Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
Peter Phillips and supporters. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
WITH OVER 4,000 persons murdered in Jamaica since he was appointed Minister of National Security in 2002, Peter Phillips may have the toughest job of the four candidates campaigning for the post of People's National Party president, to prove that he has the goods to make this country a better place to live.
The Security Ministry is the third Cabinet post for the 55-year-old Dr. Phillips who previously headed the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Transport. He performed well enough in both for political analysts to place him in the 'one to look out for' box, but the Security Ministry has been anything but a bed of roses.
Despite the formation of élite units such as Operation Kingfish, and training assistance for the Jamaica Constabulary Force from the British government, the crime statistics have continued to pile up under Dr. Phillips' watch.
NOT WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
Last year's record 1,467 homicides was obviously not what the doctor ordered for his campaign to succeed P.J. Patterson as PNP president and prime minister of Jamaica. The police say over 1,000 persons have died violently this year, pushing Dr. Phillips' performance even further under the microscope.
Since becoming officially affiliated with the PNP in 1989, this former member of the Twelve Tribes of Israel Rastafarian sect and University of the West Indies lecturer, has moved quickly up the ranks. He was made Health Minister in 1994 and years later, appointed to head the Transport Ministry.
In 1997, he suffered a minor setback when he was defeated by present PNP chairman, Bobby Pickersgill, for that post.
