Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KINGSTON1919
2005-08-12 18:30:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: JULY 22 - AUGUST 12,

Tags:  PGOV PREL EFIN ECON EINV KCRM PHUM JM TIP 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001919 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, AND EB/IFD
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA (RUTH BRANSON)
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP (OWEN) AND WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI)
STATE PASS OPIC FOR TABERNAKI
CUSTOMS MIAMI FOR LOWEN AND MAHABIR
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS, FAS, AND LEGATT
STATE PASS USTR FOR A. GASH-DURKIN
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ R LIPMAN
TREASURY FOR L LAMONICA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON EINV KCRM PHUM JM TIP
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: JULY 22 - AUGUST 12,
2005

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001919

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, AND EB/IFD
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA (RUTH BRANSON)
STATE ALSO FOR G/TIP (OWEN) AND WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI)
STATE PASS OPIC FOR TABERNAKI
CUSTOMS MIAMI FOR LOWEN AND MAHABIR
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS, FAS, AND LEGATT
STATE PASS USTR FOR A. GASH-DURKIN
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ R LIPMAN
TREASURY FOR L LAMONICA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EFIN ECON EINV KCRM PHUM JM TIP
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: JULY 22 - AUGUST 12,
2005


1. This week's topics:

-- U.S. Trafficking Report a Wake-Up Call, Says PM
-- Two More Officers Charged in Crawle Case
-- Six Police Officers Charged in Flankers Case
-- Murder Rate Continues to Soar
-- Jamaica to Miss Inflation Targets
-- Tourism Bookings Tumble
-- Hurricane Damage Near USD 33 Million
-- Cheaper Internet Access for Jamaicans
-- Jamaicans Paid for Copyright Infringements
-- Poultry Producers Concerned with Customs Loophole
-- GOJ to Support New Agricultural Industries

-------------- --
U.S. Trafficking Report a Wake-Up Call, Says PM
-------------- --


2. Prime Minister PJ Patterson on August 9 said that the U.S.
Department of State's 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
Report "served as a wake-up call for Jamaican society," and
that a public education program would focus on how to address
the problem. Patterson made the comments at the launch of an
awareness campaign designed by the country's recently formed
anti-TIP task force, which presented the Prime Minister with
bumper stickers and posters that will help sensitize the
public on the subject of trafficking. Anne-Marie Bonner, who
heads the task force, said the group is operating with a
12-month budget of more than USD 40,000, but had appealed to
international organizations for funding assistance.
Patterson appealed to all Jamaicans to become aware of
trafficking and to end the exploitation of children.

--------------
Two More Officers Charged in Crawle Case
--------------


3. On July 21, two officers of the Jamaica Constabulary Force
(JCF) were arrested and charged with accessory to murder and

obstruction of justice in the case of the 2003 police
shootings of four people at a home in Crawle, Clarendon. Six
JCF officers, including Reneto Adams and five of his
colleagues in the now-defunct Crime Management Unit, were
originally charged in the case with four counts of murder.
The two officers arrested in July are accused of planting a
handgun at the scene of the crime following the shootings to
give the appearance that the victims were armed. Current
Deputy Commissioner in charge of Crime, Mark Shields, was a
member of the Scotland Yard team that traveled to Jamaica to
assist with investigations into the 2003 killings. The two
officers, Sergeant David Ballen and Corporal Terrence
Tingling, were released on bail and prohibited from leaving
the country. They are scheduled to appear in court on August

22.

--------------
Six Police Officers Charged in Flankers Case
--------------


4. In another controversial 2003 police shooting case, the
Bureau of Special Investigations (BSI) on August 10 charged
six policemen in the killing of two elderly men in Flankers,
St. James. The ruling by the Director of Public Prosecutions
comes nearly two years after the incident, but the details of
who has been charged will not be made public until
Commissioner Lucius Thomas has reviewed the case file.
Detectives from Scotland Yard also assisted in the Flankers
investigation.

--------------
Murder Rate Continues to Climb
--------------


5. Opposition spokesman on security Derrick Smith on August 4
criticized National Security Minister Peter Phillips for
neglecting the country's crime problem. Smith accused
Phillips, who is also a candidate to succeed Prime Minister
Patterson in the next general elections, of being preoccupied
by his active campaigning and responsibilities as leader of
the House of Representatives. Smith's criticism came as
Jamaica's murder rate soared to 1,017 by August 7, or nearly
five per day. Annualized, murders are on track to reach
about 1,700 in 2005, approximately 15 percent more than in
2004, which represented the highest murder rate in Jamaica's
history. At the same time, criminal arrests have fallen by
more than 1,000 in the past year. Phillips' office assured
Smith that the minister "remains determined to solve the
difficult issues of crime and violence."

--------------
Jamaica to Miss Inflation Targets
--------------


6. Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Derrick Latibeaudiere on
August 11 said that Jamaica's inflation rate, which was 13
percent in 2004, could reach 15 percent this year. The BOJ's
inflationary targets for 2005 were originally in the single
digits, but Latibeaudiere said that rising oil prices,
hurricane damage, and the rising cost of domestic
agricultural production have made those goals unrealistic.
While he expects the country to be able to stabilize core
inflation in the absence of any further major external
shocks, Latibeaudiere said that the significant foreign
investment Jamaica urgently needs will be difficult to
secure, given the country's dilapidated infrastructure.
(Septel).

--------------
Tourism Bookings Tumble
--------------


7. Influenced by the passage of two hurricanes in July,
tourism bookings to Jamaica for late summer and fall have
dropped by almost 15 percent compared with the year before.
This has prompted tourism officials to launch an advertising
and marketing campaign, via newspaper and radio, offering
reduced airfares to Jamaica. In addition, the Jamaica
Tourist Board has opted to begin flying in travel agents for
seminars earlier than usual. Jamaican hoteliers have said
they will offer free hotel rooms to travel agents invited to
the island.

--------------
Hurricane Damage Near USD 33 Million
--------------


8. The damage caused by Hurricane Dennis is estimated to cost
Jamaica more than USD 33 million, including almost USD 18
million for infrastructure repairs. A large part of the bill
will also be due to damage to the agriculture sector,
according to damage assessment data presented in July by the
Planning Institute of Jamaica. With damage assessment
analysis ongoing for Hurricane Emily, this figure is expected
to increase even further.

--------------
Cheaper Internet Access for Jamaicans
--------------


9. In a move to capture a growing share of the market,
Jamaica's leading Internet service provider, Cable and
Wireless Jamaica, has announced an up to 40 percent cut in
the price of its high-speed Internet service, now available
for as little as USD 29.95 per month. The firm's new
president and CEO, Rodney Davis, said the move was also
designed to help Jamaica exploit the technology's potential
for economic growth. According to Davis, the reduced price
for broadband is comparable to service providers in South
Korea. With the reduced price, he said Cable and Wireless is
aiming to have at least 50,000 broadband customers by the end
of March 2006, up from the current 13,000 users. In
addition, to increase the number of Internet users in
Jamaica, Cable & Wireless has introduced a "Personal Internet
Communicator," a small and inexpensive all-in-one personal
computer designed to work easily with the company's broadband
service. The computer costs USD 299.00 and does not include
the price of Internet access.

--------------
Jamaicans Paid for Copyright Infringements
--------------


10. About 180 Jamaican artists are expected to benefit from
the more than euro 1 million in royalties won from two
collection agencies that represent musicians in France.
According to French lawyer Andre Bertrand, who specializes in
copyright issues, the royalties were due to Jamaicans whose
work was featured in broadcast in France during the last 12
years. The settlement comes only two months after a French
court awarded judgments against French record company Culture
Press in cases involving two other Jamaican singers.
Bertrand, who has set his sights on other European collection
societies, was also successful in getting a court order to
stop the sale of a Bob Marley DVD after it was discovered
that the rights holders were not receiving any royalties.


-------------- --------------
Poultry Producers Concerned with Customs Loophole
-------------- --------------


11. Since the imposition of a temporary ban on the
importation of chicken backs and necks from the United
States, Jamaican importers have, according to poultry
producers, moved to exploit loopholes in customs regulations
by importing seasoned chicken leg quarters for sale in the
domestic market as fresh (unseasoned) product. In response
to allegations of the widespread fraudulent declaration of
chicken leg quarters (which carry a 260 percent import duty)
as duty-free chicken backs and necks, the GOJ imposed a
temporary ban on the importation of the latter, pending
investigations. Consequently, importers have begun importing
large quantities of seasoned chicken leg quarters (which
carry a 40 percent duty) to compensate for the decline in
unseasoned imports. The Ministry of Agriculture has said
that it is evaluating the situation with an eye toward
lifting the current ban.

--------------
GOJ to Support New Agricultural Industries
--------------


12. In an address to thousands of farmers who attended
Jamaica's premier agricultural show in Clarendon on July 30,
Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke heralded the need for
immediate agricultural sector reform in light of the changing
EU agricultural trading regime for sugar and bananas imported
from African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries. Clarke
outlined the GOJ,s commitment to spend millions of dollars
to support the development of specific export-oriented,
non-traditional agricultural industries, including citrus,
oysters, lobsters, ornamental fish, ornamental horticulture,
and apiculture.
TIGHE