Oliver Fredrick Clarke

THE GLEANER, THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2020 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | E12 The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica (ICAJ) salutes the Hon. Oliver Frederick Clarke, OJ, FCA, who was a Member In Retirement at the time of his passing. Mr. Clarke was admitted to ICAJ as an Associate on April 9, 1970 and was transferred to Fellow not in Public Practice in 1975. He was later transferred to Member In Retirement on April 12, 2012. He served his country and the accounting profession with distinction and will be greatly missed. We extend sincere condolences to his family. May his soul rest in peace and light perpetually shine upon him. And so, for the Honourable Oliver Clarke, the existence of the well-appointed CCJ which is programmed to sit right here within our borders, thereby becoming equally accessible to all would-be petitioners, would serve to remove the age-long obstacle of lack of financial affordability. He was satisfied that this is as it should be in a free and democratic society. There is a second solid reason why there should be no surprise or wonder in Oliver Clarke’s push for Jamaica to delink from the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom-based Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He was to come to occupy a position in the highest echelons of leadership of the venerable institution, The Jamaica Gleaner. Both the Privy Council and The Gleaner were established, one year apart, upon the abolition of the slave trade – the former in 1833 and the latter in 1834. Twenty years ago, in July 2000, the late C. Roy Reynolds, then a freelance journalist, unearthed a March 1901 Gleaner editorial titled ‘The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council’. It read, in part: “Thinking men are not adverse to a great final court of appeal for the empire, but they believe that the Judicial Committee has served its turn and it is now out of joint with the conditions of the times.” That 1901 lead editorial continued: “... it is not to be wondered at, therefore, that colonial suitors and lawyers are beginning to question the expediency of the continuation of the committee and this feeling is exaggerated by the cumbersome procedure in connection with the court, the delays that are occasioned, (and) the expense incurred ...”. Small wonder, then, that Oliver Clarke, upon assuming that high leadership position at The Gleaner since the mid- 1970s, found no reason to deviate from the far-sighted position long arrived at by “thinking men”, and adopted by an editorial board of his predecessors from as early as at the turn of the 20th century. Oliver Clarke was, as they say, truthfully to the manor born. Yet, exposure to such stark, unacceptable imbalance in access to justice on the part of our citizens would have weighed heavily on him both in his life work and as a visionary regional leader. That led him to embrace the Caribbean Court of Justice as an institution which, for him, stands as an essential instrument in the levelling of that playing field and in the equitable and mature development of our people. The Honourable Oliver Frederick Clarke, lion exemplar of the media fraternity and beyond: thinking man, indeed! A.J. NICHOLSON Officer Emeritus People’s National Party NICHOLSON CONTINUED FROM E8 Christopher Barnes – Chairman The PALS organisation and the welfare of our future generations were near and dear to his heart. Through The Gleaner, he continued the support of PALS even as it became more difficult for the partners to raise the requisite funding to continue the important work of the organisation. He believed in and championed the long-term value that PALS’ work created despite existing in a funding environment that often rewards and encourages short-term efforts, frequently resulting in unsustainable gains. That Oliver never backed down from a challenge inspires the organisation to persevere with its mission of teaching conflict resolution in inner-city communities. The violence emanating from these communities due to the absence of this important life skill remains a formidable challenge for our society to overcome. May his great legacy continue on in those PALS has impacted positively over years.” Neville G. James - A Founding Director of PALS “Oliver Clarke regarded PALS as a vehicle for social transformation. He was convinced that young people could be steered away from the violence and conflict that are so much a part of our society. He was prodigious in his efforts to raise money for PALS and gave generously of his own resources to maintain the organisation. ”Jamaica is still a long way from reducing the levels of conflict and violence that make for a stable society, but we can take some comfort from the fact that but for his launching of PALS and his efforts to sustain it over 25 years,the situation could have been much worse.” Brian Schmidt - Director “Oliver was a man of vision with a fierce determination to improve Jamaican society. It was these characteristics which led to the formation of PALS as he had a deep desire to stem violence in society and to create hope and opportunity for youth and the disadvantaged. PALS has made a tremendous impact on the ground, and that is a most fitting legacy for Oliver’s efforts.” Morin Seymour – director “Oliver formed PALS as he saw the need to ensure that despite the unsettled environment in which we often found ourselves, our young people would have a rich environment in which to learn and grow to become responsible citizens. Chaired by Oliver, we launched our first Peace Day with banners and cars flashing lights. PALS has grown to become a household name, serving all across Jamaica.” Lloyd Van Bylevelt – President, Peace Education Foundation, Fl. USA; PALS director. “I came to know Oliver in the early 1990’s. The levels of violence in Jamaica were increasing, and Oliver wanted to do something about it. Our two sister NGOs worked together to bring violence prevention, conflict resolution, and peace to the children of Jamaica. PALS Jamaica continues this work to this day. I always found him to be the most ethical, courageous, smart, joyous, and generous individual in both business and personal relations.” David Roberts – Director “As a member of the PALS Board, it was Oliver’s love and passion for PALS that he founded and how he solicited support from the all the media houses that made the biggest impact on me.” Janilee Abrikian – General Manager “I will always remember that when I had to brief him on PALS’ work, I had better make sure that the brief fit on one page, or better yet, half a page, and that with the confidence that a 20-plus-year relationship had engendered, I would assure him that the brief was short because I knew that his attention span was short, which would elicit an impish smile. What a visionary was OFC! His work lives on in PALS’ programmes, which have grown beyond the schoolroom, been taken to underserved communities, to law enforcement, and to corporate Jamaica.” integrity and striving for excellence ... an example for all public sector to follow. 4. A focus on dealing with our national debt that now compares relatively with that of Greece. 5. Real discussion about public- sector efficiency and a wage bill. 6. A public demand for greater political cooperation to put national objectives above party opportunism. 7. A focus on how to achieve economic growth and job creation. 8. Realisation that our education system is not delivering employable people. 9. A need for more intelligent economic management ... pay increased taxes, collect taxes from more people, justify public expenditure against payback produced by such expenditure, be very sympathetic to those in real need and, above all, not spending more than one can afford. 10. More people that speak their own mind and will not allow our leaders to bring Jamaica to a failed society. 11. A need to fix the judicial system so that it can deliver timely and respected judgments. 12. A need for the country to be inspired by its elected leaders and not systematically depressed by petty political bickering that inevitably advances party above country. I believe there is a new political breeze about ... I do not think it is just a Christmas breeze. In particular, I commend Andrew Holness on using his political platform to speak about the need to address the country’s big problems of debt, the public-sector wage bill, a new taxation system, and I commend him for forcing through accountability among his Cabinet colleagues and for facing the electorate so early in his term. In particular, I commend Portia Simpson Miller on using her political platform to express compassion for the needs of those economically challenged, her Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme that should address new employment opportunities, and her willingness to include in party leadership competent persons who have run for leadership against her in the past. Both of these fine leaders and their supportive team members ... one heading Government, one leading the Opposition ... will soon have to demonstrate their willingness and capability to work together to solve the country’s major issues: debt, revenue, expenditure, corruption, incompetence in the delivery of public services, and inability to deliver a satisfactory quality of life (whether in education or employment) for many Jamaicans – be they the young, the workers, the pensioners, those in the diaspora. Neither of these leaders and their supportive teammembers can deliver the strong expectations of Jamaica by themselves. Neither party has all the personnel resources needed to transform the country. Civil society, led by the private sector, is now demanding a new politics – a new politics in which the first priority is the delivery of a better Jamaica, not a better Jamaica Labour Party or People’s National Party. The new breeze we are all now feeling is about to blow a new government into power. But when I consulted the breeze this very morning, it told me – quietly but firmly – that it was determined to blow the new Government out of power just as quickly ... unless that Government started speedily to deal with the 12 issues of 2012 ... and ... found a way to co-opt the support of the Opposition and civil society. BREEZE CONTINUED FROM E1