Columns

Garfield Higgins

Sunday, November 19, 2017

I favour the policy of economy, not because I wish to save money, but because I wish to save people. — Calvin Coolidge

Last Sunday, in my The Agenda piece, I told you that my sources, those reliable birds had tweeted that the People's National Party would soon resort to “walkouts, political grandstanding, vulgar outbursts, threat of court action, and other devices that are not foreign to those who understand that when its former chairman said 'anything', he meant anything.” The birds were spot on again.

The announcement last Tuesday by Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition Dr Peter Phillips that his party is contemplating court action if it does not get its wishes in relation to specific amendments to the national identification system Bill is part and parcel of the People's National Party's (PNP) “anything” strategy.

I believe Dr Phillips's call for the Bill to be placed before a joint select committee has nothing to do with principle as he purports.

Recall that the PNP refused to appoint a joint select committee to examine the DNA bill. Then Minister of National Security Peter Bunting opined that the route of a joint select committee would have taken too long. Last Tuesday he said this on social media as a defence for the conspicuous hypocrisy of his party: “DNA legislation was well established & operating in most countries, so its introduction didn't carry the concerns & risks of a NIDS, which has been operating in very few countries & has been problematic.”

Recall also that the Caribbean Court of Justice Bill was pushed through Parliament by the PNP without going to a joint select committee.

Memory lane

These snippets raise far more questions than Phillips has taken the time to answer up to now. What principles was Phillips defending in these episodes?

Headline: 'Phillips defends UK deportation MOU'

“Former National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips is defending the 2007 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed between Jamaica and the United Kingdom to facilitate deportations.

“The United Kingdom on Wednesday deported 42 Jamaicans, despite protests in London that some of them were awaiting the hearing of appeals against their deportations.

“Some of the deportees have also accused the Government of failing to defend their rights.

“Phillips explains that the MOU was aimed at ensuring that due process was observed in the deportation of persons.

“He says, before the MOU was signed in 2007, deporting countries had dumped plane loads of deportees in Caribbean territories without verifying their nationalities.” ( The Gleaner, September 9, 2016)

Headline: 'MOUs did not trample on Jamaicans' rights, says Phillips'

“Former National Security Minister Dr Peter Phillips says he did not sacrifice the constitutional rights of Jamaicans when he signed the controversial memoranda of understanding (MOUs) that have come to light at the ongoing Manatt-Dudus commission of enquiry.

“ 'Absolutely not,' Phillips testified during yesterday's sitting of the commission as he sought to defend his decision to sign the MOUs.

“ 'It does not substitute for, in any way, shape or form, the responsibilities of the courts,' he said during examination by one of his attorneys, Debra Martin.

“He said the MOUs do not allow for the interception of any communication in Jamaica between a citizen and anyone else, but provides for the sharing of intelligence gathered.

“Didn't need approval

“At the same time, Phillips said he was not required to seek Cabinet approval before signing the MOUs, as they were not establishing or changing any government policies.

“ 'Section 69 of the constitution says that Cabinet is the principal instrument of policy in Jamaica. These memoranda established no new policy, nor did they change any policy,' he explained.

“ 'They were simply matters dealing with the management of facilities and the management of intelligence product,' he added.

“Phillips said he was authorised to sign the documents by virtue of his ministerial responsibilities and by the fact that they were 'in full conformity with the policy that was being pursued by the Government of Jamaica'.

“The highly classified MOUs, which involve Jamaica, the United States, and the United Kingdom, were signed by Phillips in 2004.

“Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Jeremy Taylor, under cross-examination, testified that the MOUs involved the military and should have had the signature of the then minister of defence, P J Patterson, and not Phillips.

“Ambassador Evadne Coye, who is the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has testified that several public servants, including herself, searched for the documents for months before they were found in the Ministry of National Security.” ( The Gleaner, February 16, 2016)

Bad mind vs runs on the board

The dying embers of the PNP's Luddite narrative that Jamaica is 'PNP country' are disappearing like a child's soap bubble. Norman Manley's party is dying because it refuses to open its windows wide enough to let in enough life-saving political fresh air.

The PNP is preoccupied with doing everything possible to prevent the Andrew Holness Administration from putting runs on the board. They are hurting because, despite their shenanigans with the ball, the Holness team continues to pick up key singles, scores threes and dispatches more often than not its Matthew Hoggard-type bowling to the boundary. Cricket fans doubtless recall that famous over when Christopher Henry Gayle dispatched Hoggard to the boundary on six consecutive occasions.

The PNP's diversionary tactics are designed to get the Administration to lose focus and not score fours and sixes in key areas like jobs, mining, and tourism.

Recall STATIN told the country at the end of last month, among other things, that employment was at an all-time high:

“The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting that the July 2017 labour force has increased over the corresponding period in 2016.

“This is according to key findings of the July 2017 Labour Force Survey conducted during the period July - September 2017 with the reference week being June 18 -24, 2017.

“The report outlined that the number of persons in the labour force in July 2017 was 1,371,200 persons, representing an increase of 8,000 (0.6 per cent) when compared with the 1,363,200 recorded in July 2016.

“The male labour force increased by 3,300 (0.5 per cent) to 735,900 in July 2017 and the female labour force increased by 4,700 (0.8 per cent) to 635,300, STATIN said.

“The unemployment rate for youths in the age group 14-24 years also recorded a decline.

“For this group, the unemployment rate was 27.5 per cent, which represents a decrease of 2.1 percentage points when compared to the rate of 29.6 per cent in July 2016, STATIN said.

“In the same period, the unemployment rate for male youth declined by 3.6 percentage points to 22.5 per cent. The unemployment rate declined marginally (0.3 percentage point) for females to 33.4 per cent.” ( Jamaica Observer, October 31, 2017)

Last Wednesday's Jamaica Observer front page would have heightened the state of bad mind delirium destroying many in the PNP: 'Many More Jobs: Over 22,000 to benefit from new bauxite, minerals investments, says Henry'.

Then last Thursday the country heard that, “Alpart is scheduled to ship its first 35,000 tonnes of alumina on December 5, meeting a year-end deadline to export the product.

“The Alpart plant in Nain, St Elizabeth, was reopened in June by new owners Jiuquan Iron and Steel Company (JISCO) Limited.

“The company has proposed to invest some US$3 billion in the upgrading of the plant over a three-year period, increasing capacity from 1.65 million tonnes to two million.

“ 'That is an exciting special economic zone development. They are going to build a new plant; they're going to dredge the Kaiser port and intensify the shipments that leave from the port,' he said.

“ 'There's to be an aluminium foil factory, a stainless steel plant, an aluminium sheet plant, a welding rod plant. This should create hundreds of (employment) opportunities,' he noted.” ( Jamaica Observer, November 16, 2017)

Go figure!

I believe many at 89 Old Hope Road are befuddled that Phillips's invocation of death, prison and madness on his political opponents has come to naught. Recall Dr Phillips said, “Make sure, Comrades, that the People's National Party is ready to become the Government of Jamaica. Remember is only one [seat] separate us in Parliament and we don't know is which one, whether is one weh a go prison, or is a sick one, or a crazy one, but is one, and any number can play, so get yuhself ready.” These were the words of the PNP President Dr Peter Phillips while addressing the constituency conference of St Ann North Western in August this year.

Tourism blooms

Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, like a true maverick, continues to chalk up success after success, while naysayers continually throw cold water on the sector.

This headline in The Gleaner of November 11, 2017 must have got some in a tizzy: 'European Tourist Arrivals Surge — Stakeholders Credit Bartlett's Strategy For Growth'.

The story gave these and other details. “As tourist arrivals out of Europe soar, industry leaders are lauding the strategy being used by the island's tourism minister, Edmund Bartlett, to boost the lucrative market.

“ 'The intensified focus on this market has been yielding fruit. There has been increased airlift, especially out of Germany, which has continuously seen a decline over the years,' says president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Omar Robinson.

“The countries with the highest percentage increase include Germany, Portugal, and Spain.”

'Spanish visitors to Ja nearly tripled'

“One of Europe's leading airlines, Eurowings, a subsidiary of Lufthansa, began operating twice weekly scheduled service between Germany's largest metropolitan region, Cologne/ Bonn, part of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region and Montego Bay, in July this year.”

“ 'Eurowings is operating regular services between Germany and Montego Bay through the winter period and beyond. They are committed, and we are ecstatic,' Bartlett noted.

“Additionally, weekly charter flights between Spain, Portugal, and Jamaica for the summer, operated and sold by the Barcelo Group under its tour operator brands Evelop and Orbest, dramatically increased arrival numbers from both markets.

“ 'Up to the end of September this year we have nearly tripled the number of Spanish visitors. As for the Portuguese, we are at nearly 10 times the numbers for the same time period,' the tourism minister stated.”

It is morning again in the tourism sector. “Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett is reporting gross foreign exchange earnings of US$2.34 billion for the first 10 months of the year, representing a 10.8 per cent increase over the corresponding period in 2016.

“The figure puts the country in a good position to reach the US$3-billion mark for the year.” ( Jamaica Observer, November 16, 2017)

Recall the PNP near destroyed the tourism industry in the 1970s. According to the respected The Economist magazine: “Not all of Jamaica's poverty was Mr Manley's fault. Oil prices jumped, sugar prices did not. But he deserved much of the blame. In 1980, at the end of Mr Manley's first eight years as prime minister, the tourist hotels were almost empty, and so were the supermarket shelves. Much of the middle class had moved to Miami or Toronto. Almost 900 people had been killed in the run-up to the election, partly as a result of warfare between gangs allied to political parties.” ( The Economist, March 1997)

More trouble coming

While the birds tweet about increased efforts by the Opposition to upset the Administration's flow of runs, I am confident the Andrew Holness team will keep the scoreboard ticking over with judicious stroke play. The Black-bellied Plovers warble that sounds of a challenge to Peter Phillips is gaining traction among some influential 'tapanaris' in the party. The birds sing that many in the inner sanctum of the party view Phillips as a leader who needs to be christened by the fire of the delegates before he can truly command the reins of legitimate internal power. They shriek that the next party conference will see a party shake-up that will surprise many pundits. More anon!

Upward trajectory

“The Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) says the country grew by an estimated 0.9 per cent for the July to September 2017 quarter, relative to the corresponding period last year.” ( Jamaica Observer, November 16, 2017)

Jamaica's best days are ahead. I am betting on Jamaica, full stop!

Nurture your mind with great thoughts; to believe in the heroic makes heroes. — Benjamin Disraeli

Garfield Higgins is an educator; journalist; and advisor to the minister of education, youth and information. Send comments to the Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.