L Mike Henry: One of the best PMs Ja never had
Some men see things as they are, and say why. I dream of things that never were, and say why not? — George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
Lester Michael Henry to me exhibits many of the admirable qualities of outside-the-box thinking which are scarce in our country. That scarcity has existed for a long time.
Recall this from the editorial of The Gleaner, May 4, 2010, titled ‘A four-lane highway of debt’: “At the launch of the project on April 22, Minister of Transport and Works Mike Henry said that the construction of the highway would give ‘an impression of a country moving forward’; ‘the first thing it creates is a different impression on arriving’. Driving from the airport to Harbour View — especially at night — on the present two-lane highway is already a pleasant experience, which can hardly be improved by the addition of two more lanes.”
Henry, to his great credit, was not deterred by detractors who evidently did not understand the importance of developing a high-speed, all-weather road that allowed for unrestricted access to the people of Jamaica and visitors to our island. The Norman Manley International Airport is a major hub of our economy. The fact that some did not get it, that world-class-type access would benefit all Jamaica, is a puzzle in an enigma.
Lawyer and statesman who served as prime minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990 Lee Kuan Yew opined that the ability to see 50 to 100 years ahead of one’s time was one of the critical traits which separated great, average, and mediocre leaders. Henry, unlike some, was looking many years ahead.
On August 20, 2010, Henry broke ground for the Palisadoes Shoreline Rehabilitation and Protection Project. At the ground-breaking, he noted, among other things: “The work would include construction of 2.65 kilometres of rock revetments along the shoreline, on the side of the Caribbean Sea, and 3.6 kilometres on the harbour side from Harbour View to the vicinity of the Gunboat Beach.
“The road is to be widened, from the Harbour View roundabout to the airport roundabout, in anticipation of future development of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA).” (Jamaica Information Service [JIS], August 23, 2010)
We are seeing the fruits of Henry’s work today.
Consider this: On February 24, 2020, The Marella Discovery 2 cruise ship made its second call to Port Royal carrying some 1,800 visitors. The cruise ship created history on January 20, 2020 when it was the first to dock at the newly opened cruise port constructed by The Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ). The connectedness between these developments and the completed four lane highway to the Norman Manley International Airport should be obvious even to a Doubting Thomas.
Earned credit
Mike Henry also deserves a lot of credit for helping to bring on stream the Portland leg of the Government’s largest road rehabilitation initiative, the Jamaica Development Infrastructure Programme (JDIP), which he launched in September 2010.
Henry conceptualised JDIP, an extensive road infrastructure project funded by the governments Jamaica and China. He also was pivotal in the negotiation of the loan of US$350 million to be matched by Jamaica’s injection of US$50 million for a total of US$400 million for the implementation of that programme.
Many major and parochial roads have been upgraded because of the JDIP. There have been repairs to and construction of several bridges, drains, and retaining walls across Jamaica.
Doubtless someone is going to shout: Now, wait a minute, JDIP? Didn’t Mike Henry resign or was fired over his administration of the JDIP?
It must not be forgotten that a report commissioned by Henry’s successor, Dr Omar Davies, when the Government changed, in 2012, found that Henry had done no wrong.
Henry also deserves credit for the successful completion of Segment 1A of the Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Project in Bogue, St James, which was officially opened in January 2011. This is a major entrance and exit point for Montego Bay. This corridor significantly eased traffic delays which was a source of ire for motorists for donkey’s years.
Multi-modal transport
I believe Henry gets it that if Jamaica is to grow really fast we have to be able to move goods, services and people really fast. United States President Barrack Obama warned when he visited Jamaica some years ago that we needed to grow and develop really fast.
Forbes magazine once commented: “Jamaica’s economy has grown on average less than one per cent a year for the last three decades.” (www.forbes.com/places/jamaica/)
Too many among us just do not get it that rapid economic growth cannot be achieved via a reliance on redistributive policies minus wealth creation. Redistributive policies brought us to our knees in the 1970s. Today we need to focus like a laser beam on the inclusive creation of wealth.
This is a prerequisite for prudent and targeted redistribution to the most vulnerable. To do the opposite is the equivalent of attempting to take clothes off of a naked person.
I know some are going to bellow, “But, Higgins, Henry has pumped millions into trying to rehabilitate the rail service in Jamaica and it has yet to happen.”
True!
It is also true that passenger rail services are not doing well anywhere. Countries are moving in the direction of underground rail services and bullet trains. I wonder if Jamaicans would gladly warm to those.
Black empowerment
Except for former prime ministers Edward Seaga and Michael Manley, and our present Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Oliver “Babsy” Grange, I cannot think of any other post-Independence, elected politician who has done more to beat back negative, irrational, prejudicial and racist stereotypes of our majority black population than Mike Henry.
He has been a national and global ambassador for Jamaican culture for the last 60 years. His undiluted love for the worth and work of Rastafari and the Maroons is well documented.
While turning through his copy of the Concise Oxford Dictionary some years ago, Henry came upon the word Maroon, and the definition he saw infuriated him. A Maroon was described as a person descended from runaway slaves in parts of the West Indies. Henry, in The Gleaner of July 19, 2009, said: “I was greatly offended and insulted by it! I know that any Jamaican would be. It’s a perfect example of the mis-education of the Negro. There was no account of the bravery of the Maroons who defeated the English in their fight for independence.”
I suspect many among us do not see matters like these as pivotal to our sense of self. Mike Henry does. He wrote a strong letter to the editor of the Oxford Dictionary, in England. In a letter dated July 7, 2009, Angus Stevenson, project manager, Oxford Dictionaries and Thesauruses, wrote back to Henry: “I apologise for any offence that the entry has given. I agree that it should be revised, and in particular that it should take account of the exploits of the eighteenth-century Jamaican Maroons who fought two wars against the British settlers, both of which ended with treaties affirming the independence of the Maroons. I will ensure that we make these changes at the earliest opportunity.” The Gleaner, July 17, 2009.
Reparation for slavery
One cannot talk about Mike Henry and not credit him for his tireless work related to the fight for reparation for slavery. He has campaigned in the highways and byways for reparation.
In August 2013 he tabled resolution on reparation in Parliament in an effort to force a political decision on the matter in the House. This was not Henry’s first resolution of the kind. According to him: “What we need is a political decision that will enable us to take the matter to the International Court of Justice to value the economic costs.” (Jamaica Observer, August 9, 2013)
Mike Henry has said on numerous occasions that he entered politics to improve the social and economic conditions of the Jamaican people and to challenge them to realise the full importance of their own self-worth as a people who have beaten great odds, slavery and colonialism among them, and have still managed to survive and thrive.
‘Rougher than tough’
Maybe it is this unwavering commitment why he remained in politics after a life-threatening political attack in 1976, when he was shot and seriously wounded.
Consider this harrowing excerpt from a Jamaica Observer feature of April 22, 2012, entitled ‘Death Postponed: Mike Henry’s brush with a double-barrelled gun’. The item noted, among other things: “I suddenly heard an explosion and felt a sting and saw blood everywhere. The young man beside me, Tidley Watson, whose son Levaughn plays football for Jamaica, was my youth leader. His eye was shot. He later went blind in that eye and there is nothing worse than losing your sight,” said Henry.
The incident left him badly shaken, but the politician pulled through.
Henry, who walks with a limp as a result of the shooting, later lost the election for the then newly created Clarendon Central seat by 884 votes (5,545 to 4,661) to the PNP’s Orville D (OD) Ramtallie.
Mike Henry has always had a fearless streak. Some accounts of his early upbringing in Spanish Town say he needed to be ‘rougher than tough’ to survive.
Life and times
Lester Michael Henry was born on June 18, 1935. His father Lester Osmond Henry and mother Lucile Clothilda (Leon) Henry, some accounts say, were strict but they gave young Lester latitude to voice his opinions on a variety of subjects and were always happy to give a listening ear. His parents, some accounts say, inspired him to be empathetic. They constantly encouraged him to lend a helping hand to those who could not fend for themselves.
Henry attended Beckford and Smith, now St Jago High School, and later Ealing Technical College in the United Kingdom. His experiences at both institutions would prove invaluable.
“He had been running the largest chain of fast food restaurants called Mike’s, Home of the Famous Nyamburger, which involved sidewalk dining, a 24-hour service and free newspapers on Sundays, among other things. The success of the food chain prompted a suggestion from his close friend Derrick Mahfood that he enter elective politics.” (Jamaica Observer, April 22, 2012)
He suffered defeat (884 votes) in a contest with OD Ramtallie in 1976, but Henry turned the tables on Ramtallie in the landslide defeat of Michael Manley and the People’s National Party (PNP), by the Edward Seaga-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) on October 30, 1980. Henry beat Ramtallie by 3,475 votes. He has not lost the seat since. Henry has turned what was formerly a PNP stronghold into JLP safe seat after 10-straight victories in Clarendon Central.
He has presided over major improvements in education and infrastructure. His constituency, for example, has three of the nation’s best schools; namely, May Pen Primary, one of the largest in the Caribbean; Glenmuir High, a national brand; and Denbigh High, which was formerly a new secondary school.
At 87, with 43 years of unbroken service, Henry is the oldest elected representative in our Lower House. He has served in various ministerial portfolios, including youth and local government, as well as information in the ministries of tourism, transport and works, and labour and social security. He recently resigned leadership of the Clarendon Central executive committee.
His longevity, stick-to-itiveness and fearless streak have manifested in various ways, including a challenge to Edward Seaga for the leadership of the JLP. Henry opined that, “In challenging Eddie Seaga for the leadership it was expected that you would be threatened in the sense of the strength of Tivoli, but that didn’t deter me because I felt challenges should not be made surreptitiously; they shouldn’t be made through gangs, groups, or organisations.” (Jamaica Observer, April 22, 2012)
Although Mike Henry never became prime minister, verifiable evidence shows that he has “made the weather”. His constituency and Jamaica are in a much better state than how he had found them.
He, in my humble view, deserves much more in the way of political recognition. Certainly he deserves much more than at least three of our former prime ministers. Henry is, perhaps, one of the best prime ministers Jamaica never had.
With respect to national honours, Henry was invested with our fourth highest honour — the Order of Jamaica — for distinguished contribution to public service, politics, and public service development in 2019.
Garfield Higgins is an educator, journalist and a senior advisor to the minister of education & youth. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.