LITERARY giant George Lamming thinks political parties sow seeds of corruption and probably do more harm than good.Speaking at the opening ceremony of the fifth Assembly of Caribbean People conference at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus, on Tuesday night, Lamming said that it was the party that must be removed if Caribbean islands were to go forward in a more stable climate.“It is my view that the political party, as it operates, is the source of public corruption. It is the source of a waste of human capital.“It is the major obstacle to any rational and serious debate about politics,” he said.Lamming also spoke about the importance of primary schools and the need to educate youth on who they were and what was expected of them.Participants arriving from countries ranging from Cuba to Martinique were treated to a masterful performance from eight-time Pic-O-De-Crop monarch Mighty Gabby, who performed hits such as West Indian Politician, Culture and Haiti.Prime Minister of St Vincent, Ralph Gonsalves, was of the view that Caribbean people did not embrace their own as much as they should.“We do it but not nearly as much as we should. It’s a work in progress. That’s the reality.”Gonsalves also voiced his concerns about American imperialism.“If you have 100 television channels bombarding you with a message of American triumphalism, a message with Eurocentric values, it is very difficult to resist it, but resist it we must so that we can better find ourselves.”He acknowledged that the mighty United States also had positives to be admired.“The American society is a very vibrant one. Its culture, science, technology, education, business, openness . . . it’s a phenomenal society. But the point about it is that it tends to see things through the prism of its own eyes and wants everyone to conform to that.The conference will continue all week and delegate and member of the organising committee, David Comissiong, in his closing remarks, said he expected robust, interactive discussion which must be solution-oriented.There are delegates from Suriname, Cuba, Canada, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, St Vincent, St Lucia, Anguilla, Dominican Republic and Venezuela.
