SUPPORTERS OF People's National Party presidential hopeful Dr. Peter Phillips have challenged a claim by political analyst Tony Myers last week, that Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies has moved ahead in the race to elect a successor to Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
When asked for a response, Dr. Phillip's campaign manager, Education Minister Maxine Henry-Wilson said it was the view of her team that, "the article was clearly designed to mislead and create a false impression." She said while the article referred to "data gathered right across the board, no such data was presented in the article to support the assertions made by Myers."
Meanwhile, Dr. Phillips' campaign aide, Huntley Medley, said the People's National Party (PNP) vice-president and National Security Minister was deliberately not campaigning in the full glare of the media and the wider Jamaican public at this time.
He pointed out that: "Dr. Phillips is acutely aware that this is going to be first and foremost an internal party election to be decided by delegates who are registered members of the People's National Party. The design of his political programme at this time seeks to maximise his interface and dialogue with registered PNP members. At the same time, the candidate is aware that with no vacancy having been created, basic respect for the incumbent party leader and for unity in the party requires that campaigning be kept within the party and not played out in full public view at this time."
The Phillips campaign manager agreed that this approach has been the tradition of the PNP. "It is a tradition that has served the party and the country well in the past and can only continue to serve the party and the country well now." Elaborating on their campaign strategy, she outlined that the team supporting the National Security Minister was ensuring that certain "fundamental organising work" was done within the party before embarking on the public phase of the campaign. "We are cognisant that the Jamaican people whether they are PNP members or not deserve to be given an opportunity to scrutinise and assess those persons who are putting themselves up for leadership of the PNP and country. The people will have ample opportunity to hear from Dr. Phillips in a more direct way with respect to his leadership ambitions and his progressive ideas for nation-building," she said.
GOING FULL STEAM
The Phillips team has pointed out that while his campaign has been going full steam in the various constituencies and divisions across the 14 parishes with tremendous positive delegate response, critical policy work is also being done at the national level.
According to Medley: "We regard it as very important that a wide cross section of Jamaicans from all walks of life be involved in the discussion of those policies and programmes that will constitute the platform that Dr. Phillips will be taking into the leadership election. Those discussions are now taking place and a manifesto encompassing the bold, creative and workable policies and programmes to provide Jamaica with that quantum leap forward in the post-Patterson era, is now being completed."
Pressed to give more insight into Dr. Phillips' emerging policy positions, the campaign aide said a great deal of emphasis was being given to business development that involves not just a few wealthy and prosperous Jamaicans, but the masses of the Jamaican people.
He noted that: "Dr. Phillips is passionate about broadening the base of business ownership and development in Jamaica to provide more ordinary Jamaicans with a real stake in national development, the opportunity to share in the proceeds of wealth creation and to transform members of the working class into a dynamic and successful small business owning class. Without this kind of fundamental transformation promoted and aided actively by the state, prosperity will continue to be the private preserve of a privileged few and you cannot have sustainable social and economic development that way."
Medley insists that relevant and practical training that stresses entrepreneurship and skills training must be the hallmark of the revolution in education that the current PNP government is leading. He added that Dr. Phillips had also been taking to party delegates across the island, the message of building a society based on core values such as decency, honesty and respect for life, for others and for the rule of law. This mission of nation-building based on the vision of PNP founder and National Hero Norman Washington Manley is what Dr. Phillips has dubbed, 'Project Jamaica'.
