Election is still any party’s to win

There will be some real surprises at the end of Jamaica’s 18th general election on September 3, 2020.

I vowed that I would never try to predict the result of another general election since the one of 2016. Then, everything was in place for the People’s National Party (PNP) to remain in power, but for the greed, selfishness, and dishonesty of some, who kept campaign funding from going into the party’s coffers that would energise some struggling candidates who lost by low margins.

Now, the September 3 election will be held when the economy is not in a ‘real’ situation. The intervention by novel coronavirus will mean that the party that is smarter and can execute better on election day will be victorious. Don’t pay too much attention to opinion polls. Look at the organisational work of the parties in getting voters out during what I anticipate will be the lowest voter turnout in the history of Jamaican general election, first held in 1944.

As things stand, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) could have the advantage, and its top campaigners like Babsy Grange, Juliet Holness, Dr Andrew Wheatley, Matthew Samuda, and the communication face of the campaign, Kamina Johnson Smith make a formidable team. But the PNP has some solid names too, among them Peter Bunting, Mark Golding, Horace Dalley, Basil Waite, and Dr Dayton Campbell.

One gets the feeling that had the PNP dumped some of those meaningless candidates from its deck, it would have still had a great hand, despite the presence of a weak general secretary, and a president whose popularity cannot compete with that of Prime Minister Holness.

But in an election that will be decided not by the popularity of a party leader, rather by the performance, or lack thereof, of local representatives, it was always there for the Opposition to make a huge statement. Will it happen?

Shand is wasting time

Democracy is a hell of a thing.

This is why we can have some of the people now lining up to run for political office doing so unmolested, although you always have to wonder if some of the individuals who make the trek in that direction really know what they are doing.

Up to Friday morning, I had not heard whether or not the man who has contested most elections in Jamaica, Ras Astor Black, will embarrass himself again by going forward and making an ass of the process. But while watching CVM Television‘s newscast on Thursday, I saw incumbent Member of Parliament for St Ann North West, Dr Dayton Campbell, and his main challenger, the Jamaica Labour Party’s Krystal Lee, make their points.

Moments after, another voice emerged. Could it be that of Patrick Roberts? Because it sounded so. Luckily, it wasn’t, as I looked up quickly to see one Peter Shand spilling verbal garbage. Having done political campaigning for the PNP in St Ann North Eastern before, he is said to be now running as an independent in North Western. In the end, the voice sounded a little better than Roberts, who will, as usual, pose no challenge to Prime Minister Holness in St Andrew West Central, but it was easy to tell that there was a relationship of sorts between Shand and Roberts because of how they speak.

All the noise in the world does not seem to be able to convince Roberts that he is clearly unfit for Jamaica’s House of Representatives, but is anyone out there willing and ready to whisper in Shand’s ears that he too is not cut out for that kind of job?

Is anybody paying attention to the Jamaica dollar?

With general election fever now competing with the novel coronavirus, Jamaicans seem to be ignoring the small matter of the rapidly declining local currency.

Last Thursday’s trading summary saw the United States dollar going at an average rate of $150.36. That’s what you call an economic disgrace. I remember not too long ago, mere months, when the US dollar was valued around $130. Now, it has gone to a new record rate, and all we will hear from the so-called financial gurus in the Government and private sector, is that the Jamaica dollar is undervalued. Undervalued my foot! There is no way that this country should be paying so much for one US dollar.

Even the most hard-headed person will know that when the Jamaica dollar is subjected to this devastating, crawling, peg devaluation, just about everything goes up … something I noticed late last week when I stopped at two supermarkets in the Constant Spring area of St Andrew.

The cost of petrol too, has also gone up, and again, Petrojam will want to tell you that fuel prices are not tied to the US dollar. Poor Petrojam!

But what can the State do to protect the consumer, especially those described as poor and vulnerable? Well, the Bank of Jamaica can enter the market with more vigour, in order to counteract those selfish, uncaring traders who only want to satisfy their greedy thirst for economic dominance.

But of course you will soon hear the Minister of Finance saying that people like me know nothing about the economy, and common sense does not count in any rational economic decision-making.

In the end, he who feels it knows it. If the people you elect to shield you from economic blows are not doing their job, then there can be only one thing to do.

The forgotten Courtney Walsh Award

It is sad, so sad, that the respected Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence, managed by the CHASE Fund, has ceased to exist, and the people involved in the selection process have not even been officially informed about its status.

The award was introduced in 2003 by Prime Minister PJ Patterson to, among other things, “formally recognise the achievements of a sports person who displays a high level of humility, integrity, discipline and other exemplary qualities, while excelling in the field of sports” … things that characterised Walsh’s professional life.

Among those who have won the award and the cash prize of $500,000 that goes with it are cricketers Jimmy Adams, Wavell Hinds, Nehemiah Perry, and Tamar Lambert; netballer Elaine Davis; and track and field athletes Veronica Campbell Brown, Dr Neil Gardner, Deon Hemmings McCatty, Bridgit Foster Hylton, and Aleen Bailey.

When the award was created, a committee comprising members from various organisations, among them the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association, the Jamaica Olympic Association, Jamaica Football Federation, Jamaica Cricket Association, and Press Association of Jamaica, were asked to make the selections. I, as the PAJ’s first vice-president at the time, was chosen by the media organisation. Up to the abrupt end, Mike Fennell and I were the only people who had served from the start.

Apart from us, some of those who have served over the years include Brian George, Capt Horace Burrell (both deceased), Dr Aggrey Irons, Fae Ellington, Saleem Lazarus, Dr Winston Dawes, Dr Donovan Bennett, Dr Don Anderson, Dr Walton Small, Lt Col Jaime O’Gilvie, Compton Rodney, and Dawn Heron.

But by the end of 2016, when Tamar Lambert won the last award, none has been held since, and I am not aware that all the members of the selection committee have been informed that there has been a change, and the award has been suspended or cancelled. That’s bad. At least courtesy dictates that the committee members ought to be told the true story.

The last chairman was Phillip Henriques, an exceedingly nice and reasonable man who will be contesting the next general election in a Clarendon seat. The CEO at the time, and still is – Billy Heaven.

At least one of them should say something on the matter. Our heroes deserve to have such an award on offer to them, having worked so hard for the recognition. Nothing should be done to limit the accolades that are so fitting.