Basil willing to 'Waite' out Kern Spencer

Basil Waite and Kern Spencer, the two central People's National Party (PNP) personalities in the North East St Elizabeth constituency, are not on speaking terms.

But Waite, after cautiously acknowledging "the relationship is not what it used to be", appeared willing to patiently wait out Spencer, who is still feeling hard done by in being forced to give up his candidacy in a constituency he had 'locked'.

In constituency elections last week, Waite prevailed over four other candidates who vied to replace Kern, the former junior energy minister who is bedevilled by a continuing court case over the qustionable sale of energy-saving bulbs given by the Cuban government for use in Jamaican homes.

In a Sunday Observer interview, Senator Waite declared that he wanted to bury the hatchet and work with Spencer toward the betterment of the people on whose behalf they act.

Strenuous efforts to contact Spencer for comment were futile.

The two have as much in common as they have differences. Both are Munro College old boys and both are former heads of the University of the West Indies (UWI) Guild of Students and the PNP Youth Organisation (PNPYO).

But Spencer openly campaigned against the Senator during the run-off to replace him. Even after Waite was declared winner of the contest, Spencer raised questions about the cleanliness of the contest.

Waite's response to Spencer's claims about possible irregularities were dismissed by Waite.

"I was there and I didn't see anything. I didn't detect anything unusual. I don't think there is any merit to the allegations. Comrade Spencer said that he did not see things...he got phone calls," Waite said.

But Waite preferred to dwell on happier times, saying that he did not know what went wrong between the two.

"When we were on (UWI) campus we became good friends. I recruited him into campus politics. Subsequent to that, when I became president of the PNPYO I recruited him into PNP politics and he subsequently became general secretary of the YO while I was president.

"He succeeded me as president of the YO. However, I went away to school and I guess the distance caused us not to be as close as we used to be," Waite suggested.

According to Waite, it was he who recommended Spencer to become a senator, when former Prime Minister P J Patterson asked his opinion almost a decade ago.

Said Waite: "I haven't been able to ask him why he campaigned against me and I wouldn't want to speculate as to why, but I have absolutely no ill-will toward him and I am prepared to work with Comrade Spencer.

"I don't know what happened. Certainly from my perspective, I view him as a good Comrade who has a contribution to make. He has found himself in a bit of difficulty and I wish him nothing but good. The humanity in me forces me to support and to work with him, because I believe in redemption," Waite said.

The communication between them has been limited to verbal contact on a mere two occasions in recent months, both times in relation to the succession move within the constituency.

"I called Comrade Spencer to inform him of my desire to represent the constituency and after that we spoke very briefly at a rally that was held in the Siloah division, but we haven't really spoken throughout the campaign. I expect that now the campaign is over, we will sit down and have a chat about how things have progressed and how we can move the constituency forward," Waite said.

On the matter of the light bulb scandal, Waite said he did not believe that the stigma of that matter would affect his ability to function within the constituency.

"I don't see why it should. I wasn't involved. I don't know about it. I have nothing to do with it, so it's not something that I am intimate with. Having said that, the bar of expectation is now higher and that is understandable. I will have to make sure that I cross the 't's, dot the 'i's and that I walk the chalk line.

"There is nothing to fear from me in that regard. I understand the need for improvement in governance in this country and I am part of a new generation in the political process and we are going to re-inspire a cross section of Jamaicans who have lost faith in the politics. I am moving forward fully conscious of the expectations," said Waite.

Asked about fear among constituents that they could suffer if he and Spencer did not agree on work to be done in the area and for there to be clear levels of understanding between the two, Waite confidently declared:

"I don't foresee any confrontation or conflict."