Last week, Prime Minister Andrew Holness stoutly told the Jamaican people that the Jamaica Labour Party he leads would be improving the level of representation that the party gives to the people.

It is, therefore, so sad that he has determined that the crass Member of Parliament, Clifford Everald Warmington should, again, be one of its candidates going into the 2025 General Election.

For after Warmington’s incredible performance during the annual conference of the JLP Kingston Western constituency last Wednesday, it is clear that the Prime Minister should say to the absolute idiot that ‘time come for you to leave the JLP and its campaign alone’.

Warmington’s broadside against Opposition Leader Mark Golding was not only unfortunate, but disgusting, and the kind of conduct that Jamaicans should stand up and say to him, collectively: enough is enough … go and check yourself, mentally.

The MP for St Catherine South Western aroused the crowd with his racial attack on Golding, saying, among other things, that he would rather die than be led by a white British man, in reference to Golding. Perhaps he should start making arrangements with some of the many funeral homes around, for his final rites, as by behaving in the manner that he continues to behave over the years, he is sinking the JLP and playing right into the hands of the People’s National Party.

The shade of Golding’s skin was never an issue. Stupid people use the race card whenever they are desperate, and this is the case as far as Warmington is concerned. So, according to the ill-mannered, ill-bred, ‘no white man can lead me … over my dead body.’ It is not going to happen, he continued.

He even suggested that Golding, who was born in Jamaica, should be put on a banana boat and sent back to England, for him to seek political office in that country. And come to think of it, some of the sick people who attended the conference, applauded him. We seem not to be making progress in this country.

Golding has supported far more Jamaicans, with his own resources, than Warmington. My sources tell me that the PNP president reaches out to Jamaican causes and individuals in need to the tune of up to $10 million per month from his own financial resources. 

Warmington can only call upon Government resources to do a fraction of that.

If we do not stop the rubbish of bashing people in Jamaica for their skin tone, then this country will forever remain behind in its growth efforts.

Let’s look back. Some of the fair-skinned stalwarts of Jamaica’s political and business history, in particular, were, or are not dark-skinned. Just place your eyes on images of Sir Alexander Bustamante, Edward Seaga, Michael Manley, Donald Sangster, Andrew Holness, Karl Samuda, David Coore, Eric Bell, Keeble Munn, Daryl Vaz, Annmarie Vaz, Kamina Johnson Smith, ‘Butch’ Stewart, Carlton Alexander, R Danny Williams, and several others.

Warmington is a loose cannon that the JLP cannot contain. He could well be the one who lands the party into the dungeon of despair if it does not take a stand and say ‘away with you’. But if the Prime Minister is so afraid of him, who then, will ‘bell’ that unruly cat?

JC Hutchinson’s unsurprising response to residents

We all saw the response to a demonstration by supporters of the Jamaica Labour Party coming from sitting Member of Parliament, JC Hutchinson last week, and to many of us, it was not surprising.

The people of St Elizabeth North Western, a JLP bastion, vented their anger about the level of representation that they were getting from Hutchinson, a veteran member of the House of Representatives, whom we have heard, is unlikely to seek another term when the next general election is announced sometime in 2025.

The Labourites appeared legitimate in their claims that Hutchinson had fallen short of the crease, as general conditions in the constituency were appalling. Instead of placing each complaint under a microscope and doing an examination, Hutchinson decided to go the route of vulgarity, by calling out some of the protesters. Among the things that he said, was that some of the complainants had received personal favours from him, and as such, were ungrateful to speak about the things that made them uncomfortable.

Hutchinson, among other things, mentioned the 50 baby chicks, and five bags of chicken feed that he had given out to one who dared to speak out against him. He said the constituent also wanted a black tank and because it was not given, the individual turned against him.

He sent one on the farm work programme, he said, but the individual returned home after three weeks, saying that the work was too tough. And according to him, the rest got $5,000 and a box lunch, though he did not state the event at which those were handed out. Now, what a piece of pettiness. Even if animal supplies were given out to constituents, what does that have to do with how the general area is maintained?

The people, though, have no one to blame but themselves for entrusting their confidence in a man who does not know why he was elected, and why he was chosen to serve as a Minister of State, before he was booted, unceremoniously, by the prime minister, for nepotism. Strangely, soon after, he returned as a Minister of State in the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport.

Why would he want to say that people should be subservient to him all because he gave them chickens and chicken feed?

Unfortunately, the political process makes us so exposed to the likes of JC Hutchinson. There are many of them out there and from the looks of things, there will be many more waiting to get into the system, what with more monetary rewards now thrown into the mix.

Duane Smith’s show of patience

Despite the fact that the PNP did not contest the by-election in the constituency of St Andrew North Western, it was almost a sure thing that the JLP would have prevailed in a seat that it has dominated for over 35 years.

Smith, the sitting councillor for the Chancery Hall division in the same constituency, was the man earmarked to take over from his father, Derrick when the older Smith decided to hang up his political gloves in 2018. Instead, Prime Minister Holness decided to allow another loyalist, Dr Nigel Clarke, to take charge of the seat, also in a by-election that same year. Dr Clarke was, predictably, returned to office at the end of the 2020 General Election.

While the jury is out about Dr Clarke’s stewardship as Minister of Finance, there is no question that he flopped as a Member of Parliament, as he spent very little time on matters related directly to the constituency, preferring to focus on his ministry assignment and hoping that the councillors of the Havendale Division, Chancery Hall Division, and Hughenden Division would fill the gaps. 

In short, as one who is a voter in the constituency, Duane Smith would have made a far better MP than Dr Clarke turned out to be. He is far more of a people person, and I believe that he will create the time to listen to the people and see how best he can meet their needs.

I have no reason to think that he will disappoint.

Boring Brathwaite again

For the lovers of cricket who seem to think that I have a beef with West Indies Test team captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, they should have seen him battle for just four runs in the first innings of the opening match against lowly Bangladesh in Antigua last Friday.

For the record, Brathwaite scored four runs. Oh yes, any batsman can flop in an innings, but those four runs came off 38 balls … 38 almighty balls … another example of someone killing the art of batting as the Barbadian has been doing for as long as he has been representing the West Indies.

The ugly way in which he got the runs, some will say, is subjective, but for Christ’s sake, how long are we going to sit and accept such a performance to be the order of the day?

Brathwaite’s Godfather should be identified and forced to face a verbal firing squad as to how he manages to keep his place as not just an opener, but captain.