EAST PORTLAND Member of Parliament Dr Donald Rhodd has called for more meaningful national dialogue, as part of a possible menu to solving the country's social ills.

"We need an honest dialogue with the Jamaican people in respect of how we got to where we are. Not a finger-pointing dialogue, but a dialogue in which each of us takes responsibility for our role in this morass in which we have found ourselves," Rhodd said in his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in Parliament on Tuesday.

According to Rhodd, what Jamaica needs is "some atonement".

"Maybe similar to the truth and reconciliation commission which took place in South Africa, but of course, taking into consideration our cultural peculiarities," Rhodd added.

centre of the dialogue

The Opposition MP suggested that as was the case in South Africa, the Church must be at the centre of the dialogue. He also suggested that the State grant special pardon to persons who participate in the commission.

"I suspect that many individuals who have been the beneficiaries of crime, violence and corruption will not want to hear any of this, nor participate in this new process," Rhodd said.

He added: "The majority of Jamaicans, who are law-abiding citizens, must, therefore, ensure that they are relegated to the dustbins of history. The new Jamaica of which we dream will have no place for them," said Rhodd, who told Parliament that "history will not forgive us if we fail to act".