A roofer’s house leaks. — Zulu proverb

At a public function last week I met upon two acquaintances, who described themselves as ‘PNP’ [not Comrades, they say there is difference, but that is for another article], and who took me to task for my piece last Sunday. Somehow they seem to have got it into their heads that my articles have the power to foment political dissonance in the 79-year-old People’s National Party (PNP).

After a long, friendly verbal exchange I believe I convinced them that political woodpeckers posed far less danger to the PNP when compared to the political termites that are rapidly eating at the core of Norman Manley’s party.

The deadly orange lava which flow from several exploding political volcanoes in the PNP are triggered by Mount Vesuvius-type tectonic shifts internally.

Sixty-eight-year old Dr Peter Phillips, who is being affirmed today as president of the PNP, is inheriting a party which is like a political Pompeii after Mount Vesuvius has erupted.

The fault, dear PNP, lies not in the stars, but deep within the PNP. I hope my readers will forgive me for taking liberties with lines from Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’.

Recall the following headline: ‘PNP used people; Councillor says party destroyed self-worth, pride of J’cans and used them as pawns in a game’. (

Jamaica Observer, April 26, 2016)

The story said, among other things: “Outspoken People’s National Party (PNP) Councillor Venesha Phillips has blamed her party for deliberately destroying the self-worth and pride of Jamaicans and using them as pawns in a game.

“The Papine councillor made the charge on Sunday during a ‘reasoning session’ at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, where members of the organisation were asked to express their views about the party as the organisation seeks to reposition itself and move on from its recent loss in the February 25 General Election.

“Comrades who attended the inaugural forum, dubbed ‘Comrades Grassroot Reasoning’, were asked to answer two questions: The PNP, who are and what are we? and Have we been true to our cause?

“Phillips, in her answer to the latter question, claimed that the PNP has not been true to its cause.

“ ‘We have not really been true to the cause, because self-worth and pride have been gutted from our people, and deliberately so.

“ ‘Our people today are not recipients of empowerment, but instead they have become pawns used in the games by those who wish to create the PNP that they want to exist in,’ she said.

“Phillips claimed that the party has used money to control and manipulate the people.

“ ‘… So, Comrades, we have moved away from when Michael Manley (former party leader and prime minister) gave us that sense of purpose that we are not for sale, and today we are for sale, because today every man have dem price.’

“Phillips charged that money has been used to manipulate the people because they have not been able to afford some basic items.

“ ‘…Instead of empowering them… we use money as a weapon, and we have brought our people to their knees just so we can establish our own cause,’ said Phillips.

“She added: ‘We have not been true to the cause because we have allowed those who would want to break our people so that they can exalt themselves, we have allowed them that space to do it.’ ” (

Observer, April 26, 2016)

Recall this political forecast by Derrick Kellier, former part-time agriculture minister.

“ ‘Our political machinery has broken down badly, and that’s why we are where we are today… we will have to climb Mount Everest to get back to where we were,’ Kellier told delegates at the party’s Regional Executive Council of Region Six meeting at John Rollins Success Primary School in Rose Hall, St James.

“ ‘Going forward is not going to be easy… we are in a state of flux, we are all about power, personal power, and personal aggrandisement and one-upmanship, that is what we are about. We are no longer a cohesive force that can deliver the knockout punch to the Opposition, and can spread the word of hope and progress to the people,’ he said.

“ ‘We have to be baptised again. We need a refresher so that we can ‘wheel and come again’ in the true sense, because you should not take this Labour Party in power lightly. If you take them lightly, you are making a very serious mistake,’ he stressed.” (

Observer, May 30, 2016)

Recall these powerful political uppercuts delivered by Lisa Hanna while her party staggered against the ropes:

“ ‘Today, the PNP appears to be a relic of the past, with obsolete messages desperately trying to appeal to a generation whose sights are set on their future. We are disconnected by deep chasms of brutal internal conflicts and division. The courage that once epitomised the movement has been replaced by fear from being bludgeoned into submission from having an independent view. Comrades are now quiet; resolved to whispers so as not to be labelled subversive, and the internal structures no longer function. ‘ ” (

Sunday Observer, April 3, 2016)

Recall also that Deacon Ronald Thwaites, ex-minister of education, told the country some years ago that “the PNP has presided over the greatest transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich since slavery”. Rural folks, in their philosophical brilliance, warn that, “When fish come from the river bottom and tell you that crocodile down there; believe him.”

Incidentally, the birds, the ubiquitous Black-Bellied Plovers, John Chewits and Banana Quits warble that Deacon Thwaites is not a political favourite of the incoming party president. Is it that Thwaites is to be sidelined for someone whose surname begins with a ‘G’? More anon.

But back to the PNP which is suffering with stage four inverted Trojan Horse Syndrome.

Recall the recent campaign funds scandal.

“The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is now reeling from damaging allegations of misuse of campaign donations by some of its candidates in the February 25, 2016 General Election.

“The allegations were made by PNP Treasurer Norman Horne in his report to the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on July 23 and 24, but which only surfaced publicly yesterday.

“In his report, Horne painted a picture of a party in campaign disarray that spilled over to its ability to raise funds for the election that it eventually lost by one seat to the Jamaica Labour Party.

“ ‘Throughout the 2016 national campaign the treasury worked assiduously to overcome the handicap the party endured due to the fragmentation of the political leadership, machinery and consequently the national campaign itself, which resulted in multiple non-cohesive and disjointed campaigns being run by distinct groupings and individual members of the party,’ Horne wrote.

“He said that prior to February 17, 2016, when the party communicated its decision not to participate in three planned national debates, the treasury’s greatest competition in the marketplace was the membership of the party who held senior positions in Government.

“ ‘These persons were actively in the market for what seemed to be sole benefit of their personal campaigns and collected significant amounts from members of the private sector who were earmarked by the treasury as potential substantial donors for the benefit of the PNP as one cohesive unit,’ he wrote.

“ ‘On numerous occasions, information received by the treasury from the potential donors was that contributions had already been made to senior party members for the benefit of the party. However, only a few members reported or accounted in full, or even in part, for the receipt of these donations to the treasury or the party executive. This heavily affected the party’s income and short-changed the party, resulting in a negative effect on the national campaign. Financially speaking, there was not one central bank, but several banks; some of which had more resources than the treasury,’ Horne stated.” (

Observer, August 23, 2016)

‘What missing funds?’ This banner headline is still fresh in the minds of many, for reasons of mirth, reflection, and maybe for points of irony. Just like the Trafigura scandal, Portia Simpson Miller was oblivious of the goings-on in the party she headed.

“Portia Simpson Miller yesterday said she was unaware of the campaign funding scandal in which her People’s National Party (PNP) has been mired for more than a week and which has triggered a fresh round of conflict within the ranks of the fractious political Opposition.

“However, she told the press that she would check on it as soon as she got home.

“ ‘What missing funds?’ she asked with a puzzled look on her face in response to questions about PNP Treasurer Norman Horne’s report that some of the party’s candidates in the last general election collected money from donors but have not accounted for the funds.

“ ‘I don’t know about that. Where, who, what?’ she replied when she was pressed on the issue.

“When she was asked if she was not aware of Horne’s report she said: ‘What report? They have been keeping me very busy on the road. I’ll have to check it when I get home later.’

“Chairman of the PNP Hanover Eastern constituency organisation, DK Duncan, who was in the company of the party president and Opposition leader, rushed to her defence by stating that he was there to brief her, as she had been indisposed.” (

Observer, August 31, 2016)

Recall also the direct words of Simpson Miller. She was chiding dissenting Comrades at the meeting, which was held on Wednesday, November 16, 2016, in Claremont, St Ann:

“I represent one of the strongest constituencies in Jamaica; don’t play with me, I don’t play games. I work hard for this movement from 1974 ’til now; nuh boy, nuh gyal can’t talk to me… I will come back here for another meeting, and I know who I will bring…I’m not afraid of anyone.”

At that meeting, she also warned Comrades, “This is one woman who never run from a fight with anyone yet.” (

Observer, November 19, 2016)

While ex-Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller (PSM) awaits her political midnight train to Georgia, or maybe Miami, I suspect she is still reeling from the unceremonious manner in which she was jolted from her presidential perch.

Time will tell if the deep political wounds which were evident in the comments from Simpson Miller at the PNP’s National Executive Council political OK Corral, in Hatfield, in Manchester, on Sunday, February 5, 2017 can heal.

PSM: “Like how you glad fi si mi out, don’t be glad to call mi when you need mi to win election.”

PSM: “I worked like a donkey for this movement.”

What of Simpson Miller’s warning about men in her party who “don’t like female leadership”.

The fact that 89 Old Hope Road is in a near-constant state of political implosion is the fault of 89 Old Hope Road.

The PNP needs to escape its fixation with blaming everything and everyone else but the PNP for its political ‘nine-a-clocks’ [travails].

It’s not the political woodpeckers, it’s the political termites, stupid!

You don’t need a mirror to see what you are wearing on your hand. — Nigerian proverb

Garfield Higgins is an educator; journalist; and advisor to the minister of education, youth and information. Send comments to the Observer orhiggins160@yahoo.com.