Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05KINGSTON797
2005-03-18 21:05:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kingston
Cable title:  

KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: MAR 5-17, 2005

Tags:  PGOV PREL EFIN ECON JM KCOR KCRM EINV EAID 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000797 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, EB/IFD
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA HALDANE
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 JM KCOR KCRM EINV EAID
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: MAR 5-17, 2005


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000797

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, EB/IFD
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA HALDANE
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 JM KCOR KCRM EINV EAID
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: MAR 5-17, 2005



1. This week's topics:

-- Date Set for West Kingston By-Election
-- A New Record? Crime Rate up 49% from 2004
-- Shooting at Funeral; Finance Minister Unharmed
-- JLP Councillors Sue Government over Toll Bridge
-- 11 Cubans Rescued Near Jamaica
-- Jamaica Hosts African Diaspora Conference
-- GOJ Reduces 2004/05 Budget
-- Cement Company To Create New Jobs
-- State Minister Upbeat About Tourism Prospects

--------------
Date Set for West Kingston By-Election
--------------


2. On March 16, the Prime Minister announced that by-
elections in the West Kingston constituency would be held
on April 13. Former JLP leader Edward Seaga represented
West Kingston, which includes the Tivoli Gardens community,
for 43 years, and residents are fiercely loyal to the
opposition party. The area is considered a safe seat for
recently elected JLP leader Bruce Golding, who needs a seat
in the House of Representatives to formally assume the role
of Opposition Leader. The Prime Minister exercises sole
discretion in calling election dates, and many expected he
might delay to exclude Golding from upcoming parliamentary
budget debates. JLP leaders were publicly pleased with the
Prime Minister's timely action. Golding will run against
the PNP's Joseph "Bunny" Witter, though a JLP victory is
widely held to be inevitable.

--------------
A New Record? Crime Rate up 49% from 2004
--------------


3. The Jamaica Constabulary Force reported 342 murders in
the period January 1 to March 13, 2005. The number of
homicides represents an increase of more than 49% compared
with the same period in 2004, and is more than double the
2003 figure. 2004 saw the highest crime rate in Jamaica's

recorded history, with a total of nearly 1,500 murders from
January through December. The rate, approximately 57 per
100,000 citizens, made Jamaica, along with South Africa,
the world's murder capital.

-------------- -
Shooting at Funeral; Finance Minister Unharmed
-------------- -


4. On the afternoon of March 13, Finance Minister Omar
Davies attended the funerals of two murdered constituents.
Newspapers reported the following day that gunmen had
"begun a shooting spree" at the second funeral. According
to the U.S. Law Enforcement Development Advisor, some
mourners took refreshments from street vendors without
paying as they entered the church. The vendor subsequently
called some "friends" to question the mourners, causing a
crowd of mourners to confront the vendor. As the
confrontation escalated, the finance minister's bodyguards
fired their weapons into the air to disburse the crowd.
Upon hearing the gunfire, the vendor's friends returned and
opened fire into the parking lot to "intimidate" the
mourners. No one was injured or arrested, and the
investigation is ongoing.

-------------- --
JLP Councillors Sue Government over Toll Bridge
-------------- --


5. The debate over a new toll bridge across Kingston
Harbor became politicized when three Jamaica Labor Party
(JLP) councillors on March 14 filed suit against the
government in the Supreme Court. The Kingston Harbor
Bridge was built in the 1960s to serve Portmore, a rapidly
growing commuter community west of Kingston that now has
nearly 200,000 residents. As part of the government's
Highway 2000 project, the bridge will be replaced by a six-
lane toll bridge. Portmore residents first protested the
amount of the toll (approximately USD 1.00),but now object
to the toll entirely and, after weeks of dispute, have
filed a suit claiming that the government's plans violate
the constitution, which protects citizens from the
arbitrary expropriation of property. James Robertson,
deputy leader of the JLP, described the court filing as
"just the beginning" of what he expects will be "a
protracted battle against the government."

--------------
Eleven Cubans Rescued Near Jamaica
--------------


6. On March 16, eleven Cuban nationals were rescued by
the crew of a Bahamian cargo vessel 85 miles off the
northern coast of Jamaica. The Cubans, whose boat was
reported to have been sinking, were taken into custody
by the Montego Bay police and offered accommodation at
the Freeport police station. In interviews with the
police, the Cubans, all of whom are males between the
ages of 27 and 46, were said to have been found to have
fradulent travel documents. The men, who remain in
police custody, claimed to be traveling to Mexico, and
it is unclear whether the United States was to be their
final destination. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
will decide their fate.

--------------
Jamaica Hosts African Diaspora Conference
--------------


7. On March 16, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson addressed an
audience at the opening ceremony of the South Africa,
African Union, and Caribbean Diaspora Conference, held at
the Jamaica Conference Center in Kingston. Patterson
described the event as an opportunity to strengthen
bilateral ties between African countries and the Diaspora,
and for those countries to pursue a unified position for
their own social and economic empowerment. Citing their
shared historical experience, Patterson encouraged
attendees to insist that poverty, disease, and illiteracy
"be resolutely addressed at long last," pointing to poverty
as a major cause of environmental degradation and resource
depletion. He added his own conviction of the "compelling
need to reform, rebuild, and improve the work of the United
Nations," and the "urgent need to alter the design and
function of the Security Council." In his remarks,
Patterson outlined a Pan-Africanism for the new millennium
and touched on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, adverse effects of
globalization, and African conflicts sparked by "the
hegemony of western nations." In attendance were
representatives from 15 Caribbean nations and delegates
from South Africa and the African Union, including the
South African Foreign Minister, Dr. Nkosaza Dlamini Zuma.
--------------
GOJ Reduces 2004/05 Budget
--------------


8. With only two weeks to go before the end of fiscal year
2004/05, the GOJ has tabled its second supplementary budget
estimates. The new estimates will reduce the expenditure
budget for 2004/05 by USD 55.7 million, bringing spending
back in line with the original budget of USD 5.4 billion
(the first supplementary estimates increased the original
budget by USD 54.1 million). The second estimates
increased recurrent expenditures (used for day-to-day
housekeeping) by USD 3.6 million, but reduced capital
spending by a further USD 60.7 million. The reduction in
expenditures could be part of the Finance Ministry's
attempt to reign in the fiscal deficit, which surged to USD
525 million, or USD 82 million above the target for April
to January 2005.

--------------
Cement Company To Create New Jobs
--------------


9. Caribbean Cement Company, through its USD 100 million
expansion project, expects to create over 600 construction
jobs. The project to increase production capacity from
750,000 to 1.2 million metric tons of cement will create
jobs for skilled workers such as masons, carpenters,
plumbers, painters and steel framers. However, Anthony
Haynes, managing director of the local company, has stated
that only certified workers will be allowed to work on the
project. In this regard, the company has partnered with
the National Training Agency to provide a USD 164,000
training program for residents in the various skills.


--------------
State Minister Upbeat About Tourism Prospects
--------------


10. Wykeham McNeil, State Minister of Tourism and
Industry, is upbeat about Jamaica's tourism prospects
for 2005. McNeil said his Ministry expects over 1.5
million stopover visitors and about 1.1 million cruise
visitors. The Minister based his projections on the
increased investments in the industry, which he expected
to translate into thousands of new hotel rooms and
attractions. McNeil also pointed to the number of new
airlines now flying into the island.
TIGHE