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The rise and fall of Kern Spencer
BY ERICA VIRTUE Observer writer
virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, March 02, 2008
In 2002 when Prime Minister P J Patterson named 28-year-old Kern Omar Spencer a government senator, even the young politician himself must have been overwhelmed by his fast ascension through the ranks of the People's National Party (PNP) which has an unwritten code of ensuring that members with leadership ambition prove their worth through service before being promoted.
SPENCER. began his political career with what admirers say was a commitment to serving the people in the parish
However, last Tuesday, just over six years after that Senate appointment, a dark, heavy cloud of suspicion has set over Spencer's political fortunes, as he faces charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering in connection with the Cuban light bulb scandal that has damaged his image and that of the Opposition PNP.
On Friday, Spencer was finally able to secure bail after being arrested and spending three nights in jail. Spencer's co-accused and former executive assistant, Coleen Wright, who was also arrested on Tuesday, also successfully took up her $5-million bail offer on Friday.
They, along with businessman Rodney Chin, have been charged by police investigating the scandal in which $267 million was allegedly spent to distribute four million energy-saving light bulbs donated by the Cuban Government.
Spencer had responsibility for the controversial 4M Project which was implemented in July 2006. However, allegations of irregularities in the project were levelled against Spencer in Parliament in November 2007 by new Energy Minister Clive Mullings, who asked the auditor-general and the contractor-general to probe the matter.
In January, the auditor-general reported that about 176,380 of the four million bulbs, costing approximately $92 million, could not be accounted for, while there was an absence of an effective system of budgetary control resulting in the making of payments and the incurring of unpaid obligations of $185.3 million over the approved financial support of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.
The following month, Contractor-General Greg Christie, in a damning report on the project, said there was "a very strong inference of an unlawful criminal conspiracy and corruption" in the award of contracts under the project.
He also accused Spencer of "improper, unauthorised and unlawful intervention in the project's procurement, contract award and contract payment processes".
Christie said that property, allegedly owned by Spencer, and/or his company, Butterfly Traders Limited, was utilised in the execution of contracts.
He said that his investigations unearthed allegations which could, at a minimum, suggest that Spencer, by himself and/or through his company, "was an active participant in the execution of contracts under the 4M Project, at a time when he was the public officer for the implementation of the project".
Like most politicians Spencer, who was born in St Elizabeth on June 21, 1974, began his political career with what admirers say was a commitment to serving the people in the parish.
Educated at the prestigious all-boys Munro College in the parish, he later attended the University of the West Indies (UWI) (1993-2000) where he earned a BSc in Management and an MSc in International Relations.
Political watchers say from an early age Spencer demonstrated an aptitude for leadership, and had a "genuine commitment" to working on issues of social change, issues that would advance the quality of life for all.
In March 2005 when he was selected unopposed as the PNP caretaker for the St Elizabeth North East constituency, Spencer was serving as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of National Security.
When Patterson retired in 2006 as PNP president and prime minister, his successor, Portia Simpson Miller, reappointed Spencer to the Senate in April that year. Soon after, he was promoted to junior minister in the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce.
Spencer's elevation came at a time when there was an internal clamour for younger persons to be given opportunities for leadership in the party. He was seen by many in the party as a natural choice, given that he was immediate past president of the PNP Youth Organisation, which he also served as general-secretary from 2001 to 2002. Before that, he was the president of the powerful Guild of Undergraduates at the UWI, the breeding ground for many of the region's political bright sparks.
In fact, his appointment to the Senate was endorsed by The Patriots, a group of young professionals supportive of the PNP.
"Kern brings a well-needed youthful energy to the Senate and to the political process as a whole," the group said in a news release. "His appointment can only add to the process of renewal that the country's politics so badly needs."
By then, Spencer had already learned the political ropes, serving as executive assistant to former labour minister, Donald Buchanan, and prior to that as Buchanan's campaign manager in his St Elizabeth South West constituency in the 2002 general elections.
Spencer's involvement, many felt, helped Buchanan to retain the seat, one that pollsters had predicted was too close to call.
At last September's general elections, Spencer won the St Elizabeth North East seat by whipping the Jamaica Labour Party's Corris Samuels 9,047 votes to 6,909.
As a Member of Parliament, Spencer automatically became member of the PNP's National Executive Council, the second highest decision-making body outside of the annual conference. So accustomed to being at the helm of things, he was chairman of the political education and outreach commission for the PNP's Region 5.
Spencer had the distinction of being an intern at the prestigious Inter-American Development Bank from 1996 to 1997, and also served as a tutor in the UWI's Department of Government from 1998 to 2000.
He was an intern at the International Labour Organisation from 2000 to 2001, and was also a member of the Michael Manley Foundation, board member of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, the National Youth Service, and National Insurance Fund.
BY ERICA VIRTUE Observer writer
virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com
Sunday, March 02, 2008
In 2002 when Prime Minister P J Patterson named 28-year-old Kern Omar Spencer a government senator, even the young politician himself must have been overwhelmed by his fast ascension through the ranks of the People's National Party (PNP) which has an unwritten code of ensuring that members with leadership ambition prove their worth through service before being promoted.
SPENCER. began his political career with what admirers say was a commitment to serving the people in the parish
However, last Tuesday, just over six years after that Senate appointment, a dark, heavy cloud of suspicion has set over Spencer's political fortunes, as he faces charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering in connection with the Cuban light bulb scandal that has damaged his image and that of the Opposition PNP.
On Friday, Spencer was finally able to secure bail after being arrested and spending three nights in jail. Spencer's co-accused and former executive assistant, Coleen Wright, who was also arrested on Tuesday, also successfully took up her $5-million bail offer on Friday.
They, along with businessman Rodney Chin, have been charged by police investigating the scandal in which $267 million was allegedly spent to distribute four million energy-saving light bulbs donated by the Cuban Government.
Spencer had responsibility for the controversial 4M Project which was implemented in July 2006. However, allegations of irregularities in the project were levelled against Spencer in Parliament in November 2007 by new Energy Minister Clive Mullings, who asked the auditor-general and the contractor-general to probe the matter.
In January, the auditor-general reported that about 176,380 of the four million bulbs, costing approximately $92 million, could not be accounted for, while there was an absence of an effective system of budgetary control resulting in the making of payments and the incurring of unpaid obligations of $185.3 million over the approved financial support of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica.
The following month, Contractor-General Greg Christie, in a damning report on the project, said there was "a very strong inference of an unlawful criminal conspiracy and corruption" in the award of contracts under the project.
He also accused Spencer of "improper, unauthorised and unlawful intervention in the project's procurement, contract award and contract payment processes".
Christie said that property, allegedly owned by Spencer, and/or his company, Butterfly Traders Limited, was utilised in the execution of contracts.
He said that his investigations unearthed allegations which could, at a minimum, suggest that Spencer, by himself and/or through his company, "was an active participant in the execution of contracts under the 4M Project, at a time when he was the public officer for the implementation of the project".
Like most politicians Spencer, who was born in St Elizabeth on June 21, 1974, began his political career with what admirers say was a commitment to serving the people in the parish.
Educated at the prestigious all-boys Munro College in the parish, he later attended the University of the West Indies (UWI) (1993-2000) where he earned a BSc in Management and an MSc in International Relations.
Political watchers say from an early age Spencer demonstrated an aptitude for leadership, and had a "genuine commitment" to working on issues of social change, issues that would advance the quality of life for all.
In March 2005 when he was selected unopposed as the PNP caretaker for the St Elizabeth North East constituency, Spencer was serving as parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of National Security.
When Patterson retired in 2006 as PNP president and prime minister, his successor, Portia Simpson Miller, reappointed Spencer to the Senate in April that year. Soon after, he was promoted to junior minister in the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce.
Spencer's elevation came at a time when there was an internal clamour for younger persons to be given opportunities for leadership in the party. He was seen by many in the party as a natural choice, given that he was immediate past president of the PNP Youth Organisation, which he also served as general-secretary from 2001 to 2002. Before that, he was the president of the powerful Guild of Undergraduates at the UWI, the breeding ground for many of the region's political bright sparks.
In fact, his appointment to the Senate was endorsed by The Patriots, a group of young professionals supportive of the PNP.
"Kern brings a well-needed youthful energy to the Senate and to the political process as a whole," the group said in a news release. "His appointment can only add to the process of renewal that the country's politics so badly needs."
By then, Spencer had already learned the political ropes, serving as executive assistant to former labour minister, Donald Buchanan, and prior to that as Buchanan's campaign manager in his St Elizabeth South West constituency in the 2002 general elections.
Spencer's involvement, many felt, helped Buchanan to retain the seat, one that pollsters had predicted was too close to call.
At last September's general elections, Spencer won the St Elizabeth North East seat by whipping the Jamaica Labour Party's Corris Samuels 9,047 votes to 6,909.
As a Member of Parliament, Spencer automatically became member of the PNP's National Executive Council, the second highest decision-making body outside of the annual conference. So accustomed to being at the helm of things, he was chairman of the political education and outreach commission for the PNP's Region 5.
Spencer had the distinction of being an intern at the prestigious Inter-American Development Bank from 1996 to 1997, and also served as a tutor in the UWI's Department of Government from 1998 to 2000.
He was an intern at the International Labour Organisation from 2000 to 2001, and was also a member of the Michael Manley Foundation, board member of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica, the National Youth Service, and National Insurance Fund.