Ford
Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
DR. JEPHTHAH Ford, the only candidate this morning challenging Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies to chair the People's National Party (PNP) Region Three, is hopping mad that nearly 50 delegates supporting him could be disenfranchised.
"The support for me has been overwhelming and because of that there's consternation in some quarters," he told The Sunday Gleaner when contacted yesterday.
Party insiders have been complaining that the PNP secretariat has refused to recognise some 50 groups in North West St. Andrew, the constituency for which Mr. Ford has successively contested and lost.
According to the PNP insiders, the secretariat had only listed 22 of the 70 groups in its recent audit. Whether it was an oversight, the insiders say Dr. Ford should not be made to pay for it.
"Now at this late stage they (secretariat) are saying every group should be audited," Mr. Ford said. "They are making an arbitrary decision as to which groups are to be audited."
According to him, if this situation remains today, it would result in a reduction in the delegate strength in North West St. Andrew.
"There are 70 delegates and this could result in as many as 48 delegates being being cut," the physician said. "To disenfranchise delegates at this time would be unfortunate."
REASON FOR CHALLENGING
Dr. Ford is challenging Dr. Davies to chair Region Three, because he said the Finance Minister has failed to develop the region since it lost some of its political base to the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in the 2002 General Election and the 2003 Local Government Election.
Dr. Davies has been chairing Region Three for the past two years after replacing former chairman Paul Burke who did not seek re-election.
But pointing to Dr. Davies' ministerial duties, occasional violent flare-ups in his South St. Andrew constituency, and ongoing construction projects there, Dr. Ford said he was offering himself to, among other things, help reduce tensions in PNP communities.
Contacted yesterday, PNP general secretary Burchell Whiteman told The Sunday Gleaner he was satisfied that everything that needed to have been done in relation to the group structure in North West St. Andrew, had been accomplished.
"What was forwarded to the regional leadership is an accurate list of groups eligible to have delegates at the meeting tomorrow (today)," he said.
Asked whether the list included the unaudited groups, he replied: "I don't need to go into more details. That is internal party business."
