Ibrahim Konteh | Phillips past his prime

Dr Peter Phillips was obviously a great minister, but is not a great leader. His outstanding performance as a minister has not translated to anything noteworthy since he was crowned president of the People’s National Party.

The records show Dr Phillips was arguably one of the best-performing ministers during the 1990s to early 2000s, when the PNP was in power and being led by P.J. Patterson, and later secured his greatest political legacy as minister of finance under Portia Simpson Miller.

One would have guessed that that would translate to electoral victories. However, that has not been the case. This is why after five electoral defeats, I do not believe Dr Phillips is the best candidate to lead the PNP. Two stinging losses to Portia Simpson Miller, a general election loss in 2016 as campaign chairman, and two by-election losses as party president convincingly suggest he isn’t the man for the job.

In 2005, I was in high school and one of Dr Phillips’ biggest supporters. On one of his weekend visits to his son at Munro, I approached him and was introduced to a member of his team. This resulted in me joining the party’s youth organisation. I believed in Dr Phillips at that time. I thought he could capably lead the party. But Dr Phillips’ prospects, I believe, are gone, but he and those around him can’t see this.

HISTORY OF POOR COMMUNICATION

Over the two years of his tenure as Comrade leader, the party’s communication has been embarrassing, and since the appointment of Krystal Tomlinson as chair, it has been much improved – since the Bunting leadership challenge. The creativity and quality of graphics have been impressive. One has to wonder, what has changed? Did it have to take a Peter Bunting challenge for the secretariat and the PNP to finally take PR and marketing seriously?

One of the daunting issues that Dr Phillips faces is the Establishment cabal around him. When one offers suggestions, they are never considered, or they are perceived as an attack. The narrative among some of the supporters lately, since Bunting’s challenge, is, “How much Bunting a pay you?” Not campaigning on plans or policy, but to discredit Bunting.

Take, for example, Damion Crawford’s recent electoral loss in Eastern Portland to Ann-Marie Vaz. Initially, the blame was that the party wasn’t organised in the lead-up and on the day. Then it was that there were voting irregularities, so much so that even former General Secretary Paul Burke said the message from the candidate and others on the campaign wasn’t coherent.

However, in a recent utterance on the campaign platform, the new narrative is that if Peter Bunting had spent his money on Eastern Portland, Damion Crawford would be an MP today.

The PNP needs someone with an enviable track record in winning, running organisations, and ensuring accountability, with an unblemished track record. The best person that fits that description at this time is Peter Bunting. We know his stellar track record in finance as being one of the co-founders of investment banking firm Dehring, Bunting & Golding (now Scotia Investments), as well as his electoral success.

As a 33- year-old political neophyte, Bunting was placed in a traditional Jamaica Labour Party seat, felling former Prime Minister Hugh Shearer with a shock victory.

For more than six years, Bunting led the secretariat of the PNP as general secretary, and his greatest achievement was orchestrating the party’s landslide victory in the 2011 general election.

Bunting has given many young people in the party hope, an opportunity, and a voice to display their talents. I asked the university students who are interning with his campaign. I’ve been told how much they were in glee about the fact that they are actually being listened to and reasoned with, rather than being dictated to.

The PNP needs a leader with the business acumen to bridge the divide with the young and young at heart. That man is Peter Murcott Bunting.

Ibrahim Konteh is a published author, banker and event promoter currently based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and ibrahimibkonteh@gmail.com, or tweet @ibkonteh.