THE PNP’S BETRAYAL OF TRUST - GRANGE

2

SIR ALEXANDER BUSTAMANTE - THE FATHER OF THE NATION

3

PM MUST REIN IN HER TEMPER -NPM

3

EDITORIAL 4

COMPLY WITH OCG’S REQUESTS -

HOLNESS

5

GRANGE HAILS JIMMY CLIFF 5

IT’S NOT BUSINESS AS USUSAL -MORE WORK TO BE DONE

6

JLP - RENEWED, UNITED, FOCUSED WITH A PURPOSE

6

PROFILE: MEET FLOYD GREEN 7

A PARTY AT WORK 8

DID YOU KNOW? 8

Inside this issue:

January/February 2013 Issue 2

Continued to page 4

Audley Shaw, MP

Continued on page 2

he Jamaica Labour Party can’t be compared with the PNP, we are not the same. We would not have come with a JDX2. It is

not the right time. The policy that should have come first is funda-mental tax reform and fundamental tax reform is not part of the austerity package it is part of the growth inducement package.

The time that we are at now is tax reform time and the govern-ment simply does not understand it. Why were we at tax reform time? We had major consensus from the

private sector and they were the ones who spent quite a bit of re-sources, admirably so, to bring to the table a proposal. This Govern-ment lost that opportunity. What the government has presented as tax reform is rubbish. Fundamental reforms are necessary, and there-fore tax reform should have been done within the first two or three months after the elections of 2011.

Jamaica would have been in a bet-ter place because tax reform is not about more taxes. It is about sim-plifying your tax system, increasing your tax base. In effect, tax reform

creates the incentives for growth. Our policy was to reduce rates in the critical areas that drive econ-omy and then that would in effect reduce the demand for waivers. Now we hear the Minister hiking up taxes and at the same time saying: “Well, we are going to take away waivers.” How is business going to

Mr. Audley Shaw Spokesman on Finance, Planning and Economic De-velopment said the Simp-son-Miller Administration’s recently announced tax package must be examined within a broader context.

“The reasonable conclusion to draw from their actions is that, either that they don’t understand the bigger con-text, or they are deliberately

obfuscating the issues. But as a responsible Opposition, it is our duty to put the issues in context, Mr. Shaw stated.

Last year the government

slapped Jamaica with a record

tax package; the largest ta-

bled in the House of Parlia-

ment in our history, in exces-

sive of $24 billion on an an-

nualised basis. This year,

Jamaicans were saddled with

another tax package of about

$16 billion, for a total of close

to $40 billion. And yet, the

$11.3 billion to be raided from

the National Housing Trust

(NHT) must be added to that

package. So what we now

have is a record package of $50

billion between the two tax

packages on an annualised

basis and the $11.3 billion

POLITICAL REPORTER

Page 2

function? It is just incoherent planning and policy. The framework has to be first and foremost, bring down the rates and increase compli-ance.

We may have to very well look at things such as a major tax amnesty and forgiveness to encourage persons to come into the tax net. We may very well have to look at properly utilizing all the funds that have been given to us in terms of improving tax reform

and tax collection and tax administration. You may very well look at putting in place a National Identification System to properly document and identify all citizens of Ja-maica. Those are the things that form part of policy re-form, of which we call growth inducement.

We had a framework that meant reducing taxation. The country is already at its tax-able limit and the majority of

these taxes won’t be col-lected. Let’s take for example the tax on dividends just to show you that government doesn't understand it. We developed the Junior Stock Exchange as a means of get-ting equity into investment, not debt, but equity into in-vestment.

What will happen now is that companies are going to declare far less dividend. You are going to effectively kill

your stock market. Why this tax? Why?

- Andrew Holness

The onerous tax pack-age announced by the Portia Simpson-Miller Ad-ministration has come in for widespread criticism from all sectors of the island, as the country grapples with the mismanagement of its affairs. The surprise revenue measures were announced on the heels of a joint national broadcast from the Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Speaking at a recent Press Conference convened by the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), the party’s Director of Communica-tions, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, made it clear that the position of the government is now un-tenable. Addressing members of the media, Ms. Grange re-vealed that Jamaicans from all walks of life have turned to the JLP as they seek answers to what they describe as a funda-mental betrayal of their trust. Ms. Grange says the man-ner in which the government implemented the $16-billion in new revenue measures repre-sented a betrayal of the Jamai-can people. “Since Tuesday, the telephone lines of the Ja-maica Labour Party, the Office of the Opposition Leader and the mobile phones of the aver-age party worker have been inundated with calls from peo-ple asking the same question. “Is this the change the country voted for?’” Ms. Grange said.

PNP’s Untenable Situation

Ms. Grange went on to stress the fact that the position of the government has been totally eroded by the uncon-scionable actions of the Prime Minister and her Finance Minis-ter. She insisted that 13month old government has now de-stroyed the atmosphere of faith and trust needed to foster the social capital needed to govern. The Director of Communi-cations reminded the journalists that the government’s actions

are tantamount to a fundamen-tal betrayal of the nation’s trust, “While in Opposition, the PNP claimed that our admini-stration should be chastised because we did not consult with the people. They said they would do things differ-ently. ‘Trust us’, they said. ‘We will govern with humility’, they said. ‘We will govern with hu-mility, trust us.’ Today, we know they lied to us.” In outlining the Jamaica Labour Party’s case, Ms. Grange described the govern-ment’s latest tax package as ill-timed, ill-conceived and ulti-mately doomed to fail to collect what they hope to.

Dangerous Repercussions

In 2011, then Prime Minis-ter, Andrew Holness, was forth-right with the country, warning that, in the best interest of national development, some ‘bitter medicine’ would have to be taken. However, Ms. Grange raised concern over the fact that that the recently an-nounced measures will nega-tively impact the welfare of the average Jamaican. Such meas-

ures promise to be of little ‘ m e d i c i n a l value.’ “We are concerned a b o u t worker’s con-t r i b u t i o n s . Thousands of workers pay contributions to the NHT every month intending this money to go towards hous-ing. We are worried about what the $11 billion deduc-tion every year wi l l mean for workers con-t r i b u t i o n s .

We are worried about a num-ber of things. We are worried about whether this will affect the number of houses built by the NHT and what that may mean for construction workers. Will they be able to find enough work to support their families? Ms Grange made the fur-ther connection between the government’s raid on the NHT and its possible impact on the local construction industry. “Who will build the develop-ment if it becomes too expen-sive to import building sup-plies? This will affect construc-tion workers and their families. We worry about additional taxes on companies not be-cause we want to protect the rich but because if companies are taxed too hard they might cut jobs and what Jamaica needs now is more jobs.” In kicking off the conversa-tion with the Jamaican press, Ms. Grange made it clear the JLP takes its responsibilities as an Opposition very seriously and would act as the people’s watchdog going forward.

Continued from page 1

Page 3

Issue 2 January/February 2013

The Nationalist Patriotic

Movement of the Jamaica

Labour Party is incensed

by the recent statement

by Prime Minister, Portia

Simpson-Miller, which

equates O ppos i t i on

Leader to an ‘Enemy of

the State’.

President of the NPM,

Junior Maxwell said, “The

Prime Minister’s statement is

dangerous and we have seri-

ous concerns that she has

either lost control of herself

or is grossly misguided.”

Mr. Maxwell says the

Prime Minister must rein in

her temper and seek to in-

form the nation on matters

that affect it, such as the

escalating price of basic food

supplies, the sliding dollar

and the targeting of our

young women by criminals for

rape and murder.

“We hope that the Prime

Minister will quickly get hold

of herself and her govern-

ment and fulfil the role that

she was elected to perform.

Her role is not to vilify and

tarnish the reputation of

other elected officials, who

disagree with her, but to lift

up the country and guide us

on the right path to economic

growth and development.”

According to Mr. Maxwell,

he knows the Opposition will

not be muzzled or intimated

by the tactics of the Simpson-

Miller administration and calls

on the JLP to fearlessly pro-

tect the rights of Jamaicans.

ebruary 24 has to be a significant date on the calendar of all Jamaicans. It was on this day in 1884 that William Alexander Clarke was born at Blen-heim Estate, Hanover; the second of five children to Robert and Mary Clarke. He subsequently changed his name to Bustamante by deed poll. Sir Alexander travelled widely for thirty years to countries like Cuba, the United States of America and Panama before returning to Jamaica at the age of fifty. As a businessman he

came face to face with the plight of the poor and em-barked on a letter writing campaign to bring to the at-tention of the authorities, the desolation of the people. In one of his letters he wrote that the pot of discontent would soon boil over. This it did in 1938 with disturbances at Frome which left six dead, fifty wounded

and eighty-nine charged with rioting. He went on to form the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union in 1938. Sir Alexander made an indelible imprint on the minds of Jamaican workers as he championed their cause through many meetings and discussions. It was at one of these meetings that the leg-end of the security forces threatening to open fire on the crowd and Bustamante unbuttoning his shirt, and inviting the soldiers to leave the people alone and shoot him was born. Sir Alexander was ar-

rested and imprisoned for his

valiant defense of the work-

ing class people. He founded

the Jamaica Labour Party in

1943 after his release from prison and in the first election under Universal Adult Suf-frage his party won 22 of 32 seats in the first House of Representatives. He held the post of Chief Minister. In 1947 and 1948 he also served as Mayor of Kingston. With the granting of inde-pendence in 1962 he served as the country’s first Prime Minister, and held that office until 1967. In 1969, he was pro-claimed a 'National Hero of Jamaica. He died in 1977. The Jamaica Labour Party salutes the Chief Dr. The Rt. Excellent Sir William

Alexander Bustamante and invites Jamaicans all over to commemorate his birth and legacy.

F

Sir Alexander steps out proudly as

Jamaica’s first Prime Minister

Page 4

POLITICAL REPORTER

There is no other way to describe the PNP administration’s

ongoing negotiation with the IMF than untidy, inept and short-sighted. The negotiations have come full circle. Much time was wasted as the government failed to act, delayed taking the tough decisions, failed to disclose the prior action requirements and consistently denied the existence of any sticking-points between themselves and the IMF. They have clearly been made to come to grips with reality by confronting the sticking points and fulfill-ing the prior action requirements.

As the negotiations draw to a close, or so we hope, the Simpson-Miller-led administration hit the nation with a double whammy in February. They announced a debt swop via an un-precedented tag-team broadcast by the Prime Minister and her Finance Minister. They sought to be clever by not calling it “JDX 2”, but that is exactly what it is. After opposing the JDX when they were in opposition, the debt swop launched by the PNP aims to do precisely what its predecessor did; ease the financial burden on government by replacing existing bonds with lower interest bonds with longer maturity periods.

The most disappointing thing about the Prime Minister and Finance Minister’s National Address and the subsequent presen-tation by Phillips in Parliament with this Tax Package is that it has come without rhyme or reason. It doesn’t come in a context of meaningful tax reform.

The government has arbitrarily imposed taxes that are dis-couraging investments in a recessionary climate. The fact is, the alternative left by the previous JLP administration to lower tax rates and increase the levels of compliance while at the same time ramping up revenue administration capabilities has almost been completely abandoned.

The blueprint to make the economy competitive was there. Currently, we exist in an environment where our manufacturers’ backs are against the wall. They have high energy costs and other burdensome expenses that do not encourage development and the government which has the responsibility of charting the course is failing to lead.

Our taxation system should be reformed to reduce taxes and avoid the need for everybody going to the Minister of Finance for a waiver. That was the context within which waivers were to be abolished. The Finance Minister says he is abolishing waivers but he is not telling us what the substitute for abolishing waivers is. The tabled White Paper on Tax Reform is not worth the paper it is written on, because it is so watered down that all of the origi-nal principles of equity and participation in the taxation system have been thrown out the window.

It is surprising that the International Monetary Fund appears to have endorsed the government’s tax package – a tax package that has no logic or reason except to destroy the productive sector. It is surprising that the IMF is okay with the government raiding the National Housing Trust and not ensuring that we have a sustainable real tax reform going forward. It is a regret-table state of affairs and warrants swift condemnation.

raided from the NHT.

We are now 4 quarters in the entire calendar year of 2012 we have seen decline and it is projected that this quarter we will also see a decline.

Missed Opportunities for Tax Reform

The government cannot con-tinue to try to apply ‘band-aid measures’ to an economy that requires ‘open heart surgery’. When the JLP was in govern-ment, we took steps to imple-ment the fundamental changes needed in the economy once and for all. In May of 2011 the then government tabled a Green Paper on Tax Reform in Parliament. It was inspired by much work, beginning with the Matalon Report of 2004 fol-lowed by a study carried out by the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank (IDB). It then went on to the Partnership for Trans-formation with the Labour Unions and the PSOJ. At the time, the Opposition, PNP, refused to participate in those Partnerships for Transfor-mation discussions. What was significant about that Green is that the philosophical frame-work of the tax reform that was proposed, and which was sup-ported by the Inter-American Development Bank and sup-ported by the IMF. The philosophical frame-work of the tax reform was: (i) broaden compliance and lower your taxes, (ii) lower consumption taxes, (iii) lower customs duties, (iv) broaden the base to bring in more taxpayers into the net of paying taxes. The problem we face is that the measures tabled by the current administration over the past calendar year reflect a whole-sale abandonment of meaning-ful tax reform and neglects the work of so many individuals and institutions in fashioning a credible tax system that can

spur growth and return us to a competitive economy. The current administration has walked away from the ap-proach of the previous govern-ment, which were all geared towards stimulating the econ-omy. These measures were successful and in the final year of our stewardship - despite the worst global economic crisis that we have ever seen - the economy of Jamaica grew by 1.3 percent in that year in 2011; marginally better than the United States of America’s growth. The initiatives we put into place are now being summarily attacked by this government in the form of these tax packages and this most recent one is a case in point. It is a wholesale attack ladies and gentlemen on the productive sector. It is in-flationary, so it’s going to lead to higher prices and continued instability in the exchange rate.

Taxing the Taxes

First of all, it is the Opposi-tion’s position that the tax on telephones represents a tax on a tax. Last year the govern-ment imposed a 5 cents Jamai-can and 7½ cents US tax on local calls and foreign in-coming calls respectively. That was a tax per minute of conver-sation. What they have now decided to do is that they were-n’t satisfied with that, so they have decided now to put GCT on that. So it’s a tax on top of a tax and we are going to pay for it. Don’t forget that tele-phones also affect business. General Consumption Tax (GCT) will now have to be paid on these fees. That’s another tax on top of a tax. And in fact it is questionable as to the legal status of that. We now have a team of Attorneys that are looking at that for us to see whether in fact it is something that is legal that the govern-ment is doing, putting these taxes, taxing tax. That’s what they are doing.” — Audley Shaw

Continued from page 1

Page 5

Issue 2 January/February 2013

General Secretary of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), Dr. Horace Chang,

is expressing satisfaction with the recent Supreme Court ruling in favour of North East St Ann Mem-ber of Parliament, Shahine Robinson. Mr. Chang says the Party was always confident of the victory in this matter and is happy that the judge has vindicated the Party’s posi-tion. High Court Judge Justice Leighton Pusey set aside a

bankruptcy notice lodged by Manley Bowen. In his ruling, Justice Pusey agreed with Mrs. Robinson’s attorneys

that the b a n k -r u p t c y

n o t i c e was an abuse of the proc-ess, and awarded costs to Mrs. Robinson. Two applica-tions were filed on behalf of Mrs. Robinson by Ransford Braham, QC and Nesta-Claire Smith Hunter who were in-structed Ernest A. Smith and Company.

Regarding the second application Justice Pusey ruled that there ought to be a stay of the final cost certifi-

cate, pending the ruling of Justice Lennox Campbell on an appeal that was lodged

on Mrs. Robinson’s behalf. Mr. Chang says, “It was clearly an abuse of the legal process and an attempt to muddy Mrs. Robinson’s name. It was all motivated by an attempt to enter Parlia-ment without the people’s vote. The Party reaffirms its support for Mrs. Robinson who is the duly elected Member of Parliament for

North East St Ann and as the judge has ruled, she will remain as such for the fore-seeable future.”

Opposition Leader,

Andrew Holness, is calling

on the government to in-

struct its agencies and

departments to comply

with all lawful requests of

the Office of the Contrac-

tor General (OCG).

Mr. Holness’ call comes

following revelations made by

the Prime Minister today in

Parliament. Responding to

questions posed last week by

the Opposition Leader, Mrs.

Simpson Miller revealed that

her government has appealed

a recent Supreme Court ruling

that rejected the Transport

Minister’s application to chal-

lenge the OCG’s powers.

Last week, the Opposition

cautioned the government

against appealing the Court’s

existing Anti-Corruption

framework, including a review

of the Contractor General Act.

We propose that the Minister

of Transport be invited to

make submissions to such a

Committee, providing him

with an appropriate forum to

place his concerns on record,

without undermining the

country’s existing frame-

work.”

The Opposition Leader is

again reminding the Prime

Minister of the importance of

trust and credibility to her

administration and the people

of Jamaica, and stated that

the Prime Minister must en-

sure compliance with the ex-

isting framework, even if ac-

tion is also taken to compre-

hensively reform it.

ruling. Mr. Holness went on to

advise the government

against appealing the ruling

of the courts or employing

other anti-transparency tac-

tics. Today he said, “The

judgment still stands regard-

less of the appeal. The gov-

ernment is therefore in con-

travention of the law and

must comply.”

The Leader of the Opposi-

tion is therefore calling on the

government to prove its com-

mitment to the fight against

corruption by developing

meaningful legislation to in-

crease accountability, trans-

parency and efficiency.

Mr. Holness further

stated, “We call for the estab-

lishment of a Parliamentary

Committee to examine the

Opposition Spokesper-son on Youth, Sports, Gen-der Affairs, Entertainment and Culture, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange, has congratulated

r e g g a e superstar J i m m y Cliff on w i n n i n g t h e G r a m my A w a r d for Best R e g g a e A l b u m with Re-birth.

Miss Grange hailed Cliff’s re-emergence on the interna-tional scene with the release of Rebirth last year, followed by the use of his music in the re-cent Super Bowl Volkswagen television advertisement in the United States and now his suc-cess in the Grammys at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles on Sunday. She noted that Cliff has been nominated seven times for a Best Reggae Grammy, and won a previous Grammy Award in 1986 with Cliff Hanger, and that this win is a tribute to his professionalism and durability. “I welcome the choice of Rebirth for the Grammy, and wish for Jimmy and his team of musicians every possible success in their rebirth, and I hope that it signals another successful period for the Jamaican music industry, which cer-tainly needs a boost at the moment,” she stated. “Rebirth’s success should also be seen as an opportunity to encourage more young Ja-maican artistes and musicians to reflect on the success of these two reggae icons and emulate them and their profes-sionalism and humility,” she stated.

Shahine Robinson

Page 6

POLITICAL REPORTER

There is little doubt

that there is much work to

be done in lifting the pro-

file of the Party, bringing it

closer to Jamaicans every-

where and improving all

aspects of its operations –

both in terms of admini-

stration and field organiza-

tion. After all, proper

planning, effective organi-

zation and strategic field-

work are critical to elec-

toral success. It cannot be business as

usual. We must start prepar-ing from now, and do the things necessary to increase our presence and build our political organization from the ground up. Many of you will recall how effective our Branch system was, especially in terms of building and main-taining grass-root support. The establishment of branches in communities across the island is now a high priority. We urge you the delegates and supporters of the Party to play your part in making

this initiative a success.

While the Branch system

will serve to organize people

and bring our supporters to-

gether, greater emphasis will

be placed on political educa-

tion, training and recruiting

new members. An increased

focus on political education

will make us more informed

about the history, policies and

achievements of the Party. As

we become more aware of the

Party’s achievements, we will

be able to communicate more

effectively as we interact with

our fellow Jamaicans.

Similarly, political training

will be a key aspect of our

operations going forward. If

we are to become a more

effective political machinery,

our workers must be properly

trained. With appropriate

political training, our workers

will become that much more

alert, focused and efficient in

carrying out their duties.

The Jamaica Labour Party

is a big tent. It has room to

accommodate everyone. We

must always be mindful of this

and work aggressively to re-

cruit others as we expand our

membership.

As we work together in

ensuring that the Party func-

tions effectively, let us em-

brace a common vision and be

resolute in our mission. This

fixity of purpose will make our

Party a more viable political

force and emerge as a more

fashionable, accessible, and

relevant institution; the politi-

cal party to which Jamaicans

all over will look for the pro-

tection of their rights and the

provision of a peaceful and

prosperous society.

If nothing else, it is

clear following keenly con-

tested internal elections in

December that the Ja-

maica Labour Party is a

mature, united and pur-

poseful national institu-

tion, able to conduct inter-

nal elections and execute

other aspects of its affairs

in a seamless and respon-

sible manner.

Before offering myself to serve our beloved Party as General Secretary, I took time out to reflect quietly on the state of the Party and critical aspects of its operations. More importantly, I took time out to listen carefully to the concerns, views and com-plaints of our delegates and supporters across the country. The overwhelming view was that the structures of the Party were not functioning as effectively as they should; creating a vacuum that has caused the Party to lose mo-mentum generally, and in particular, the connection it

had with its grass-root sup-port. It is evident that we need to listen more. We need to provide more opportunities for our delegates and supporters to make a contribution to the thinking, decisions and policy positions advanced by the Party. The Delegate’s Con-ference staged last year was an important step in this di-rection. It afforded you the delegates, an opportunity to engage the leadership of the Party; steering the entire team in a direction that is more responsive to the needs and concerns of the grassroots. This can only mean well for the Party going forward. As General Secretary, it is my duty to co-ordinate the operations of the Party and draw upon the skills of every officer, delegate, member and well-wisher in making our political machinery that much more impactful, efficient and effective. This is undoubtedly a huge undertaking, but with the effort, co-operation and

dedication of every member of the team, the mission at hand will be a success. With this in mind, I com-mit to working with a team, united by a singular purpose, motivated by an enduring passion, and inspired by a common vision – a vision of getting things right and keep-ing them that way. You may look to your Gen-eral Secretary for greater at-tention to detail, greater em-phasis on political education, increased focus on the struc-tures and systems of the Party, and most importantly, a resolve to: hold people more accountable, promote greater transparency, facilitate the input of every delegate or supporter, and secure greater levels of efficiency in all we do.

Sen. Robert Montegue

JLP Chairman

Dr. Horace Chang, MP

JLP General Secretary

Page 7

Issue 2 January/February 2013

The first time I was able to vote, I took the time to look at both political parties and how the country had fared under their stewardship. After looking at the man-agement of all aspects of the country’s affairs under both political parties, I came to the considered view that the Country and its people, do better when the Labour Party is in Government. As such I was attracted to the party based on my fundamental belief that the country stands to benefit more when the JLP forms the Government.

5. What role do you see yourself playing in the JLP, and by extension Jamaica in the future?

Well I think in my current capacity as G2K President, my i m m e d i a t e r o l e i s to represent the views of the young people of the Party and the nation at large. I am keen on bringing to the Party’s leader-ship, areas in which we recog-nize the need for improve-ment; in addition to proposing solutions to some of the long standing issues of the Party. As G2K leader, I think part of my responsibility is to ensure that the struc-tures of the Party provide space for the views of the youth. I have always seen my

role as helping to create a

better Jamaica, and inspiring

Jamaicans to take ownership

of their future. I think it is

imperative to return the better

managers to the seats of

management of the Country’s

affairs, and in that regard,

my role must be to

help the Jamaica Labour Party

secure victory in the next

general election.

Floyd Green graciously assumed office as G2K President in June 2012 and since then has been working tirelessly to ex-pand the organization’s reach and impact among young people on a whole. Born in western Jamaica, Floyd began his formal education at the Lucea Preparatory School but was later transferred to the Munro Preparatory School, as his family set-tled in St. Elizabeth and made that parish home.

He went on to study at Munro College where his de-sire to serve and inspire oth-ers was harnessed. His aca-demic successes earned him a place at the University of West Indies, Mona Campus where he read for a degree in History and a minor in Political Sci-ence. Having attained an Up-per-Second Class Honours degree, Floyd went on to pur-sue a law degree at the UWI’s Cave Hill Campus in Barbados.

He was elected as the President of the Cave Hill Guild of Students for academic year 2005/2006. He also rep-resented the University and the nation as a UWI student ambassador to the University of Costa Rica and to the Uni-versity Of Virgin Island Future Global Leaders Institute where he served as valedictorian.

He was awarded his LLB in

2006 with Upper Second Class

Honours. Floyd has spear-

headed a number of first time

initiatives that has left positive

and indelible impressions on

the campuses including being

founding member of the Vice

Chancellor’s Student Ambassa-

dors Corps. He was trained

and appointed by the CARI-

COM Secretariat as a Tertiary

Level Spokesman on CSM. He

was admitted to the Jamaican

Bar on the 20th day of No-

vember, 2008 and currently is

an associate at Wentworth S.

Charles and company. He

presently serves as the Dep-

uty Chairman of the Jamaica

Association of Young Profes-

sionals, and sits on a number

of Boards, namely the Trade

Board Limited, The Jamaica

Business Development Corpo-

ration, The Micro Investment

Development Agency and the

Non – Profit ICT4D Ltd.

Green Responds to the Politi-cal Reporter:

1. Considering your re-cord of service to several organizations, what would you say is responsible for this passion for service?

I think that very early in my life my parents instilled in me a realization that a critical aspect of life is how you can help others along their jour-ney. I think my passion for service is directly tied to my desire to create a positive impact in the lives of others and a recognition that a fulfill-ing life is larger than individual achievement.

2. How did you become involved in G2K?

G2K was launched while I was a student at the Univer-sity of the West Indies. It was at a time when a number of us who were politically in-clined, were severely frus-trated with how our country

was being managed and also with the role of young people in the political process. De-s p i t e c o m i n g i n t o an environment that was largely PNP, a group of us, who were supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party decided that it was time to take a stand. G2K, with its mantra: “More than just Politics”, in addition to its solutions-based discussions, appealed to me and as such, when the idea of starting a Chapter of G2K on the University Campus was floated, I embraced it whole-heartedly and became a part of it.

3. What is it that you would like to see G2K ac-complish under your ten-ure as President?

I see the organization as being the bridge between the experience of the older members and the exuberance of youth and as such, we plan to spearhead a politi-cal education and train-ing campaign that draws upon the strengths of the Party’s youths and elders.

4. What attracted you to the JLP?

In short, I would say its track record of achievement.

POLITICAL REPORTER

CONTACT US AT:

Jamaica Labour Party

20 Belmont Road

Kingston 5, Jamaica, W.I.

Phone: (876) 929-1183

Page 8

email: info@thepoliticalreporter.com

twitter: @politicalrepja

facebook: www.facebook.com/ThePoliticalReporter

website: www.thepoliticalreporter.com

Published by: Jamaica Labour Party Editor-in-Chief: Dwight Nelson Editor: Marlon Morgan

In 1944 Iris

Collins was

elected Mem-

ber of Parlia-

ment for

North West

St. James to

become the first female repre-

sentative in the House. It was

under the JLP that women

gained significant status. She

was notorious for daring to walk

into a meeting of the House with

her head uncovered.

In 1948,

Madam

Rose Leon

became the

first woman

to chair a

national

political party, the Jamaica

Labour Party, holding that

position for 12 years during a

period of growing self-

government. In 1949, she was

elected a member of the house

of representatives, and in 1953

was appointed minister of

health and social welfare.

The JLP’s Standing Committee at Retreat listens attentively as Opposition Leader and Party Leader,

Andrew Holness, discusses critical issues and deliberates on the way forward.

Members of the JLP

Standing Committee and

Party Leader, Andrew

Holness caught in a light

moment - L-R: Donovan

Hamilton; Michael

Stern(hidden); Party

Chairman, Robert Mon-

tague; General Secretary,

Dr. Horace Chang; Olivia

Grange; Enid Bennett,

Trustee and Dr. St.

Aubyn Bartlett.

The JLP’s Standing Committee poses with Opposition Leader and Party Leader, Andrew Holness,

following its Retreat held on January 20, 2013.