Heather Robinson
JAMAICA IS AT A CROSSROADS as the delegates of the PNP proceed to Old Hope Road to the grounds of the educational institution that produced the PNP's first and second president, and the current Leader of the Opposition. This crossroads provides the delegates with choices that will determine where Jamaica goes as of February 26.
Last week, I took a brief look at the importance of education in the history of the People's National Party and, ultimately, Jamaica. Today, on the eve of the election of the PNP's fourth president, it is necessary to examine the contri-bution of the candidates in the development of the PNP. Clearly, the person who has made the most outstanding contributions to the party deserves to occupy the special place in the PNP tomorrow.
Within any political party there are numerous opportunities to serve. The most basic level of group member is where the majority of members start, and there are numerous opportunities to serve that become available. Some persons see the work of the party as being very important, and have a record of service that is unequalled. Others occupy positions for over a decade with nothing to show. The delegates can distinguish between those who have served and those who have merely warmed seats.
MISSING FROM PARLIAMENT
Any candidate who has been a group member, member of the executive, chairman of the organising and political education commissions, the 21st century document, manifesto committee and who has been a general secretary and vice-president must qualify very easily for the position of president of the PNP. If, however, you have been a vice-president and president of an arm of the party for decades and have to be asked to remind Jamaica of your track record of political work, then something must be wrong.
In making this most important decision, delegates must remember that being the president of the PNP, and ultimately Prime Minister of Jamaica, is a job that must be taken seriously. So if you are a Member of Parliament who is late for 50 per cent of parlia-mentary sittings in 39 months (as is the case with Portia Simpson Miller), why should delegates take you seriously? And if you have been absent from 39 per cent of the sittings (as is the case with Dr. Karl Blythe), why should any delegate believe this behaviour will change after February 25?
Of the 164 sittings of Parliament in the 39-month period, Dr. Peter Phillips has been late nine times compared to Portia Simpson Miller's 82 times. Is the candidate of your choice able to sit inside Parliament for the duration of the sitting, whether it lasts three or seven hours? How often does the candidate get up and leave the chamber of Parliament, and what type of participation can one expect of the candidate on matters that do not fall under their ministerial portfolio?
Can your candidate attend a sitting of the United Nations and after reading a presentation on behalf of all of us, take any question from international journalists on matters related to Iraq, Iran, Haiti and Sudan?
CHOOSE A GOOD DEFENDER
Can your candidate defend their record of political work within the PNP, and provide you with the confidence that he or she has the capacity to put the campaign of the last six months in the background and move forward to uniting the party as it prepares to seek to be elected for an unprecedented fifth term?
If your candidate can and does satisfy these requirements, then you have elected the fourth president of the PNP. It is my belief that Dr. Peter Phillips has proven himself as an excellent party worker, who has put all his intellect and energy into the tasks assigned to him, and his record of leadership has prepared him to answer the call of leadership of the PNP. Peter Phillips has joined the 'fight for his own native land' and is a 'loyal and faithful' member of the PNP.
Heather Robinson is a life underwriter and former Member of Parliament.
