By Vernon Daley, Staff ReporterLAST WEEK, the Senate lost one its most colourful characters when Desmond McKenzie resigned from the Upper House to focus on his new role as Mayor of Kingston.
For keen political observers, this would not have come as a shock resignation.
With Mr. McKenzie becoming first citizen of the capital city, following the June 19 Local Government elections, it would have been difficult for him to continue with his duties as Senator.
There is now an opportunity for another member of the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to take a seat in one of the most important institutions in the country's political architecture.
But Mr. McKenzie will be remembered for bringing colour and passion to his work as Senator and I'm sure his colleagues will miss those qualities.
At the time of his appointment to the Upper House, many felt Mayor McKenzie was a misfit, given his aggressive and forceful style in public discourse. In their view, he was not sufficiently polished for such a noble institution.
ROWDY BEHAVIOUR
To be sure, the JLP Senator, at one time or another, displayed some rowdy behaviour in the chamber. But, so have a number of other Senators.
The concern about Mr. McKenzie, whispered in many quarters, was essentially born out of class prejudice and the belief that political leadership should be reserved for 'certain people'.
However, the good thing is that the former Senator acquitted himself well in the short time he served as Senator. His contributions were solid and sound and showed the experience of someone who has been immersed in the politics of this country since the 1970s.
Mr. McKenzie's presentation on the Municipalities Act earlier this year was one of the best in that debate. It explored many crucial issues affecting the Local Government system and pointed to ways of solving many of the problems. One only hopes that the Mayor is up to the challenge of running problem-plagued Kingston and St. Andrew. I'm sure all well-thinking Jamaicans wish him well in doing his duty.
It, however, should not escape our attention that the former Senator has his eyes set on representational politics. In his goodbye speech in the Senate last Friday, he was as clear as day, when he said: "Let me remind you Madam President, I intend to be back at another place (on the Government side) in the near future."
Is Desmond McKenzie going to succeed Edward Seaga as MP for West Kingston? Let's wait and see.
DR ROBERSTON'S PIPELINE
Development Minister, Dr. Paul Robertson, seems to be nothing without his pipeline. He takes it everywhere and mentions it every opportunity he gets. No matter how much it disappoints him, his love for it never fails.
Speaking in the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives last week, the Development Minister told his colleagues that there were two projects in his pipeline. These are two large hotels, which are to be built by two different Spanish resorts.
The Minister came to the House and made this announcement even though he could not provide details about these projects. As it turns out, the two companies are merely at the stage of procuring land with the intention of starting these developments.
Is the Government so desperate to put out good news that it is prepared to make huge announcements based on promissory notes? I hope these projects have a better chance of coming out of Dr. Robertson's pipeline than others before them.
INADEQUATE PRESS BOX
Some time ago, Speaker of the House, Michael Peart, wrote to media houses, complaining about the noise being made by journalists in the press box at Gordon House.
To be fair, some of my colleagues do tend to be a little too loud but the main reason for the commotion is that the area is inadequate to accommodate the number of journalists who cover Parliament. The Gleaner, RJR and the former JBC (now TVJ) are no longer the only games in town.
The media landscape has grown over the past decade and it's difficult to ask journalists to sit in "slave-ship" conditions, without making a sound. Mr. Speaker, you need to take these matters to heart the next time the youthful exuberance of a journalist leads him to shuffle a paper or two.
Send comments to: vernon.daley@gleanerjm.com
