Dear Editor,

On December 29, 2011, Portia Simpson Miller led the People’s National Party (PNP) to a landslide victory, adding another first to her political innings. The Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), meanwile, became the first one-term Government in Jamaica. Thereafter, she won the local government elections, capturing all 14 councils. She then set about expending a great deal of political capital by implementing tough and necessary reforms that placed Jamaica back on sound economic footing, taking it from the brink of the disaster it was on.

In January 2014 Comrade Peter Bunting, the general secretary who led the PNP secretariat to two spectacular electoral victories, gave up the position of general secretary because of the demands of his ministerial and Member of Parliament duties. In addition, Bunting believed that a new general secretary would have needed sufficient time to lead a process of identifying a winnable team of candidates for future elections.

It was the prerogative of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to announce the dates for the general election, yet Dr Peter Phillips, in a yet-to-be-justified rush, pre-empted her by announcing that we would be going into election in the near future. This announcement sent shock waves across the country and within the PNP.

Talk then started to take root in the PNP of the need for a general instead of a local one. A fear of losing any of the council, even one, will set the JLP on a high to the detriment of the general election was a reason. When this argument did not hold, in came the talks of public sector rationalisation and pension reforms. These were cited as International Monetary Fund stringent requirements that would topple the Government if implemented before a general election — this argument was presented to give justification for early polls. At that time, the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration still had many incomplete major projects that on completion would have given a fillip to the PNP in a general election. Notable among them were the highway projects, the Three Miles overhead bridge, the Constant Spring Road upgrade, improved road network in Barbican, among other key developments. However, Dr Philips — the two-time challenger to Simpson Miller — seemed intent on a general election. This insistence has been very suspect, as it could be argued that this decision would deny Simpson Miller her legacy.

Many within the PNP believe that Simpson Miller was misled by her minister of finance into naming an early date for the general elections against her better judgement. After naming a date, the campaign director, Dr Peter Phillips, fed us with Andrew Holness’s house as the PNP’s manifesto. Yes, Phillips, you offered nothing else! Three years later, the JLP is yet to implement these so-called urgent reforms (public sector rationalisation and pension reform), giving another reason to suspect the premature prompting of a general election by Dr Phillips.

Fast-forward to now, on Saturday, June 29, 2019, the Jamaica Observer reported Dr Phillips announcing that the PNP will be targeting 10 additional seats; if successful, the PNP will win 39 or fewer seats. This is less than Portia’s performance in 2011. As a result, I have to ask, are you questioning your own winning ability?

Dr Phillips is yet to indicate to the country what new radical measures will be implemented if the PNP were to form the next Government. His proclamations about wining 10 additional seats and forming the next Government have not been followed on by a reimaging or reimagining the PNP in a way that can attract millennials — the generation that requires newness and instant action now; they need a leader with wow! We millennials believe that Peter Bunting is that man to lead a new PNP to victory at the polls. His Rise United campaign has been inclusive in its approach and has fired the imagination of all of us. This is evidenced by even the new energy that has been shown by the erstwhile lethargic One PNP now hopscotching across the country like never before. All of a sudden some energy has been shown. It is Peter Bunting’s leadership that is giving the PNP a semblance of relevance in the Parliament; he has been consistent in his advocacy for the Jamaican people. His leadership has arisen us from slumber.

I urge the delegates to have Jamaica’s democracy in mind; place it at the forefront. The country needs a viable Opposition holding the Government accountable, and Peter Bunting is the man.

Lawrence Rowe

roweli24@yahoo.com