JAMAICA: MEET THE OTHER NEW CABINET MINISTERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KINGSTON 001525 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE WHA FOR JOE TILGHMAN INR/IAA (BOB CARHART) E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL JM XL SUBJECT: JAMAICA: MEET THE OTHER NEW CABINET MINISTERS REF: A. KINGSTON 1470 ¶B. KINGSTON 1389 Summary -------------- 1.(SBU) This is the third in a series of cables introducing the new key players in the government of Jamaica. The recently announced cabinet of the first Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) led government in 18 years has been criticized in the local media, mainly for its overall size. However, several key appointees have received kudos for their selection, especially Don Wehby, Minister without portfolio, who was brought in from the private sector to assist in economic policy formulation and implementation. Most of the selections in this group came as little surprise, as many of them are major players within the party. Edmund Bartlett ) Minister of Tourism -------------- 2.(U) Edmund Bartlett was born in Westmoreland on December 3, 1950 to Alexander Rudulf Bartlett and Olivia Lawson-Bartlett. He attended St. Elizabeth Technical High and the University of the West Indies (UWI). Over the years he has served the JLP as Deputy Leader, General Secretary, Senator and Opposition Spokesman on Tourism, he is also a former Minister of Youth and Community Development as well as Minister of State for Information, Broadcasting and Culture and MP for East St. Andrew. 3.(U) Ed first ran for Parliament in 1976 in the Western Westmoreland constituency but lost. He re-entered active politics in 1980 transferring to the constituency of Eastern St. Andrew and winning the seat in the general elections held that same year. He was appointed a Minister of Information and Culture, and at the time was the youngest Minister of State ever appointed at age 29. In 1983 he was re-elected MP for Eastern St. Andrew. 4.(SBU) In 1993 Bartlett, along with seven others, was appointed as Opposition Senator for the JLP. Bartlett re-took his old seat in Parliament in 2002. He won the seat again in the recent September 2007 elections by a comfortable margin. Bartlett's polling success and party loyalty led new PM Bruce Golding to designate Bartlett as Minister of Tourism. 5.(U) Ed is a member of Lions Club of Sav-La-Mar, Jaycees, Montego Bay chapter, the Electoral Advisory Committee and is the Founder and Patron of Jamaica Foundation for Children. He has worked in several positions including Senior Accountant-Revere Alumina Jamaica Ltd., Marketing Sales Manager-Texaco Caribbean Inc., Vice President for the World Conference on Cultural Policies, and Vice Chairman for the UN International Youth Year Advisory committee. Ed enjoys playing cricket, dominoes, table tennis and dancing. He has been married for 32 years and is the father of two. Dr. Christopher C. Tufton ) Minister of Agriculture -------------- -------------- 6.(U) Dr. Christopher Charles Tufton was born on 21 January 1968 in Manchester, Jamaica. Dr. Tufton received his BS degree in management studies from UWI, has MS degree in Marketing from the George State University in Atlanta, Georgia, and his Doctorate in Business Management from Manchester Business School in Manchester, UK. He has worked as a Lecturer in the Management Studies Department at UWI since 1995. 7.(U) Dr. Tufton was elected to Parliament for the first time, representing the JLP in the South Western St. Elizabeth constituency. Dr. Tufton previously served as the President of Generation 2000 (G2K, the JLP,s youth movement) and was appointed to serve as an Opposition Senator in June 2005 to replace Bruce Golding who resigned to serve as an MP. 8.(U) Dr. Christopher Tufton is married to the former Neadene Shields and has three children. He is also one of several JLP stalwarts who severed ties with the party to join Bruce Golding in the National Democratic Movement (NDM) in the mid 1990s, but like Golding later returned to the fold of the JLP after the departure of Edward Seaga. Clive Mullings ) Minister of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications -------------- KINGSTON 00001525 002 OF 005 -------------- 9.(U) Clive Mullings is an Attorney at Law and the Member of Parliament (MP) for West Central St. James. The former head boy of Kingston College was the Opposition Spokesman on Mining, Energy and Telecommunications until the recent September 2007 elections. Mr. Mullings has held the titles of President of the Bar Association, President of the Law Society and Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the Western Regional Health Authority. He's also the former Deputy General Secretary of the JLP. 10.(U) Clive was first elected to his West Central St. James constituency in the 2002 general elections. He has been a very vocal MP often quoted in local media speaking out against the rival PNP. After winning a second term in Parliament, Mr. Mullings was rewarded with the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Telecommunications, the portfolio he held as Opposition Shadow Minister during the previous government. Dr. Horace Chang * Minister of Water & Housing -------------- -------------- 11.(U) Dr. Horace Chang was born November 10, 1952 in New Roads, Westmoreland, Jamaica. He attended New Roads All Ages School, Cornwall College and UWI. Dr. Chang was first elected to Parliament in 1980 serving until 1989 in the Hanover West constituency. He has previously served as Vice President for Young Jamaica, Deputy General Secretary for the JLP from 1981-1983, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Health (1983-1989),MP for North West St James and Opposition Spokesman on Housing and Inner-city Development. 12.(SBU) As a private doctor and part of the Doctor's Hospital Group, Dr. Chang developed a large, successful prepayment Health Plan for low income workers. He is married and has two children. Dr. Chang figured in the so-called Western Eleven who openly opposed Seaga in the mid 1990s But he patched things up in the ensuing years and remained a loyal party man. After winning his seat in North West St James again, Dr. Chang has been selected to serve as Minister of Water and Housing, in the new 18-member cabinet. Pearnel Charles ) Minister of Labour and Social Security -------------- -------------- 13.(U) Pearnel Charles was born in 1936 in Macedonia, St. Ann, Jamaica. He was educated at Lime Tree Garden Elementary School, UWI, and the City College of the University of New York, completing a Bachelors Degree in Political Science. 14.(U) Mr. Charles began his political career in 1969, and he has served two terms as Parish Councilor in Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation. He also has served two terms in the Senate, the Upper House of Parliament (1972-1980),as well as nineteen years as Deputy Leader of the JLP (1972-1991). Mr. Charles has three consecutive terms as MP for St. Thomas East and was re-elected to a second term as MP for Clarendon North Central. He has also been active in local trade unions, serving top roles in the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, a JLP-linked trade union formed before Jamaica's independence. 15.(SBU) In 1976 he was detained under the State of Emergency for 283 days; during his detention he wrote a book entitled &DETAINED8 which was published after his release in 1977. In 1980 he was elected MP for Eastern St. Thomas and was appointed Minister of Local Government. On February 1, 1982, he became Minister of Public Utilities and Transport. 16.(SBU) Pearnel Charles has not always been in the good graces of the JLP leadership. He was named as one of the notorious Gang of Five, a group of top leadership from the JLP who tried to push then party leader Edward Seaga out of the top role in the early 1990s. (Note: This is the incident that led to Karl Samuda 'crossing the floor' of parliament to join the rival PNP and eventually leading to Bruce Golding's departure from the Party to form the New Democratic Movement (NDM) party. End Note.) At the time there was speculation in the media that Charles would be expelled from the party. However, he was instead given the cold-shoulder by boss Edward Seaga and not given a shadow minister posting nor appointed to the Senate. 17.(SBU) Charles has enjoyed mostly good relations with U.S. officials and is generally pro-U.S. While serving as Minister of Public Utilities and Transport, he demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with our country on drug issues by KINGSTON 00001525 003 OF 005 advocating tougher laws against traffickers who use commercial air or water routes. In addition he co-chaired a committee responsible for monitoring Jamaican counter narcotics operations in the past. 18.(U) Mr. Charles is married to the former Gloria Maude Hanson and has four daughters and two sons. His hobbies are reading, debating, lawn tennis and farming. Rudyard Spencer ) Minister of Health and Environment -------------- -------------- 19.(U) Rudyard Spencer was born in Grange Hill, Westmoreland, Jamaica on February 23, 1944. He was educated at Medgars College and Cornell University. Rudyard is a former president of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) a labor union formed by the founder of the JLP whose name the group bears. Mr. Spencer is a specialist in financial sector worker representation and negotiations and a former member of the Caribbean Congress of Labour. His first government service was as an Opposition Senator in 1993, after he failed to win a Parliamentary seat in the general elections of the same year. 20.(U) Rudyard first won a seat in Parliament in the 2002 general elections. Rudyard is married and has two children. He has been announced as the Minister of Health and Environment in Prime Minister Bruce Golding's Cabinet. Olivia &Babsy8 Grange: Minister of Information, Culture, Youth and Sports -------------- -------------- 21.(U) Olivia 'Babsy' Grange was born April 27, 1946. Ms Grange is a self-made woman of humble origins, being born in a poor section of West Kingston to a dressmaker mother and a shoemaker father. 'Babsy' took exception to her neighborhood being called a 'ghetto' and has strived to work hard and make a difference. She attended All Saints Primary, Gainstead High and Ryerson University in Canada. She is the Director of the Edward Seaga Research Institute as well as a Director of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Artists and Producers (JACAP). 22.(U) 'Babsy' is also a Former Minister of State responsible for Information and Culture (1985-1989),Former Deputy General Secretary, Former Chairman of Public Relations for JLP, Former Senator (1983) and Former Deputy Leader. She is the present MP for St. Catherine Central, and one of eight women elected in the recent national election. 'Babsy' is sometimes compared to outgoing Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller, another veteran female politician who comes from humble roots. 23.(U) Ms Grange won her first seat, ironically, against Bruce Golding in the 1998 general elections when Golding was representing the National Democratic Movement (NDM). (Note: Golding requested a magisterial recount of the votes, delaying Ms Grange's entry into Parliament at the time. End Note.) 24.(SBU) 'Babsy' is a 60 year old mother of one, grandmother of three, music executive communications consultant, and long time member of the JLP. She is also considered a party loyalist and a survivor. She was a successful businesswoman in the entertainment industry, formerly representing well known Jamaican performers and also known for being the coordinator for official funerals for both Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Olivia 'Babsy' Grange has not only paid her dues; politics has extracted its pound of flesh from this daughter of the inner city. During the heyday of the political madness that characterized the politics of the 1970s she was detained on trumped-up charges, spent some seven months in detention, and was only released on the condition that she go into 'voluntary' exile. Michael Henry ) Minister of Transport and Works -------------- -------------- 25.(U) Lester Michael Henry was born June 18, 1935 in Spanish Town, St. Catherine, Jamaica and is the son of the late Lester Osmond Henry and Lucille Leon Henry. He is an Author/Publisher by profession and is Chairman of Kingston Publishers Ltd. Mike was educated at St. Jago High School, Beckford & Smith and Ealing Technical College in the UK. He KINGSTON 00001525 004 OF 005 migrated to Britain in 1955, spending nine years in the UK before returning to Jamaica in 1964. 26.(U) Mike Henry first ran for Parliament in for the JLP in ¶1976. He was successfully elected as MP for the Central Clarendon constituency in 1980. A seat for which he was easily re-elected in the recent September 2007 general elections. He has now been announced by Prime Minister Bruce Golding as the Minister of Transport and Works. 27.(SBU) Mike Henry previously has served as Minister for Information, Minister of Tourism and as Minister of Agriculture. However, he has not always been in high favor in the JLP, having always publicly supported Bruce Golding. He was quoted in the local media in 1999 stating that Golding should never have left the party and that he would strongly support his return to the JLP. Later that same year, after a much publicized dispute over seating arrangements in the House of Representatives, with then-party boss Edward Seaga, he received a one year suspension from holding any position within the party. 28.(U) Mike is married with four children. Mike is a member of the Kiwanis Club, Jamaica Library Service Board, Board of the Institute of Jamaica, Kingston Cricket Club and the Jamaica Motoring Club. Don Wehby ) Minister without Portfolio (Ministry of Finance and the Public Service) -------------- -------------- ¶29. (U) Don Wehby, vice-chairman of one of Jamaica's most powerful companies, has been named Minister Without Portfolio, to work alongside new Finance Minister, Audley Shaw. The appointment of Don Wehby to the Ministry of Finance has been helpful in calming financial circles at home and abroad. Don Wehby, deputy head of GraceKennedy Limited and CEO of GK Investments, has taken a two-year leave of absence from his job in order to bring fresh strategies to managing Jamaica's struggling economy. Wehby has stated that his first task will be tackling Jamaica's debt problem. 30.(U) Don Wehby's appointment is significant. In order to find its way through this globalization maze, GraceKennedy has had to go through deep makeovers to convert itself into a more global company. Don Wehby is more than a super accountant. He knows from experience how difficult change is. When he first took over Grace's Financial Services Division in 1998 it turned a profit of about J$150 million (about US$2.2 million); by 2002 profits had increased to J$450 million (about US$6.6 million). In past media reports Wehby credits his success to a capable staff and hard work. 31.(U) Donald George Wehby, Jr. was born on July 14, 1963. Wehby joined GraceKennedy Limited in 1995 as Group Finance Manager and was appointed Deputy Finance Director in 1997. The following year he was appointed Group Chief Financial Officer and in 1999 undertook the additional role of Chief Operating Officer for the Financial Services Division. 32.(U) Mr. Wehby serves as Chairman of Hi-Lo Food Stores (Jamaica) Limited, Deputy Chairman of First Global Bank Limited and First Global Financial Services Limited, and as Board Member of several GraceKennedy subsidiaries. He also serves on the board of his alma mater St. George's College. In January 2003, Mr. Wehby was appointed to the Executive of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ) as Honorary Treasurer. His prior association with the PSOJ was that of a member of its Economic Policy Committee. His other professional affiliations include the Jamaica Stock Exchange Council and the board of Food for the Poor. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in Accounting from the University of the West Indies and has completed an Advanced Management College certificate course at Stanford University. 33.(U) Mr. Wehby is married with three children. He is an avid cricket fan and a member of the Kingston Cricket Club. Dwight Nelson ) Minister without Portfolio (Ministry of Finance and the Public Service) -------------- -------------- -------------- 34.(U) Career trade unionist Dwight Nelson spent more than 25 KINGSTON 00001525 005 OF 005 years at the head of Jamaica's Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU). One of Jamaica's largest unions, the BITU has historically been closely associated with the JLP, having been founded by Sir Alexander Bustamante three years before he established the JLP. Nelson was heavily involved in politics during the 1980s and 1990s, once serving as Opposition Senator for the JLP during the 1980s and again in the most recent Senate (2002-2007 also serving as the Opposition Spokesman on Information. He has represented the BITU at both regional and international labor conferences, including the International Labor Organization conference in Geneva. He left the BITU and organized labor briefly in 1993 to join the private sector, however he returned to the BITU in 1997 as chief negotiator. 35.(U) Nelson was born on July 22, 1950. He earned a BA degree in mass communications in 1981 from the UWI. He also attended St George's college of Jamaica, the Trade Union Education Labor College of Canada, Ruskin College and Oxford. Nelson has also taught and lectured at the Trade Union Education Institute at UWI. During the 1980s he held several posts in the BITU, including assistant island supervisor, education officer and senior negotiator. 36.(U) Nelson is married to the former Pauline Maria Gillespie and has five children. His hobbies include reading, writing and photography. Conclusion -------------- 37.(SBU) While the above figures constitute the second tier of the new executive cabinet, they are an interesting group which includes some people such as Nelson, a key leader in Jamaican labor unions for many years, and some astute veteran politicians with long tenure in the JLP. The appointment of Wehby as Minister without portfolio drew some initial criticism from the media; however, after he officially resigned from GraceKelly and gave an interview to the media about his desire to help out the country, the criticism appears to have died down. One question that remains: can Wehby make a difference if he serves only two years? HEG