JAMAICA: MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY REPLACED.

C O N F I D E N T I A L KINGSTON 000421 SIPDIS WHA/CAR FOR TILGHMAN, INL/LP BOZZOLO E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/12/2018 TAGS: SNAR PREL JM SUBJECT: JAMAICA: MINISTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY REPLACED. REF: A. KINGSTON 409 ¶B. KINGSTON 417 ¶C. KINGSTON 286 ¶D. KINGSTON 402 Classified By: Deputy Chief of Mission James T. Heg for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: May 9, the UK High Commissioner informed Charge that Prime Minster Bruce Golding was pulling the plug on Minister of National Security, Derrick Smith, replacing him with the anti-corruption advocate Col. Trevor MacMillan. On May 11, the story broke in the press regarding Smith's replacement. On May 12, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry confirmed the media reports of Smith's ouster, and late that day the official announcement was made, as Prime Minister Golding shuffled his cabinet moving Smith to the new Ministry of Mines and Telecom, and sliding MacMillan in as Minister of National Security. MacMillan will be sworn in on May 13 and will take up his post immediately. End Summary Crime Explosion lead to Smith's Ouster ¶2. (C) It seems that Golding finally lost patience and decided to remove Smith despite his stature as Deputy Leader of the ruling Jamaica Labor Party. Smith, who has a laid back, some would say almost "absentee landlord" style, has been widely criticized since he took office eight months ago for inaction against Jamaica's spiraling crime rate. In recent weeks, while he has been on extended medical leave (Ref A),the criticism has only increased, as a wave of gruesome murders have swept Kingston's inner-city communities. (Ref B) ¶3. (C) May 12, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of National Security, Gilbert Scott, confirmed what we already knew from the UK High Commissioner, i.e., that Golding has decided to remove Smith and tap Col. Trevor MacMillan as the new Minister of National Security. That appointment was confirmed late May 12 when the Office of the Prime Minister made the official announcement. ¶4. (C) Under Jamaica's Constitution, the Minister of National Security must be a Member of Parliament. Therefore, to name MacMillan as Minister, not only must Golding remove Smith, but also restore MacMillan to the Senate, sacrificing another JLP member, Ian Murry, to do so. Opposition leader Portia Simpson Miller complained that Golding has left the people without a voice by placing two senators, MacMillan and his Junior Minister (Arthur WIlliams),in charge of this critical ministry. ¶5. (C) Despite his continued absence due to complications from surgery performed in early April, Smith was not expected to go quietly, and early on May 12 ECONOFF picked up commentary from contacts within the Ministry of Mines and Energy of Golding's intention to shift Smith to Mines and Energy, and split off the Telecom portfolio for the current head of the combined Mines Energy and Telecom Ministry, Clive Mullings. Thankfully, Golding handed Smith Mines and Telecom, and left the charismatic and energetic Mullings as Minister of Energy, (Ref C),where he can continue his good work to stimulate additional investment for this key sector of the Jamaican economy. With a potential general election looming (Ref A),Golding will need Smith's support within the party and one hopes that his appointment as Minister of Mines and Telecom will assuage Smith's bruised ego. 6, (C) Unlike Smith, MacMillan is known for being a high-energy, loquacious leader. When Golding was elected in September 2007, MacMillan was rumored to be on Golding's short list as either a Special Advisor to Golding on Security or as a Special Advisor to Smith. MacMillan made no secret of his contempt for Smith as Minister of National Security, and as a result, ended up with an appointment as a Special Advisor on Corruption and Revenue for the Minister of Finance. MacMillan is a bit of a publicity hound, and since the story broke in the media, his face has been front page news. It is typical of his brash, some would say crass style that it was MacMillan and not Golding who on May 11, made the first announcement of his pending appointment. 7.(C) In addition to his love of publicity, MacMillan tends to address problems head on. This style of leadership did not serve him well from 1993 - 1996 when he was Commissioner of Police, as there was great disconnect between the rank and file officers and the Commissioner and his staff. MacMillan ran afoul of the then Prime Minster P.J. Patterson over his attempts to reform the Jamaica Constabulary Force, resulting in his dismissal as Commissioner. While his reputation for not suffering fools quietly and speaking directly has won him some fans among the international community, his recent rash action to engineer the removal not only of the Director of the Financial Investigative Division, but also of her Deputy and Lead Investigator, earned him the ire of Jamaica's main international partners. (Ref. D) ¶8. (C) There are key legislative fights looming over reform of the Jamaica Constabulary Act (septel),passage of the Financial Investigative Division Act (Ref D),and the budget for this fiscal year. Prime Minster Golding continues to have only a razor thin majority in the House, and will need a strong but persuasive voice to speak on National Security matters if these critical pieces of legislation are to move forward. While MacMillan's voice is strong, his ability to persuade rather than bulldoze is in question. In addition, as MacMillan returns to Government in the role of Senator and not Member of the House, it remains unclear who will champion the Security portfolio in Parliament. ¶9. (C) MacMillan's appointment as Senator and Minister was confirmed by Cabinet on May 12. He will be appointed May 13 and is expected to take up office immediately. It remains to be seen if the new Commissioner of Police, Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, can work with MacMillan. According to Lewin's wife, who was a member of the Jamaica Defence Force at the time, MacMillan retired from the JDF as a Colonel, because it became apparent that he would not get the one job that he coveted, Chief of Staff. As Lewin came to the job of Commissioner of Police from the Chief of Staff's chair, MacMillan may have difficulty accepting Lewin's current role as Jamaica's lead crime fighter, and vice versa. ¶10. (C) Comment: Absent swift progress to arrest Jamaica's soaring crime rate, MacMillan will find the heavy criticism previously leveled at Smith will now be directed at him. Prime Minister Golding has few additional moves he can make if the MacMillan-Lewin team cannot get traction in dealing with both crime and rampant police corruption. Johnson