President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Dr Peter Phillips was obviously a great minister, but he is not a great leader. His outstanding performance as a minister has not translated to anything noteworthy since he was crowned leader of the party.

The records show Dr Phillips was arguably one of the best-performing ministers during the 1990s to early 2000s when the PNP was in Government and being led by P J Patterson. He performed creditably in the ministries of health, transport, and national security, and later the Ministry of Finance when Portia Simpson Miller headed the executive. This, I believe, is his greatest political legacy.

One would have guessed that would translate to electoral victories; however, that has not been the case. This is why, after five electoral defeats, I do not believe Dr Phillips is the best candidate to lead the PNP. Two stinging losses to Portia Simpson Miller, a general election loss in 2016 as campaign chairman, and two by-election losses as party president convincingly suggest he isn’t the man for the job.

In 2005 I was in high school, and one of Dr Phillips’s biggest supporters. On one of his weekend visits to his son at Munro College, I approached him and was introduced to a member of his team. This resulted in me joining the party’s youth organisation. I believed in Dr Phillips at that time. I thought he could capably lead the party, but I am no longer confident that Dr Phillips is on the trajectory to lead this country. That time, and Dr Phillips’s time, I believe, are gone. But he, and those around him, can’t see this.

Over the two years of his tenure as Comrade leader, the party’s communication has been embarrassing, and since the appointment of Krystal Tomlinson as chair it has been good. Since the leadership challenge by Peter Bunting, the communication has considerably improved; the level of creativity and quality of graphics are impressive. One has to wonder, what has changed? Did it have to take a Peter Bunting challenge for the secretariat and the PNP to finally take public relations and marketing seriously? Where was this quality of work during the run-up to the 2016 General Election as campaign chairman? Or in the by-elections in St Mary South Eastern and Portland Eastern? Are the people around Dr Phillips more interested in having him in power than actually winning State power?

One of the daunting issues that Dr Phillips faces is the people around him, who many call “the establishment”. When you offer suggestions, they are never considered, or they are perceived as an attack. The narrative amongst some of the supporters lately, since Bunting’s challenge, is: How much Bunting a pay you? There’s no campaigning on plans or policy, but mainly to discredit Bunting.

Take, for example, the recent electoral loss in Portland Eastern to Ann-Marie Vaz. Initially, the feeling was that the party wasn’t organised leading up to the election and on the day. Then it was that there were voting irregularities and questions about the voters’ list, so much so that even former General Secretary Paul Burke said the message from the candidate, and others on the campaign, wasn’t uniformed or coherent. However, in a recent utterance on the campaign platform, the new narrative is that if Peter Bunting had spent his money on Portland Eastern then Damion Crawford would be the Member of Parliament today. My word, the fingers are pointed at everyone and everything except that maybe the message was off, or the party leader doesn’t inspire much confidence, or that his seeming laissez-faire secretariat isn’t as organised as it should be. I’m sure, by the end of this piece, I might be blamed as well.

The PNP needs someone with an enviable track record in winning, running organisations, and ensuring accountability with an unblemished reputation. The best person that fits that description at this time is Peter Bunting. We know his stellar track record in finance, as being one of the co-founders of Jamaica’s first private sector investment banking firm Dehring, Bunting and Golding (now Scotia Investments). His enviable track record in electoral victories in internal and general elections is exactly what the PNP needs at this time.

As a 33-year-old political neophyte, Bunting was placed in a traditional Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) seat. He could have been placed in any safe seat — like many of his colleagues who have chosen the easier route — but, instead, wanted to chart his own course and went up against former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer. His first election was a stinging defeat for Shearer. When he re-entered politics in 2011, he once again turned down a safe seat and headed to the marginal Manchester Central seat, where three times he has faced strong challenges from candidates such as St Aubyn Bartlett, Sally Porteous, and Danville Walker.

For over six years Bunting led the secretariat of the PNP as general secretary, and his greatest achievement was orchestrating the party’s massive landslide victory in the 2011 General Election. Many pundits, polls, and political analysts had the PNP losing that election, and it was through the organising skills, being led by Bunting, and the political strength of then party president, Portia Simpson Miller, that they pulled off an impressive surprise victory.

Bunting is attentive; he listens to and understands the benefits of using new technology, and we can even see that reflected in the impressive display of his media team at the launch of his campaign. In just a short time, Bunting has given many young people in the party hope, an opportunity, and a voice to display their talents. I spoke to some of the university students who are interning with his campaign, and one told me how much they were in glee about the fact that they are actually being listened to and reasoned with, rather than being dictated to.

The PNP needs a leader with the business acumen to bridge the divide between the young and young at heart. A leader who has a proven track record to bring out the ‘die-hearted’ PNP, the undecided voters, and even the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters who are now disillusioned. When considering all facts, the best person to lead the PNP at this time is Peter Murcott Bunting.

IB Konteh is a published author, banker and event promoter currently based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Send comments to the Observer or ibrahimibkonteh@gmail.com.