Dr Henley Morgan during his address at the launch of the Centre for Leadership's EQUIP programme. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
A failure of elected and non-elected leaders to provide proper leadership is being blamed for the many problems facing the country.
Management consultant Dr Henley Morgan says this insufficiency of leadership is a problem which Jamaica needs to address quickly.
"As a people we have to accept that Jamaica is far from what it can be. Because of the failure of leadership at every level, King's House, Jamaica House, Gordon House and the school house, there has been a proliferation of other houses; the poor house, the crack house, the whore house and we know about the dead house," Dr Morgan charged.
wrong in ja
According to Dr Morgan, this failure of leadership is all that is wrong in Jamaica and the world.
"We don't want to beat up on ourselves because there are people in Jamaica providing leadership even now but as a people, we have to accept that there is an insufficiency of leadership."
He argued that the failure of leadership is to be blamed for much of the international financial meltdown now under way, but said the election of Barack Obama to lead the United States could provide the world with the example of the leadership that is needed.
Dr Morgan noted that the world has placed great expectation on the president elect who is to take over from George W Bush on January 20, 2009.
"People are wondering what would happen if he fails, but decency never fails and I say more than anything else that is what Barack represents, decency in relationships between people," added Dr Morgan.
The management consultant was speaking with The Gleaner following the launch of the Centre For Leadership 'EQUIP' programme in Jamaica.
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EQUIP is an international non-profit organisation specialising in the development of Christian leaders.
Founded in 1966, EQUIP is being taken to Jamaica by the Centre for Leadership whose chairman, the Reverend Errol Bolt, said Jamaica would never get to where it should be without quality leadership.
According to Bolt, EQUIP will attempt to change the nation by helping to develop quality leaders.