Health and Wellness Minister Dr Christopher Tufton ought to have been the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) point man on information from day one. Of all the current Cabinet ministers in the Andrew Holness Administration, he has been consistently rated as the top-performing minister, even though the controversial Cornwall Regional Hospital renovation project has been an albatross around his neck and he is presiding over the island’s health services, which leave much to be desired.

To put it bluntly, the man is a public relations genius. And when this is coupled with his likeability rating, it is fair to say that he is the JLP’s rising star and the Labourite most likely to succeed Holness should there be a vacancy or, as we say in Jamaican parlance, when “things come to bump”! And word on the ground is that all is not honky-dory in the Belmont Road camp at this time, as the local government election results as well as the latest Don Anderson poll findings have set the cat among the pigeons and feathers are likely to fly!

In the meantime, Tufton’s recent sectoral debate presentation has been seen as a tour de force by many, including the Jamaica Observer, whose editorial of Thursday, May 9, 2024 had the most flattering headline: ‘Two big and bright ideas from Dr Christopher Tufton’. This had to do with the announcement of the establishment of the 2.5-billion Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship and Development Fund, over five years, for medical students “as part of the health ministry’s training and retention strategy for critical health-care professionals as well as the Government exploring the possibility of a flexi-contract arrangement for people who are trained jointly across jurisdictions, involving institutions outside of Jamaica”. Good move from the minister who is always on the go with his Jamaica Moves project, another stellar public relations gimmick from his arsenal of goodies.

Meanwhile, it boggles the mind that Dr Tufton could have repeatedly overshadowed Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett as the best-performing minister when one looks dispassionately at Bartlett’s most enviable record, in terms of performance, outcome, and visibility, nationally and internationally. Indeed, it would appear that the goodly Dr Tufton, who, to the surprise of many Jamaicans, is not a medical doctor, seems to have the right “medicine” to work “guzzu” on a most gullible nation. So that even with the many woes plaguing the island’s hospitals and health centres, the peripatetic Dr Tufton, who once promised us rice in overabundance during his tenure as Agriculture Minister, continues to be the consummate marketer (incidentally, his fellow Cabinet Minister Bartlett is a trained marketer we are told).

On the other hand, Prime Minister Holness, the once undisputed champion in the ring, may well be in a state of delayed shock as his “Brogad” armour has been receiving several dents lately, some of which may be irreparable, even as he delivers houses to the needy and cuts ribbons to open mega highways. Dubbed as the “builder” and “babyfather” of all things prosperous, he and his perplexed party must be puzzled as to why his political fortunes are waning.

Surely the time has come for Holness to do some serious, in-depth, soul-searching reflection and analysis of his stewardship since 2020 when his party walloped the People’s National Party (PNP) 49-14, a victory that has apparently gone to his head and caused him to believe that his leadership is invincible.

One of the negatives of that overwhelming majority in the Lower House is that it has caused the party to become complacent, arrogant, and foolhardy. He should look back at what happened to his political mentor Edward Seaga in 1989 when, after that resounding JLP victory in 1980 and his effective handling of the aftermath of the Hurricane Gilbert debacle in1988, Michael Manley, who many pundits had written off because of his alleged Communist tendencies, rebounded with the PNP in full sway. Indeed, he should “tek sleep and mark death”!

One of the silly notions that many Labourites have been embracing is the widespread propaganda that Mark Golding, the PNP’s president, is a white man and the descendant of slave masters. This race card is likely to backfire on the JLP, as already it is obvious that the Jamaican populace is warming towards “Markie G”, notwithstanding Member of Parliament Everald Warmington’s dismissal of him as a viable alternative to Brogad. Well, a reading of the tea leaves has shown Golding in the ascendancy while Holness appears to be fast becoming a character in search of an author.

In this scenario, a rising Dr Tufton may well create some fireworks in the JLP camp, even as Brogad’s fortunes continue to wane. Time may well come, sooner than later, for a change in the JLP leadership structure or will Holness, the political master that he is, turn the tables on his detractors and rebound with a vengeance? Time will tell.

MANLEY, NOT BUSTAMANTE

In my previous article entitled ‘A rocky road to the republic’, it was erroneously stated that Alexander Bustamante had called the general election after the referendum on the West Indies Federation in 1961. The PNP was, in fact, still in power, as they had won the 1959 General Election. So Norman Manley, in a statesman-like manner, declared that he was going to call general election to allow the Jamaican people to decide which party and its leader should take them into Independence. Of course, the PNP lost and the rest is history, paving the way for Bustamante to become Jamaica’s first prime minister.

The error is regretted.

Lloyd B Smith has been involved in Jamaican media for the past 49 years. He has served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.