From a historic international appointment to the playing of the race card and politicians being referred for criminal prosecution by the Integrity Commission, the winners and losers in politics in 2024 were as predictable as they were surprising.

The results of the February 26 Local Government Elections also determined some winners and losers while public opinion polls saw individuals and political parties separating themselves from each other. The year 2024 also saw a significant reduction in murders but, was it enough to land the responsible minister in the winners’ column?

As is customary, there were those who found themselves ‘on the bubble’ as they neither won nor lost, in our opinion, during the year under review.

See below Observer Online’s Winners and Losers in Politics in 2024:

The Winners

Dr Nigel Clarke

Even his most strident detractors would agree that former Finance and Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke was the biggest winner in Jamaican politics in 2024.

The announcement by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August that he would be joining the Washington DC-based organisation as a deputy managing director, effective October 31, was met with a flood of congratulatory messages from home and abroad and from even Clarke’s political opponents.

After six-and-a-half years in charge of Jamaica’s purse strings, during which he was credited with many firsts, but more so for turning around the country’s economic fortunes, he was handpicked by the IMF’s managing director Kristalina Georgieva to join the multilateral.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who encouraged Clarke to enter representational politics and pursued him for several years until he gave in, responded to his appointment in this way: “The position of deputy managing director is global in scope. No citizen of Jamaica, the Caribbean or Central America has ever before served at this level in the IMF in its 80-year history. It is to the benefit of Jamaica and the Caribbean region for one of our nationals to serve in such a consequential global position. This development is, therefore, a tremendous net gain for Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Furthermore, this elevation of Minister Clarke is demonstrative of the depth, strength and capacity of my administration”.

Holness also noted that over the course of his public sector career, Clarke, a Rhodes Scholar, has made outstanding contributions to Jamaica as chairman of the National Housing Trust, HEART Trust and the Port Authority and also as senator, ambassador of economic affairs, and minister of finance and the public service.

The prime minister highlighted that during his tenure as finance minister, Clarke has driven the substantial improvement in Jamaica’s macro-economic fundamentals, the abolition and reduction of distortionary taxes, central bank independence, the fiscal commission, multi-layered disaster risk financing, public body governance and public body rationalisation.

While paying tribute during Clarke’s last sitting in the House of Representatives on October 29, Holness also highlighted that the former finance minister presided over nine budget cycles without the imposition of any new taxes, the highest net international reserves in decades, and the halving of the national debt from 144 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 74 per cent of GDP (the figure is disputed by the Opposition).

“These are real things that have happened to transform our economy under the direction of Minister Clarke as the minister of finance,” Holness stated.

Controversially, Clarke also presided over a 200 per cent salary increase for the political class, receiving backlash over that decision.

Mark Golding
Opposition Leader and President of the People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding emerged a big winner in local politics in 2024 despite withering and often crass criticisms from his political opponents, and while dealing with a thorny dual citizenship issue.

His leadership of an increasingly more united PNP saw the party doing extremely well in the Local Government Elections in February, stunning the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), which lost control of a number of local authorities following a multi-day count of the election results.

On March 1, the Electoral Office of Jamaica reported that the JLP had won seven parishes to the PNP’s five. Of note is that the PNP also won the Portmore Municipal Corporation and the election for mayor. It also took the St Mary Municipal Corporation from the JLP and registered a 7-0 victory in Hanover.

Following a 20-20 tie in the prized Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC), the PNP, by winning the popular vote, earned the right to appoint the mayor and the JLP the deputy mayor.

Golding, in November, presided over two by-election victories in the Morant Bay division in St Thomas and Aenon Town, Clarendon. The Clarendon victory means the Clarendon Municipal Corporation is now tied 11-11 and the PNP has the popular vote. That matter could be headed to court as the PNP has insisted that, like in the KSAMC, it should appoint the mayor.

The PNP did not contest three by-elections for parliamentary seats in JLP strongholds, arguing that a general election is due by September 2025.

Significantly, Golding is now enjoying a first since he became PNP president in 2020 – he is now more popular than Prime Minister Andrew Holness according to a public opinion poll conducted by noted pollster Don Anderson in October. In that poll, Golding is favoured by 36 per cent of Jamaicans compared to 32.5 per cent for Holness. The same poll showed the PNP opening up a 9.1 percentage point lead over the JLP with 39.3 per cent of respondents stating that they would vote for the PNP compared to 30.2 per cent who indicated that they would cast their ballots for the governing party.

The strong showing by Golding and the PNP is despite an attempt by senior members of the JLP to discredit him over the fact that he held both Jamaican and British citizenship. He inherited his British citizenship from his father, the late Sir John Golding. The JLP argued that Golding was not fit to serve as prime minister even though the Constitution allows citizens of the Commonwealth to sit in the Jamaican Parliament. After declaring himself a “born Jamaican”, Golding renounced his British citizenship but is now facing a sustained racial attack from some senior members of the JLP.

Fayval Williams
Fayval Williams was a winner in politics in 2024 by becoming the first female to be appointed Jamaica’s minister of finance.

She was immediately seen as the natural replacement for Dr Nigel Clarke at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service once Prime Minister Andrew Holness indicated that the vacancy, created by Clarke’s resignation to take up a deputy managing director position at the IMF, would be filled from within the party.

Long described as an awkward fit as minister of education, Williams was on October 30 appointed minister of finance and the public service.

She is a chartered financial analyst (CFA) by profession, has an MBA with a concentration in finance from Wharton Business School at University of Pennsylvania, and a BA (cum laude) in Economics from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, making her highly qualified for the job.

Williams has been replaced at the Ministry of Education by Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon.

Dr Dayton Campbell
It was a renaissance year of sorts for PNP General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, the architect of some key election wins for the party.

He notched up some solid victories, having started the year proclaiming that the Opposition party would have won the February Local Government Elections in a landslide.

While the landslide did not materialise, the PNP registered some notable wins, including the overall popular vote. Notably, the party won all four divisions in Manchester Central, including in the JLP stronghold of Knockpatrick. In what may be a worrying sign for the JLP ahead of the general election, the PNP also took the JLP bastion of Christiana in Audley Shaw’s Manchester North East.

The feather in the cap for Campbell was taking control of the KSAMC where Andrew Swaby was sworn in a mayor and former mayor Delroy Williams as his deputy after the PNP and JLP were tied at 20 divisions each. As far as Campbell is concerned, the elections ended in a tie as both parties appointed seven mayors.

Campbell also delivered on his promise that the PNP would win the by-elections in the Morant Bay division in St Thomas, and Aenon Town in Clarendon. An increasingly confident Campbell has repeatedly urged the prime minister to announce the date for the general election.

Daryl Vaz
The tough-talking Minister of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport Daryl Vaz endeared himself to Jamaicans who were left in the dark after the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 3.

The category four hurricane, which resulted in several fatalities, caused widespread devastation especially in the agriculture belt of St Elizabeth, Manchester and Westmoreland. With communities left in the dark for days then weeks, Vaz stepped up the pressure on the Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS) to restore electricity.

He launched a broadside against the JPS for issuing estimated bills to customers weeks after the hurricane hit with thousands still in the dark, and by the first week in August had told the light and power company he had lost confidence in its ability to restore power by the agreed deadlines.

Vaz was criticised by the Opposition for initially stating that JPS did not need outside assistance, only to have an about-turn moment when he announced in the Parliament that line crews from several regional states would be arriving in the island to assist with the restoration efforts. Amidst the threats and much hand-wringing from Vaz, even if said threats were hollow, JPS restored full power on August 28, three days ahead of its extended August 31 deadline.

Vaz would also take credit for the introduction of 100 new buses that have boosted the fleet of the Jamaica Urban Transit Company. Twelve of the new buses were deployed to Montego Bay Metro, a boost for school children in particular, and two on the newly-launched downtown Kingston to Morant Bay, St Thomas route, much to the delight of commuters.

However, his announced ban on June 4 with immediate effect for ridesharing or ride-hailing apps, following the murder of young school teacher Danielle Anglin, went nowhere. Vaz had recommended the ban a day after the police announced that remains they discovered in Salt River, Clarendon were believed to be those of the missing St Peter Claver Primary and Infant School teacher. Anglin went missing on May 13 while on her way to school from her Hellshire, St Catherine home, where she had reportedly chartered a cab via a ridesharing app. The now retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey lamented that the lack of communication between the police and rideshare companies “poses a serious challenge to our investigative efforts”. The ban hit a snag amid the refusal of local telecommunications companies to block the apps and the absence of legislation forcing the telecoms to comply.

Isat Buchanan
Isat Buchanan is a polarising figure. From his drug convictions to being censured for derogatory remarks made against Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewelyn, to being announced as the PNP candidate to contest the Portland Eastern seat in the next general election, Buchanan appears to court controversy.

Predictably, the JLP criticised the move to name him as a candidate, accusing the PNP of hypocrisy and double standard in putting forward a candidate who has had serious run-ins with the law. The PNP fired back, insisting that people can be rehabilitated.

You could call him Mr Controversy but 2024 was a big year for Buchanan both from a legal and political standpoint. He successfully represented Vybz Kartel before the UK-based Privy Council and the local Court of Appeal, and will be a general election candidate in 2025 riding the wave of the popularity of his famous client.

Abka Fitz-Henley

The year 2024 saw the meteoric rise of journalist-turned-politician, Abka Fitz-Henley. His rise in the political arena is both fast and swift and continuing.

He was appointed parliamentary secretary by Prime Minister Andrew Holness in May, one year after he was appointed senator. Fitz-Henley is based in the Office of the Prime Minister.

He has emerged as one of the leading voices of the Holness Administration and the governing JLP since his appointment to the Senate; in fact, he is the party spokesman on many issues. Under the Westminster system of Government, which is practised in Jamaica, a parliamentary secretary is a member of the executive who provides key support to the portfolio minister in a range of areas.

Fitz-Henley has taken on the role of the JLP’s attack dog in the Senate, a role previously reserved for Matthew Samuda who is now in the Lower House, having won the by-election for the St Ann North Eastern seat in September.

The losers

Dr Andrew Holness

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness began his second consecutive term in office in 2020 on a high after the JLP blew aside the PNP on its way to a massive landslide victory in the general election.

His popularity was without equal with Opposition Leader and PNP President Mark Golding consistently trailing him in favourability ratings. Not anymore, according to a Don Anderson poll in October which showed Golding at 36 per cent likeability compared to 32.5 per cent for Holness.
And it gets worse; the PNP has steadily built on its lead over the JLP in terms of who Jamaicans would vote for if a general election were held, opening up a 9.1 percentage points lead registering 39.3 per cent to 30.2 per cent for the JLP.

Holness is presiding over a Government that has lost popularity amid high cost of living and a stubbornly high crime rate despite a near 20 per cent reduction in murders this year. Members of the party, the prime minister included, are seen as arrogant and out of touch with the reality of ordinary Jamaicans.

Holness is at the helm at a time when the JLP lost significant ground in the local authorities; the results of the Local Government Elections in February show the party losing divisions once considered impregnable and losing control of some key municipal corporations.

On a personal front, Holness has been dogged by controversy over his financial affairs and is now locked in a court battle with the Integrity Commission (IC), the country’s anti-corruption watchdog, which has not been able to certify his statutory declarations for several years. The IC has also stated that it has conducted a months-long illicit enrichment probe of the prime minister, the report being tabled in the parliament in September.

Following the damning investigation report, the IC recommended that the matter be referred to the Financial Investigation Division and Tax Administration Jamaica for further perusal.

In response, Holness took the matter to court seeking a judicial review while arguing the IC needed an overhaul. The Supreme Court this month granted his application for leave to apply for judicial review of the commission’s report on his statutory declarations.

Holness was also granted leave to seek an order to quash the August 30, 2024 IC report, as well as the commission’s special report, save for a paragraph which recommended development of a policy concerning ministers of Government and potential conflicts of interest.

The prime minister’s attorneys, in petitioning the Supreme Court to review the legality of the actions of the IC during its probe of his statutory declarations, had argued that the reports, which have been made public, “are tainted and ought to be struck down”.

The court, in its ruling, said the threshold test for leave to bring a judicial review claim has been met. But, Holness hardly had time to savour that victory of sorts when another IC report made public on December 10, linked him to a company that the IC accused of deliberate building breaches in relation to a residential development being undertaken at 2 Weycliffe Close, Beverly Hills, Kingston 6.

The development, according to the IC, was constructed contrary to the terms of the building permit issued to Estatebridge Holdings Limited, a real estate company it said was connected to Holness. The prime minister in a swift response, denied any connection to the company in which his son Adam and the Chairman of the Urban Development Corporation, Norman Brown, are directors. He expressed that he felt targeted by the IC and said he would be referring the matter to his lawyers.

The level of distraction the prime minister is likely facing as he fights his personal battles ahead of a consequential general election places him in the losers column in 2024.

Everald Warmington

The perennially crass and boorish behavior displayed by the Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Western, Everald Warmington, was on full display in November when he launched a racially charged attack against Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

So offensive were his comments that the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) declared its vehement condemnation of his remarks.

While speaking at the JLP’s Western Kingston constituency conference at the Tivoli Gardens High School, Warmington declared that he would rather die than be led by a white, British man. “No white man can lead me,” he said as he addressed riled up JLP supporters.

He also chastised PNP supporters, referring to them in derogatory terms for what he said was their attacks on former JLP leader and Prime Minister, the late Edward Seaga, a white Jamaican.

“So why yuh attack Edward Seaga and say him white and because dis yah white man (Golding) come, yuh say him can lead Jamaica. Over mi dead body,” Warmington shouted. He said Golding, who inherited British citizenship from his father, should be put on a banana boat and sent back to the United Kingdom where he may be more successful at running for office.

The PSOJ said these inflammatory remarks, delivered from a position of political authority and before an audience at an educational institution, represent a dangerous and deliberate attempt to inject racial division into Jamaica’s political discourse.

“These statements are particularly alarming as they threaten to resurrect one of the darkest chapters in Jamaica’s political history,” the PSOJ said.

In October, Warmington launched what was another attack on the media during the JLP’s constituency conference for St Catherine South Eastern.

He told his audience that he would stick to his position that the RJR Gleaner Communications Group has an agenda to tarnish the reputation of Prime Minister Andrew Holness. He said despite the Government condemning recent attacks on the media, he would not be silenced. He said his aim was to ensure that the JLP got a third term in office.

He said: “They attacked Edward Seaga, they attacked Bruce Golding…now they gone on Andrew Holness. So is we as labourites fi defend our leader at all costs. We will defend Andrew Holness to death”.

Dwayne Vaz

At a time when politicians are deemed to be behaving with increasing impunity, former PNP Member of Parliament for Westmoreland Central, Dwayne Vaz was in June fined $250,000 for failing to provide information on time to the Integrity Commission (IC) regarding his statutory declaration for 2019.

Vaz had pleaded guilty to the offence in April when he appeared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court. He told the media afterward that he was fined following mitigation by his attorney.

“The judge listened to the mitigating circumstances and fined me $250,000 which was paid at the same time in the court’s office. Going forward, I just want to tell my fellow Jamaicans that I’ve always tried to uphold law and order and I will continue doing so. What really happened was a misunderstanding. I was charged because I did not file some documents on time. It was not about not filing. My documents have been filed and certified since 2021,” he said.

In an investigation report tabled in the Parliament on April 23, the IC recommended that Vaz be charged for failing to file his statutory declarations for 2019. The IC outlined that the former MP had filed his statutory declaration for 2019 on March 30, 2020, in keeping with his obligation as a legislator. However, the IC wrote to him on November 3, 2020 requesting a financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2019 for a company named Estelar Global Services Limited, for which he was one of two directors between 2014 and 2021.

Vaz was given a November 16, 2020 deadline. Several reminders were issued to him when the deadline was not met. The commission said that subsequently a notice to discharge liability was served on Vaz on February 18, 2021, wherein he was given 30 days to pay a fixed penalty of $250,000 to Tax Administration Jamaica and submit the outstanding information to the IC.

“Checks made with the Information and Complaints Division revealed that on March 5, 2021, prior to the expiration of the notice to discharge liability, Mr Vaz provided the requested information,” the IC said. However, upon the expiration of the notice to discharge liability period on March 11, 2021, the payment of fixed penalty was not made.

Mikael Phillips
The Member of Parliament for Manchester North Western, Mikael Phillips, was also recommended for criminal prosecution by the Integrity Commission (IC), ostensibly for breaching the Integrity Commission Act (ICA).

He was accused of failing to submit his statutory declaration within the period stipulated by law.
It was recommended that Phillips be charged with the offence of failure, without reasonable cause, to submit statutory declaration for the period ending December 31, 2022, contrary to section 43(l)(a) of the ICA.

He faces a fine of up to $500,000 and or six months imprisonment if found guilty in a parish court. The court may also make an order mandating him to comply with the requirement in respect of which the offence was committed.

The IC’s Director of Corruption Prosecution, Keisha Prince-Kameka, who recommended that Phillips be charged, noted that he was in breach of the relevant legislation. Additionally, Phillips failed to pay the fixed penalty of $250,000 that is imposed by section 43(3) which constitutes an offence under section 43(l)(a) of the ICA, despite subsequently filing the outstanding statutory declaration.

No charges would have been recommended if Phillips had paid the fixed penalty.

Of note is that despite the non-filing or late filing of the statutory declaration, the director of information and complaints, with the approval of the director of corruption prosecution, has the discretion to offer declarants the opportunity to discharge criminal liability of any offence committed contrary to sections 43(l)(a) or 43(l)(b) of the ICA.

Phillips was served notice on May 30, 2023, granting him the opportunity to discharge any liability to conviction by payment of the $250,000 fixed penalty, and by submitting the outstanding statutory declaration before the expiration of 21 days following the date of service of the notice. However, at the expiration of the notice period, documents received from Tax Administration Jamaica showed that up until June 26, 2023, Phillips had not made the payment.

Phillips has since apologised for his actions.

Robert Morgan

It was like a case of rubbing salt in the wound when Councillor for the Mocho Division in Clarendon North Central, Romaine Morris, having left the JLP for the PNP following a falling out with Member of Parliament Robert Morgan, won the division on a PNP ticket in February’s Local Government Elections.
It was the first time in 50 years that the PNP was registering a win in the division.

Reacting to his victory, Morris said it showed that Jamaicans are moving away from tribal politics for which he said the country has paid a huge price.

He had won the seat on a JLP ticket in 2016 but crossed the floor to the PNP in January, following a public fall-out with Morgan.

Concerned by the loss and rumblings among party supporters in the constituency, the prime minister publicly told Morgan to mend fences with disgruntled labourites ahead of the general election.

“I have tasked your member of parliament to repair any bridge that has been damaged; to mend any fence that has been broken, to build back the love and friendship in the constituency,” Holness said while addressing a constituency meeting at Clarendon College in November.

“Nobody can tell me that the labourite majority isn’t there, but I know that some labourites not happy. I know that some labourites are frustrated, and as this is our conference we will bring all the labourites together,” the prime minister added.

Venesha Phillips

At a mass meeting in his South St Andrew constituency in February, just weeks before the Local Government Elections, PNP President Mark Golding described Venesha Phiilips, the then councillor for the Papine division in the KSAMC as a “traitor”.

Phillips, who had won the division twice on a PNP ticket, was now representing the JLP, having crossed the floor in November 2023 and was a staunch critic of Golding who used the meeting to introduce the party’s candidate, Darrington Ferguson.

When the votes were tallied on election night, Phillips was beaten by Ferguson with the count being 2,172 for Ferguson to 2,002 for Phillips.

Kari Douglas, who also switched allegiance from the PNP to the JLP, lost the Trafalgar Division to the PNP’s Jessie James Clarke by more than 600 votes.

Delroy Chuck
In September, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck put his foot in his mouth when he publicly called for the Integrity Commission (IC), a commission of Parliament, to be directed to certify the statutory declarations of Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Chuck made the call a week after the IC tabled a special report into its illicit enrichment probe of Holness.

Chuck, who was attending a meeting of the Parliament’s Integrity Commission Oversight Committee (ICOC), said “It is about time that this report be the final report and the IC should be mandated to certify the prime minister’s declaration forthwith, because it has found nothing that could in any way suggest that there is any wrongdoing”.

Chuck said the report contained material that can only cause “nothing but speculation”.

Labour and Social Security Minister Pearnel Charles Jr also called for the IC to certify the prime minister’s statutory declarations.

On the bubble

Horace Chang
Up to December 16 this year, Jamaica had recorded 238 fewer murders when compared to the similar period in 2023 or an 18 per cent reduction. Yet, that was not enough to get National Security Minister Dr Horace Chang into the winners’ column.

The fact is that while the big reduction in murders is welcomed, for a country that is not in a state-of-war, Jamaica’s murder figure is still way too high – it had exceeded the 1,000-mark yet again, standing at 1,114 as at December 16.

A shocking 54 murders were recorded in the first two weeks of December, broken down at 25 in week one and 29 in week two. The year saw a weekly average of 22 murders or just over three per day. Chang and the Jamaica Constabulary Force must be lauded for the significant reduction in the murder toll but it is not enough.

Separately, as is now customary, Chang made some controversial remarks, seemingly unmindful of the sensitive position he holds as national security minister; he is also the deputy prime minister.

He told RJR’s Beyond the Headlines that the Government would no longer prioritise unexplained wealth orders (UWO), pointing to constitutional concerns and existing laws that he said are “strong enough” to address individuals with suspicious sources of wealth.

Those comments are against the background of the Integrity Commission stating that eight parliamentarians were under investigation for illicit enrichment and despite repeated pledges over the years to implement a UWO regime.

An unexplained wealth order is a court directive that allows law enforcement to confiscate assets from individuals who cannot demonstrate that their wealth was obtained legally.

“We haven’t chosen to abandon [UWOs], but we don’t think it’s one that we need to pursue aggressively at this point when we have several things on the agenda,” Chang said.

As General Secretary, Chang also presided over the less than stellar showing of the JLP in the Local Government Elections. The governing party lost the St Mary Municipal Corporation, was tied in the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation but with the PNP getting to appoint the mayor by virtue of having won the popular vote.

The JLP was wiped out in Hanover 7-0 and lost key divisions that were considered JLP fortresses. These include Mocho in Clarendon North Central, Knockpatrick in Manchester Central and Christiana in Manchester North Eastern. The governing party also lost the two by-elections in Morant Bay, St Thomas and Aenon Town in Clarendon Northern.