000 (G2K), the young professionals arm of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), agreed that social transformation was critical to community redevelopment. He said the process of transformation had already started but added that more needed to be done.

"The need for infrastructure development cannot be overstated," Newby said. He also advocated the need for criminal gangs to be ripped from garrison communities, which he said provides cover for them.

"The way we have approached it has not led to the dismantling of these structures," Newby said, adding that there was need for additional legislation to nab criminals, who use garrisons as shields.

Disarmament

University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona professor in anthropology, Barry Chevannes, said disarmament was key to degarrisonisation.

"Demobilisation of the army there and the involvement of the politician is important," Chevannes said, adding, "I don't see any dismantling possible without political leadership."

Meanwhile, Crawford, a former president of the Guild of Students at the UWI, contends that the power and influence 'dons' hold over communities must be transferred to the State.

"The support that some of these people have come from their ability to pay school fees, to ensure a dinner. Until we can have the State taking care of some of these problems, in the short term, we may not get around it," Crawford said.

The majority of the more than 700 murders in Jamaica this year have been committed in communities defined as garrisons. The governing JLP had included among its election promises, the dismantling of garrisons to curb crime but there is little consensus on how this would be achieved.

daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com

Editors forum on dismantling the garrisons at the Gleaner Company on Monday, June 18-2008. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer