$25m price tag for Clarendon SE by-election … Charles Jr says no to old-style politics
Published:Sunday | March 1, 2020 | 12:00 AMErica Virtue - Senior Sunday Gleaner Writer
Pearnel Charles Jr is anticipating being sworn in to Parliament by his father, House Speaker Pearnel Charles Sr, following what he expects to be a successful outcome for him of tomorrow’s by-election in South East Clarendon, that will cost taxpayers $25 million.
More than 40,000 residents are entitled to vote in the polls that will include Charles Jr and independent candidate Derrick Lambert. The latter was a former contestant on the ticket of the People’s National Party (PNP). The PNP is not contesting the by-election.
“There are 135 polling divisions, which will be manned by presiding officers and poll clerks, as well as election-day security personnel. The EOJ (Electoral Office of Jamaica) will have in excess of 400 persons across the constituency,” election boss Glasspole Brown told The Sunday Gleaner, adding that polls will promptly open at 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m.
The by-election was prompted by the resignation of Member of Parliament Rudyard Spencer.
Charles Jr said that he has already begun work on dealing with the problems in the primary farming constituency, which include crime and violence, unemployment, infrastructural development deficit, and the need for massive job creation, as well as education and training opportunities.
“The old style of politics and political victimisation are way past their bedtime. Those who know me know that victimisation is not the way I operate. We are dealing with people, and their needs, capabilities, and aspirations have no colour,” the former senator and minister in the Andrew Holness administration told The Sunday Gleaner.
“This constituency has enormous potential. A lot of work has been done by the former member of parliament with respect to road network, but it is such a massive geographical space, which includes parochial roads and informal settlements, and so a decision has to be made on how to treat with it.”
When they were both operational, Monymusk and New Yarmouth sugar estates were the largest employers in the parish, providing jobs for nearly 1,500 persons.
But the European Union’s decision to pay 39 per cent less for sugar from African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries shattered the local industry, leaving hundreds jobless after the price cuts began in 2006 on a phased basis. Jamaica benefited from preferential price treatment under the regime.
Charles said that the jobs will come when there is an enabling environment, which include education and training.
On the issue of crime, he said, “Crime and violence is a big problem in Clarendon and particularly in the constituency. At least four persons I know have been murdered. Days ago, a young man giving out voters’ guides left a group of men and within an hour, he was shot up. So my focus is going to be on developing the physical space and helping to enhance and empower the residents to prepare them for employment opportunities. Once persons are gainfully employed, crime will be reduced.”
Popular local attractions Welcome Beach and Salt River have been slated for development as potential corridors for tourism.
REVIVE INDUSTRIAL LIFE – LAMBERT
When he ran for the PNP, Lambert lost by 107 votes in 2011. He was beaten by Spencer, who polled 8,843 votes to his 8,736.
A businessman, the now independent candidate was, for years, associated with the sugar industry. Life after sugar and the need for new employment and infrastructural development were part of his campaign platform in 2011.
He said that the platform of his candidacy now is land for the landless, noting that lack of land and land titling issues seriously affect a large part of the constituency.
“The main area of focus for me, member of parliament or not, is to acquire, through leasing or other legal means, all the sugar lands on the Vere plain, and begin to develop alternatives to the sugar industry. We need to start looking to diversify, and look at products such as ginger and castor oil,” Lambert told The Sunday Gleaner.
“Most important, facilitate the creation of a true working economy, such as the building of the ganja industry under the commercial arm of the advocacy group GGPAJ Commercial Enterprise Limited on behalf of small farmers, and including Rastafarian and other stakeholders.”
Lambert said there were several examples of such types of economic development programmes that are successful. Citing Mondragon, which he said was a $900-billion cooperative development entity, he noted that Israel has a similar and thriving model under the guidance of the Confederation of Labour.
Peter Bunting became the first PNP candidate to represent the South East Clarendon constituency in 1993, when he beat former Prime Minister Hugh Lawson Shearer. Bunting won by 1,343, according to Electoral Commission of Jamaica statistics. Shearer later retired from politics.