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Constitutional framework
Under the Jamaica (Constitution) Order in Council of 1962, by which the island achieved independence from the United Kingdom, Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government. Citizens at least 18 years of age are eligible to vote. Jamaica has had universal suffrage since 1944.
The prime minister, who is head of government, is appointed by the leading political party from its parliamentary members. The British monarch, who is titular head of state, follows the prime minister’s recommendation in appointing a Jamaican governor-general who has largely ceremonial powers. The principal policy-making body is the cabinet, which consists of the prime minister and at least 11 other ministers.
The bicameral parliament consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The House has 63 members, who are directly elected. The speaker and deputy speaker are elected by the House from its members. The Senate has 21 members, who are appointed by the governor-general—13 in accordance with the advice of the prime minister and eight on the advice of the leader of the opposition party. Senators are appointed for the duration of a single parliamentary term. The president and deputy president of the Senate are elected by its members. General elections must be held at least once every five years, and the governing party may choose to hold early elections.
Justice
The legal system is based on English common law. The highest court in the Jamaican legal system is the Court of Appeals. It hears appeals from the Resident Magistrates’ Courts, which include the Family Courts, the Kingston Traffic Court, Juvenile Courts, and a division of the Gun Court. The Court of Appeals also handles appeals from the Supreme Court, the country’s highest trial court. The governor-general, on the advice of a Jamaican Privy Council, may grant clemency in cases involving the death penalty; occasionally such cases are referred to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom. According to human rights organizations, the judicial system is overburdened, with long delays before trials and with prison conditions characterized by overcrowding, insufficient food supplies and funding, and occasional brutality.
Local government
The island is divided into 14 parishes, two of which are amalgamated as the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, generally corresponding to the Kingston metropolitan area. Parish councils, whose members are directly elected, administer the other parishes. The capitals of some parishes have elected mayors. Jamaica is also traditionally divided into three counties—Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey.
Political process
The two main political parties are the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and the People’s National Party (PNP), and between them they have dominated legislative elections since the country’s independence, to the virtual exclusion of any third party. The adversarial nature of Jamaican politics conceals broad agreement on constitutionalism, public education, and social welfare. The PNP, founded in 1938 as a democratic socialist party, leans more to the left than the more centrist and conservative JLP. Ethnic minorities (such as the descendants of Indian and Chinese immigrants) have participated in politics at the highest levels. Women have served with distinction in the House of Representatives, Senate, and cabinet, although men still predominate numerically. In 2006 Portia Simpson Miller became the first female president of the PNP and the first woman to serve as prime minister.
Security of Jamaica
Violent crime is a major problem on the island, particularly in poor urban areas. For years, many national and local elections were marred by violence and fraud. However, political violence diminished in the late 20th century. The Jamaica Constabulary Force is primarily responsible for internal security; in the event of major disturbances or natural disasters, it is supplemented by the Jamaica Defense Force. Special police units have occasionally been formed in attempts to reduce corruption and to control organized crime. The Jamaican police have been criticized for a high rate of extrajudicial killings. Jamaica has a death penalty, but no hangings have taken place since 1988, because of protracted appeals to the Privy Council.
Jamaica’s military services (army, coast guard, and air force) enlist only a few thousand personnel and absorb a small percentage of the GDP; service is voluntary. The main concern for the armed forces, besides political and social unrest, is drug trafficking. In 1998 the Jamaican government signed an agreement allowing U.S. antinarcotics agents to pursue suspected drug smugglers into Jamaican territorial waters.
Health and welfare
There are several public hospitals, including a university hospital, a pediatric hospital, and various health centres and clinics. Jamaica also has a few private hospitals. The National Health Fund subsidizes some prescription drugs used in the treatment of chronic illnesses such as diabetes.
The government operates a compulsory insurance program that provides retirement and other benefits. Government-funded and private organizations assist children, youths, and women with vocational training and job placement. The government has promoted large housing developments in both urban and rural areas, especially in the impoverished suburbs of St. Andrew and Kingston, which have large migrant populations.
Housing
The bungalow is Jamaica’s most common type of middle-income residence. Many older residences feature the African-influenced construction of the Jamaican vernacular and Georgian-style architecture. Gated apartment complexes have increased significantly in the Kingston metropolitan area. Jamaica’s location in a tropical zone that is prone to hurricanes and earthquakes dictates construction with reinforced concrete and concrete blocks, and roofs are usually made of corrugated steel or of metal tiles coated in bitumen and stone chips.
Education
Roughly nine-tenths of women and four-fifths of men are literate. Primary education is free and, in some areas, compulsory between the ages of 6 and 11. A substantial part of the country’s annual budget supports the Ministry of Education. Many schools, especially high schools, were originally established and are still governed by religious bodies, although they are now largely financed by the government. There has been increasing emphasis on publicly funded vocational training. Institutions of higher learning include the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (1981) in Portland parish in eastern Jamaica; the University of Technology, Jamaica, in Kingston (1958); and the University of the West Indies (1948), the main campus of which is in Mona, a northeastern section of Kingston. Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, formerly the Cultural Training Centre (1976), has schools of art, dance, drama, and music.
