MONTEGO BAY, St James –The six independent candidates nominated on Tuesday to contest parliamentary seats across the western region have vowed to undertake a raft of social and economic programmes, if elected in the September 3 General Election.

The six are Ras Astor Black, who will be contesting the constituency of St James Central; Torraino Beckford in Westmoreland Central; Don Foote, also in Westmoreland Central; Genieve Dawkins in Trelawny Northern; Richard Sharpe in Trelawny Southern; and Haile Mika’el, who will contest the Westmoreland Eastern seat. 

Ras Astor Black, who has contested numerous local and general elections without success, will take the fight to the incumbent Heroy Clarke of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as well as the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Andre Hylton.

Black told the Jamaica Observer West that his main objectives are to get a voice into the House of Representatives and to lobby for a third data service provider on the island. 

He also wants other independent candidates to join with him in this cause. 

“I want to break up the monopoly that the OUR [Office of Utility Regulations] has with Digicel and Flow because I know people who apply to bring in data into the Montego Bay area and it’s a challenge because of the monopoly,” Ras Black said. 

He is also calling for employers to provide tourism workers with contracts which will allow for them to get financial and other assistance should they contract the COVID-19 disease at the workplace.

Haile Mika’el, who has in the past contested two local government elections and is making his second attempt to secure a seat in a general election, says he will be a strong advocate for assistance to informal settlers, should he defeat the incumbent Luther Buchanan of the PNP and the JLP’s Daniel Lawrence.

“I will be tackling a situation like land issue to zone the country so that we can get rid of squatting, so if I can put that in Parliament, any parliamentarian vote against that, I would just expose him,” he argued.

“All I hear the two parties [JLP and PNP] campaigning… and I really don’t know who is the better of the two evils, which one has the least scandal. But, I am here with a proper programme.”

Mika’el said his message is resonating among the voters in the constituency.

“People are gravitating more to what I am about, but they are still sceptical because they still don’t trust politicians, and so they are wondering whether I, as a one man, can be able to do anything in Parliament properly,” he said.

Foote, who has in the past run on the JLP’s ticket, is downplaying any suggestion that his motive to run as an independent is to unseat the PNP’s Dwayne Vaz on behalf of his former party.

He pointed out that he was nominated as the leader and representative of Jamaica Abolitionist Movement (JAM), which he said is a new movement that was formed on Emancipation Day. The movement, he claims, is “a special interest group organisational movement to address certain issues such as abolishing the British queen as our Head of State and create a republic, and to petition the president of the United States to exonerate Jamaica’s first National Hero, Marcus Garvey”. 

“We don’t want to have any further allegiance being given to the Queen of England. And thereupon, we wish to create a republic of Jamaica where we restore allegiance to the Jamaican people. And thirdly, we would like to galvanise sufficient support to petition the president of the United States of America, presently occupied by [Donald] Trump, to have our first national hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, whose birthday was on [August 17], exonerated. He’s still regarded in America as a criminal,” Foote argued. 

“Yes, I did run for the JLP, but that is not our primary purpose. Our primary purpose is the abolition issue and the enforcement of ringing in this new republic of Jamaica and we want to be at the forefront.” he continued. 

Meanwhile, Beckford, who has never been aligned to any of the two traditional parties, noted that, “I’m here giving the people an option to vote for a candidate that cares about the development of his country and his constituency.” 

“As an independent candidate, I don’t want to join a party with a legacy of corruption, and the party process is corrupted. Many of these young politicians, they care about the people, but the minute they join the PNP or JLP, they change, because the party process corrupts them, and you cannot represent the people properly and be a part of one of those two movements. So, it’s best if I just stay an independent candidate in order to give the people a change and genuine representation,” said Beckford, who is an estate planner.

He unsuccessfully contested the last general elections, but indicated that he is now better prepared to win tyhe seat. 

“Last election I was far less prepared. I had only 1,000 followers. This year I have over 18,000. I wasn’t really campaigning strong, I just wanted to give the people the option to have a name on the voters list that wasn’t associated with the PNP or the JLP, so I decided to put my name on the ballot,” he stated.

“I have been among the people, I am among them every day. My plans include fixing the roads, developing community economies, crowd-fund businesses for many of these young disadvantaged men that don’t have a job and don’t have the capacity to be employed. 

“The NDM [National Democrat Movement] lacks genuineness. The people are not just going to abandon the PNP and JLP for just anybody. They want to do it for somebody that they genuinely believe in, a character, a person that they can have trust and faith and confidence in, and I know that I am that person.”

Dawkins, a farmer from the Clark’s Town community, explained that she is not affiliated to any of the two traditional parties, because she feels that she can be more flexible as an independent candidate. She will contest the seat against the incumbent Victor Wright of the PNP and Tova Hamilton, the JLP’s candidate.

“I do believe there are areas here that could do with some improvements, and I am involved in agriculture here and other ventures here in Trelawny, so I am very familiar with how things are on the ground and I think I can bring some expertise to and try to make some processes better for the betterment of the people in Trelawny,” she argued.

She is of the view that both major political parties have over the years contributed to the development of the country, however, she said she decided to seek a mandate from the constituents without being affiliated to any political party as she wants room to be flexible.

Meanwhile, Sharpe, who said he is running on the vision of Marcus Mosiah Garvey, is of the view that “the political parties have no vision for the people of South Trelawny”. He will vie for the seat along with the incumbent Marisa Dalrymple Philibert of the JLP and Lloyd Gillings of the PNP.

“This Member of Parliament [Dalrymple Philibert] has been in power for 15 years and the community centres have been laying in waste for 15 years. Every year we hear they have a plan to do this and that. They’re doing nothing because they have no vision for the people. The only vision they have is to get their votes and then they abandon them,” Sharpe argued.

Describing his seven-point plan for the constituency, Sharpe said he will focus on using farming, education, eco-tourism and sports to put the constituency on a sound economic footing.

“I have a seven-point plan that speaks to structuring the South Trelawny yam industry, for the profits to remain with the people and to create opportunities for the farmers to have the necessary tools and farming supplies at subsidised prices as a reflection on their contribution to the economy. The exportation of yam, which globally generates millions of dollars per year, doesn’t return profitably to the constituency. The most important thing is to bring back the money to the communities and to the people, because they are the losers right now as the situation stands,” explained Sharpe.

He also pointed out that Jamaica is home to at least 120 indigenous plants and “the powers that be should be exploring the options to research and cultivate for economic benefit from the multibillion-dollar pharmaceutical industry”. 

“It is time now for us to realise the potential that we have in the pharmaceutical industry so we can grow our own, create our own and become a part of the global pharmaceutical industry, just like India has done,” he posited.