Omar Anderson, Gleaner WriterTHE JAMAICA Labour Party's (JLP) 63rd annual conference is to be held between Saturday, December 3 and Sunday, December 4.
The conference should have been held this weekend but was postponed.
Yesterday, JLP general secretary Karl Samuda denied inside reports that the conference date was pushed back because of a lack of funding coming into the party.
Mr. Samuda said there would be no election on Saturday, December 3, as the JLP leader and deputy leaders will be re-elected en bloc.
The leader is Bruce Golding, whose deputies are Dr. Horace Chang, Audley Shaw, James Robertson and Derrick Smith.
Mr. Samuda told The Sunday Gleaner yesterday that the party spokespersons will account for their stewardship, at the conference.
"We will have an open forum where party spokespersons will field questions from delegates," he said.
The conference will end the same day the People's National Party holds what is expected to be an interesting National Executive Council meeting at the University of the West Indies.
Party leader P.J. Patterson is expected to give more details on his departure from active politics.
... Demands answers on cement crisis
THE JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) is demanding that the Government provide an immediate explanation for the current shortage of cement that is now affecting the construction industry.
JLP Spokesman on Industry, Commerce and Investment, Senator Shirley Williams, is demanding that the Government review the agreement with the Caribbean Cement Company (CCC), the country's sole manufacturer and supplier of cement.
The JLP is also requesting that a public hearing be held before the price of cement is increased.
Senator Williams argued that this was necessary as "the crisis brings into sharp focus the problems which the country continues to face from the Government's policy of permitting monopolies, which are of themselves, not in the public interest."
She is insisting that the review be done, measures be put in place to protect consumers' rights and guarantees established to ensure an acceptable level of performance.
"The Government must tell the country whether the CCC has honoured its commitment to utilise 100 per cent indigenous materials or whether it has indeed embarked upon the wide-scale importation of clinker resulting in a significant loss of jobs and an increased use of foreign exchange," the Opposition Senator said.
She charged that CCC's explanation that the recent heavy rains were responsible for the current shortage was unacceptable, as it was normal for the country to be affected by rainy weather.
In addition, she is demanding that the Government explain the reasons for divesting the country's gypsum mines to a single entity. She argued that this has precluded other entities from investing in such a valuable resource.
