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Portia is unstoppable
published: Sunday | October 1, 2006 <DIV class=KonaBody>
Dawn Ritch, Contributor
The intelligentsia has worked itself up into a lather, because Portia Simpson Miller threatens to clean up the place in six months.
This programme is openly derided by the pundits as crash work. It is cited as not a sustainable basis for development.
There are two salient characteristics to the past People's National Party (PNP) regime: the ballooning national debt, and a total incapacity to take up the garbage.
Not even the Jamaica Labour Party-dominated parish councils islandwide have managed to make a difference to the grime.
High with garbage
Kingston's Mayor JLP Desmond McKenzie says his budget only covers salaries. He has, therefore, since then, been sticking it to business people for infractions wherever convenient.
But the city is still piled high with garbage, and floods as soon as the sky gets overcast.
Not even the police are interested in the subject of the environment, otherwise smoking vehicles would be pulled off the road and impounded.
Madam Prime Minister has an uphill task. The intelligentsia keeps demanding to know why the other people aren't doing it, whoever they are. She says she will do it.
But she's laughed out of the court of public opinion, and accused of introducing a non-sustainable development. One 'environmental' expert writing in this newspaper made the quite irrelevant point that she didn't use the word 'environment'' once in her speech.
What's more important? To talk about the environment, or do something about it? Clearly the intelligentsia is prepared to continue to live with filth, as long as it's not at their doorstep.
One letter writer criticised Simpson Miller because she'd said nothing about planting shrubs and trees. As far as I'm concerned, this is taking things much too far.
For 17 years, even with JLP participation, nobody has been able to hold a hose, much less reach for a shovel. So I hope she resists the urge to plant a blade of grass.
The PNP can do a lot of things, but it's never failed to rake up debt and leave the island's public areas shabby.
If Madam Prime Minister just gives us a thorough-going clean-up from stem to stern, I'll be more than happy. Nor am I in the slightest bit interested in scoffing at 12,000 part-time jobs for poor people. I wish her every success.
But planting trees and shrubs will require maintenance, and certainly more than six months. A little soap and water, and a clean-up deep into the tiniest communities and remotest villages would make Jamaica feel brand new. Madam Prime Minister said she was doing this first for ourselves, and only then World Cricket.
This initiative will doubtless reduce and control the rat population. This is a must, because deaths from leptospirosis are steeply on the rise. We as citizens must help her, and keep our garbage properly bagged and locked. Otherwise, the rats will get us long before the gunmen do. There's no point arguing over who's to do it, or even who caused it.
Dabdoub at coinference
At her first conference as PNP president, Madam Prime Minister drew a crowd the like of which I've never seen. There's no point arguing that Michael Manley did, because he didn't. And it's time we started judging her by her own standards and not those of any predecessor in either party, even though I've been guilty of that myself. After all, none of them was female.
Simpson Miller in her speech, described 'yellow' as the PNP's outreach colour. It's a good colour. Abe Dabdoub, former JLP for 45 years, went independent. He attended PNP's public session resplendent in yellow.
He's a very good friend of mine. I was shocked to see him getting up on the platform. We'd been on the telephone just an hour before, and he didn't even
published: Sunday | October 1, 2006 <DIV class=KonaBody>
Dawn Ritch, Contributor
The intelligentsia has worked itself up into a lather, because Portia Simpson Miller threatens to clean up the place in six months.
This programme is openly derided by the pundits as crash work. It is cited as not a sustainable basis for development.
There are two salient characteristics to the past People's National Party (PNP) regime: the ballooning national debt, and a total incapacity to take up the garbage.
Not even the Jamaica Labour Party-dominated parish councils islandwide have managed to make a difference to the grime.
High with garbage
Kingston's Mayor JLP Desmond McKenzie says his budget only covers salaries. He has, therefore, since then, been sticking it to business people for infractions wherever convenient.
But the city is still piled high with garbage, and floods as soon as the sky gets overcast.
Not even the police are interested in the subject of the environment, otherwise smoking vehicles would be pulled off the road and impounded.
Madam Prime Minister has an uphill task. The intelligentsia keeps demanding to know why the other people aren't doing it, whoever they are. She says she will do it.
But she's laughed out of the court of public opinion, and accused of introducing a non-sustainable development. One 'environmental' expert writing in this newspaper made the quite irrelevant point that she didn't use the word 'environment'' once in her speech.
What's more important? To talk about the environment, or do something about it? Clearly the intelligentsia is prepared to continue to live with filth, as long as it's not at their doorstep.
One letter writer criticised Simpson Miller because she'd said nothing about planting shrubs and trees. As far as I'm concerned, this is taking things much too far.
For 17 years, even with JLP participation, nobody has been able to hold a hose, much less reach for a shovel. So I hope she resists the urge to plant a blade of grass.
The PNP can do a lot of things, but it's never failed to rake up debt and leave the island's public areas shabby.
If Madam Prime Minister just gives us a thorough-going clean-up from stem to stern, I'll be more than happy. Nor am I in the slightest bit interested in scoffing at 12,000 part-time jobs for poor people. I wish her every success.
But planting trees and shrubs will require maintenance, and certainly more than six months. A little soap and water, and a clean-up deep into the tiniest communities and remotest villages would make Jamaica feel brand new. Madam Prime Minister said she was doing this first for ourselves, and only then World Cricket.
This initiative will doubtless reduce and control the rat population. This is a must, because deaths from leptospirosis are steeply on the rise. We as citizens must help her, and keep our garbage properly bagged and locked. Otherwise, the rats will get us long before the gunmen do. There's no point arguing over who's to do it, or even who caused it.
Dabdoub at coinference
At her first conference as PNP president, Madam Prime Minister drew a crowd the like of which I've never seen. There's no point arguing that Michael Manley did, because he didn't. And it's time we started judging her by her own standards and not those of any predecessor in either party, even though I've been guilty of that myself. After all, none of them was female.
Simpson Miller in her speech, described 'yellow' as the PNP's outreach colour. It's a good colour. Abe Dabdoub, former JLP for 45 years, went independent. He attended PNP's public session resplendent in yellow.
He's a very good friend of mine. I was shocked to see him getting up on the platform. We'd been on the telephone just an hour before, and he didn't even
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>CHRIS BURNS</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Many pundits and political commentators were predicting fist-fights, cass-cass, disorganisation, a disjointed presidential address, and a low turnout at the 68th Annual Conference of the People's National Party. Oh, they were all so wrong. True to form, silent river does run deep, because the conference was a true watershed and a resounding success. <P class=StoryText align=justify>I know there were several very disappointed people on Sunday, September 24. They were disappointed, not because they did not hear what they wanted to hear, but because of the sterling performance of Portia, the unrealisation of the political doomsayers' dreams, and the attentiveness and sheer magnitude of her audience, both inside and outside the National Arena. And, speaking of presentation, one could not but wonder aloud where the RJR news panellists were, because their commentary and grading of the PM's speech were wide of the mark. It would serve well in the future to select a more objective panel to cover such events, credibility demands no less.<P class=StoryText align=justify>However, the large crowd was not the most impressive of her accomplishments that Sunday. This is so because I have learned over the years not to watch the crowd, but to concentrate on the sales. I concentrated exclusively on the sale. Portia sold herself and her party as a united, well-energised, battle-ready and formidable force and the buyers were satisfied, with no trace of post-purchase dissonance. Indeed, the prime minister demonstrated for all to see that she is in control of the government and that as party president, she sways tremendous clout and control.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Throughout her speech, she kept referring to members of her Cabinet, and even asked them to stand for acknowledgement. This action allayed rumours that an iron curtain separates her from her Cabinet colleagues. Her reference to and acknowledgement of John Junor, Danny Buchanan and KD Knight was simply brilliant and helped to remove lingering doubts of bitterness on her part towards them. All this is good for the PNP because despite the unkind rhetoric that came from especially KD, during the presidential campaign, he was able to attend party conference, walk the floor, and receive the party leader's acknowledgement without any "brucking-up".<P class=StoryText align=justify>Portia Simpson Miller accomplished several other things during the three-day conference which culminated on Sunday with the largest crowd ever gathered at a party conference at the National Arena. Therefore, analysis of this conference should extend beyond the narrow confines of light commentary to include a serious look at the organisational and mobilisational capabilities of the People's National Party. Winning a fifth consecutive term is by no means an easy task and the party will have to work as it has never done before to achieve this victory. Portia alluded to this during her presentation when she warned non-performers to shape up or be prepared to be shipped out, because she intends to win the next election. Context is relevant here, because as the party has admitted through its campaign director Paul Robertson, and former president PJ Patterson, "things nuh look pretty in some constituencies".
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