IT was a pity that Prime Minister Bruce Golding in his Cabinet reshuffle (I prefer to call it footwork) had to transfer Dr Christopher Tufton from the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries to the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce. Dr Tufton is a personable character and his communication with farmers has been excellent. His approach to agriculture was like he was attending to his own farm and he won the confidence, support and appreciation of farmers across the island. I daresay he was one of the most outstanding agriculture ministers Jamaica has ever produced. As a journalist, I found him most accommodating, always willing to answer questions in a forthright manner.

However, placing Dr Tufton at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce made sense. Investment is critical to economic growth, employment and earning foreign exchange. The previous minister, Karl Samuda, while he performed well in industry and commerce, did not seem to make much impression in the field of investment. Samuda would not accept the energy and mining portfolio offered to him for reasons best known to himself. Recently he was ill with a back problem. Could that have anything to do with it? Another interesting appointment is that of Robert Montague as minister of state in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. I believe his removal as minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minsiter will be a blow to local government reform, which was making strides under Montague’s leadership.

Taking over local government from Montague is Shahine Robinson who has a lot of other duties as minister of state in the Office of the Prime Minister. One wonders whether she will have the time to give the sort of attention that Montague gave, and opens the question of how serious the government is about local government reform. Montague should do well in agriculture, provided he changes his personality and approach and appearance of being uncompromising. What is good for local government officials is not good for farmers.

Many people will be happy to see the return of Clive Mullings to the Cabinet as minister of mining and energy, a position he previously held in the government, but had been fired over a difference with Golding. There is no doubt that the action of Golding was an error of judgement. House Speaker Delroy Chuck has been placed in the position where he can best serve – minister of justice. It was short-sightedness on the part of Golding to have named him Speaker and not minister of justice in the first place. What transpired in the Manatt/Dudus Enquiry made Dorothy Lightbourne, minister of justice and attorney general, expendable, and she was pushed out and Chuck handed the justice portfolio. The position of attorney general has been separated from justice and a non-politician is to be appointed in keeping with the recommendations of the commission.

The appointment of Arthur Williams as minister of state in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service as minister without portfolio makes sense and is in keeping with the recommendation of the Public Sector Transformation Unit of Cabinet. Williams has been performing with much aplomb and consistency in the wage issue between government and the agency representing public service workers. Taken in its totality the changes should result in better governance in the period leading up to the general elections due next year.

Legendary Iris Whittaker dies

The legendary Iris Whittaker, icon of Mandeville, Manchester, died on June 18, aged 91. A service of celebration for her life was held on Saturday last at the University Chapel, Mona, with the Very Rev Canon Peter Mullings offering words of comfort. Whittaker and her husband, Frank, a business executive, scored a grand total of 183 years in age and were married for 69 years – quite a departure from some marriages today which last for one year and less.

Whittaker was an extraordinary woman. She distinguished herself in many fields, including music. She was a celebrated pianist and music teacher, tutoring and playing classical and popular music, some of the time without charging, and holding concerts across the country. She taught at Mount St Joseph Academy in Mandeville for many years and performed at concerts across the country. Whittaker was also a distinguished leader of the Lions Club, Soroptimist Club and the Jamaica Tourist Board’s Meet the People Programme under which Jamaican participants entertained visitors to the island and exposed them to Jamaican culture. Many of Whittaker’s guests made return visits to the island.

She was an outstanding voluntary literacy teacher and taught JAMAL classes for many years. She spread the culture of Jamaica and urged her Jamaican students to participate in cultural activities in their communities. She organised cultural trips overseas, not only for her Jamaican students, but also for Cuban, Haitian and Venezuelan students and anyone who could comfortably fit into the trips. She made the wives of expatriate managers at Alcan Aluminum Company, where he husband was a manager, feel at home in Jamaica and her tea parties in Mandeville were unforgettable. They were both social as well as cultural.

Up to the 1950s there was still subtle colour and social prejudice in Mandeville, but Whittaker in her equally subtle approach and inimitable style helped to break down the problem considerably.

Whittaker’s son-in law, Michael Elliott, describes her as a woman of social conscience. A woman of great determination, she worked assiduously in the development of musical talent and nearly her entire life was devoted to music and social work.