Simpson Miller

The following is an excerpt from the address given to the People's National Party's (PNP) St Catherine East Central constituency conference at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town on August 17 by party president Portia Simpson Miller.

My dear Comrades, it is a wonderful time to be Jamaican! All over the world, people are in awe of our homeland and of our people. We little but we tallawah! What a tremendous performance by our athletes!

The people of Jamaica at home and throughout the diaspora, and all sports enthusiasts across the world, witnessed young Jamaican sports sensation Usain Bolt eclipse all previous performances in the Olympic Games - especially those in the 100-metre event.

As we celebrate Usain's milestone victory, we also acknowledge the deep pride provided us by our well-loved Asafa Powell and the incoming powerhouse, Michael Frater. They, along with Usain, achieved the stellar accomplishment of three Jamaican athletes in the finals of the Olympics Men's 100m. All three have done well and we are correct to be proud of our three sons.

Then, we must hail and celebrate the exquisite sportswomanship and athletic prowess of Shelly-Ann Fraser, Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson, giving Jamaica and the world the first-ever first, second and second finish in an Olympic finals.

These are proud days for Jamaica and the performance of our young people is to be considered as a testimony to their value and to the pivotal role they play in national development.

Special congratulations

Their families, especially their parents and guardians, their coaches, managers, churches, schools and the wider communities from which they hail, are to be especially congratulated for providing the obvious care and support that they have received throughout their lives.

This is also to be considered a fitting tribute for our country on the very day we commemorate the 121st anniversary of the birth of the Rt Excellent Marcus Mosiah Garvey.

Comrades, there are many of us who would prefer to spend time in our meetings hearing the updates on the work to redevelop and re-organise our movement.

This is the time we should be discussing the new initiatives upon which we plan to embark in our unceasing quest to ensure the development of our nation and the achievement of a common national vision for all Jamaica!

Instead, some of us find ourselves somewhat distracted by what is happening. The point has often been made that never before in the history of the party has an incumbent leader been challenged for the post of president.

Any Comrade has a democratic right to aspire to any post within this party. Well, Comrades, never before in the history of this party has a woman been president. The two things may well be linked - both are simply facts of our present situation.

Some of us are distracted by this - I am not! I am clear that at this time, we should be focused on reaffirming our united commitment to the people of Jamaica. Instead, we are now contemplating internal, housekeeping matters, albeit at times, publicly.

So many of you have expressed to me the kindest thoughts and prayers; you have reassured me of your confidence in my stewardship of our noble movement. I thank you for your prayers and for your continued support.

Concerns

Many, many points of concern have been raised in our conversations, some of which I will address today.

It has become clear to me that for too long, these issues have lurked around every corner without our confronting them squarely. So now, we need to deal with them once and for all. I intend to address them publicly today.

For 70 years, the PNP has been the movement which has had the primary mission of giving a voice to the voiceless.

At the launch of our party at the Ward Theatre, Norman Manley said:

"It is called the People's National Party because it will unswervingly aim at all those measures which will serve the masses of the country. I have already indicated a line of cleavage.

"It is perfectly true that the interests of all classes of people are bound together. But it is equally true that there is a common mass in this country whose interest must predominate above and beyond all other classes, because no man is democratic, no man is a sincere and honest democrat who does not accept the elementary principle that the object of civilisation is to raise the standard of living and security of the masses of the people.

"If you do not agree with that principle, then you are playing with words when you talk about democratic politics."

Some people have made a career out of playing with these words. My career has been about a sincere and consistent commitment to this, the most sacred of the core values of the PNP.

Our core values

It is interesting, Comrades, that those words spoken by Norman Manley 70 years ago are almost as if he was talking about the PNP in 2008. His words are as applicable today as they were then. They are worthy of repetition, lest we forget that this is the purpose of our formation. This is why the PNP exists. This is our core value!

Even Norman Manley understood that leadership was not singular. He did not act alone. No. He assembled around him a team of exceptional patriots.

From the inception of the PNP, Norman Manley was true to his words. He was an inclusive leader and the PNP leadership must remain so today. So, Comrades, recent talk about returning to the core values of the PNP is quite ironic - amusing actually. Especially when we consider that the sentiments behind them take us into deep and treacherous waters.

The words that I now hear swirling around actually take us far away from our most important core values. It takes us away from a unified inclusion and collective support for the leadership of the party and for the office of the party leader.

No poison

There was no snobbery and prejudice as the PNP leadership in 1938 socialised at the Silver Slipper Club and the Glass Bucket Club or at Bournemouth Beach in East Kingston. There was no poison, venom or dissent as they articulated the mission and vision that have enhanced our liberation.

There was no disdain and disrespect of the masses of the people as they charted the progressive march to the formation of the PNP.

I hear talk about restoring the political education programme. I agree that we need to. The first class should be held with some of those who are advocating a return to our core values. Such a class would force them to speak honestly about the history of our movement and to not cut and paste from it to cloak their hidden agenda.

I am not aware that we have departed from our core values. I admit that there are constraints that have prevented us from progressing as we would like. I wonder if some of us speaking about core values were seriously questioning ourselves.

The words of Michael Manley are ringing in my ears: "We are not for sale". Under my leadership, the PNP will not be for sale. I will continue to play my part in the liberation of minds today. I shall tell the truth!

Comrades, there are no coincidences.

Comrades, the spirits of Marcus Garvey and Norman Manley are here with us. Their spirits are compelling me to speak, compelling me to speak these truths, to confront the undeniable prejudices that would seek to take us back and reverse our progress.