IT APPEARS that there are now six contenders for the position of president of the People's National Party. It is always good to remind the Jamaican people that it is the president of the PNP who will become the Prime Minister after being endorsed by the Parliamentary Group. On Saturday, March 28, 1992 after the newly-elected president of the PNP, P.J. Patterson had concluded his acceptance/first address to the Special Delegates Conference at the National Arena, the Government Whip, Terry Gillette, convened a meeting of the Parliamentary Group on the platform.
This brief but important meeting saw Mr. Patterson emerging as the person whom the Parliamentary Group would recommend that the Governor-General appoint as Prime Minister since he enjoyed the majority support from within this group. Later that evening Mr. Gillette called the Governor-General and informed him of the outcome of the meeting of the Parliamentary Group.
Within the group of six are five men and one woman. Four are members of the Cabinet, with another being a former member and the sixth person has never been a member of the Cabinet. Five are children of the 40s with one, Paul Burke, being a child of the 50s. Paul Burke is one of two who has never been an officer of the party, but was chairman of the PNP Youth Organisation in 1977 and served as Region 3 chairman for many years up to last year. He has also never served as an elected representative of the people at the local or national level. He is the youngest of the group and is the only one who has publicly stated that he has no interest in becoming Prime Minister. He believes that the position of Party President should be separated from that of Prime Minister.
Dr. Karl Blythe was elected in 1989 at age 43 and became a full member of the Cabinet eight years later. At 58 he is the third oldest of the group and has served the shortest time as minister, and from among those who are officers, also has the shortest tenure. He is however one of two who has been in Parliament for 15 years.
LONGEST SERVING MINISTER
OF FINANCE
Dr. Omar Davies has served the party as Constituency Secretary in his early 20s, and is the fourth oldest of the group. He came to Parliament through a by-election and is Jamaica's longest serving Minister of Finance. He has never been an officer of the party and is now approaching the end of his first year as Region 3 chairman.
At age 54 Peter Phillips has served the party as both its general secretary and vice-president. He entered Parliament at age 45 also through a by-election and has been a member of the Cabinet for 12 years. Dr. Phillips is the youngest member of the group from the Cabinet. Dr. Phillips and Dr. Davies represent neighbouring constituencies and are responsible for two important concerns of the Jamaican people, crime and the economy respectively. Robert Pickersgill is the other contender who has been in Parliament for 15 years and has also been a minister for the same number of years. The oldest of the group, he is the second longest serving member of the Executive of the Party, with the president being the longest serving. He has been treasurer, Vice -president and is now chairman.
Mrs. Simpson Miller is the second oldest of the group and was first elected in 1976, which makes her the longest serving MP within the group. She became an officer of the Party two years after being elected and has been a Vice-president since that time. A minister since 1989, Mrs. Simpson Miller has the responsibility to keep Jamaica clean, among her tasks. In 1982 she was the losing candidate in the presidential elections that saw P.J. Patterson emerge as president and then Prime Minister.
One critical question that is being asked now is this: How many of these contenders who stand a real chance of being elected care first about being the Comrade Leader/Party President of the PNP and have a vision for the party? How many see the party as a major focus, or are they merely interested in being addressed as THE MOST HONOURABLE?
Heather Robinson is a senior life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
