SKENG DON SPEAKS

As the political battle for Manchester Central intensifies, Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) General Secretary Dr Horace Chang is casting doubt on the influence of prominent businessman and long-time People’s National Party (PNP) supporter Kenneth ‘Skeng Don’ Black. This comes as Black confidently declares that the PNP is poised to reclaim the marginal seat and make a national comeback.

Speaking at a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on May 15, Chang dismissed concerns that Black’s renewed political engagement could sway the constituency, currently held by JLP Member of Parliament Rhoda Moy Crawford, who unseated former PNP heavyweight Peter Bunting in the 2020 general election.

“There was a time when Black had a little army behind him campaigning. That’s not going to happen again,” Chang said. “His name evokes a certain level of passion by some people, but the kind of influence Black evoked is not going to happen again.”

Chang added: “He is not a member of the Labour Party. He has no intention of joining the Labour Party … . I don’t think it will deter our own candidate, who is also a passionate candidate.”

The general secretary downplayed the significance of losing the Knockpatrick Division in the 2024 local government elections – the only one previously held by the JLP in the constituency.

“She’s very comfortable and she works hard,” Chang said of Crawford.

Manchester Central is expected to be one of the most fiercely contested battlegrounds in the next general election, anticipated by September. The JLP currently holds 49 of 63 parliamentary seats – if the readmitted George Wright’s Westmoreland Central is added.

Crawford is seeking to become the first JLP MP to retain Manchester Central in decades.

The PNP, meanwhile, appears to be leaning on Black’s grassroots appeal and strategic influence as it looks to recapture lost ground. Black has thrown his support behind PNP prospective candidate Donovan Mitchell, the sitting mayor of Mandeville and councillor for the Royal Flat Division.

Last Friday, Black was clear in his belief that the People’s National Party would retake the seat.

He acknowledged Crawford’s record of road repairs and other infrastructural works in a constituency that offers a complex blend of rural, hilly districts and the urban middle-class profile carried by parish capital Mandeville.

“I don’t think Rhoda can win this, though,” he told The Sunday Gleaner. “The ground has moved … . Donovan Mitchell is going to win.”

Mitchell’s deep roots

Black cited Mitchell’s deep roots and rapport with constituents – especially younger voters – as key strengths. “He knows the landscape very, very well,” he said. “He’s always been involved in politics, and most of the youths are rallying around him.”

“He’s always involved in politics. He’s very intelligent … . Most of the youths are rallying around him now,” Black said. “He knows the landscape very, very good.”

Peter Bunting, who previously represented the seat and is now contesting the neighbouring Manchester Southern, sought to clarify the nature of his relationship with Black at a Gleaner Editors’ Forum on May 19. Bunting’s 2020 defeat was marked by his lowest voter turnout in the four elections he contested in the seat – 6,989 votes to Crawford’s 8,140 – amid reports of a rift with Black.

He said he has never had a “close relationship” with Black, though he acknowledged the businessman’s importance in Manchester’s political landscape.

“We’re cordial,” Bunting said. “If we meet on the street, we greet each other. We might even have a drink. But he doesn’t come to my yard and I don’t go to his.”

Black, too, has downplayed reports of friction with Bunting.

“No,” he said when asked whether there was a falling out between them. “I never knew if I’d been out of the fold at that time.

“Sometimes, like, you know, you want to concentrate on business, that’s why, you know? Yes. Probably not the energy to really go out there, but everything is good now, man. Everything is good.”

Black, a well-known community figure and head of Black Brothers Incorporated Limited, a construction firm, said his connection to the grassroots gives him insight into public sentiment. The company was the centre of a saga involving a $152-million perimeter fencing contract that was awarded under the PNP administration in 2015. The contract was terminated in 2017 over performance under the JLP administration.

“A lot of people still in the constituency still don’t know Rhoda,” Black said, returning to the incumbent’s weaknesses.

He criticised ongoing issues in the Mandeville town centre, including market conditions, traffic flow, and crime that are fuelling discontent.

Biggest issues right now

“One of the biggest issues right now is the town centre – that market, man. It needs an upgrade,” he said. “That’s what’s causing the most distraction – all the criminality and hiding. And the one-way [traffic system], the one-way thing needs to be sorted out. A lot of people are complaining that they can hardly reach the hospital on time, [when] they have an emergency,” he said.

He also highlighted chronic water shortages in the constituency, particularly in areas like Bellefield – a crucial swing division – as another source of voter frustration.

“I had to assist with my water truck to help people get water. That’s one of the major problems they have,” he said.

The statistics show that Bellefield could play decider, as it has done in past elections such as in 2011 when Bunting lost three of the four divisions but was helped over the line by the votes from that division.

“All I can do is guide [the youth], show them the right path and tell them that criminality doesn’t work,” he said. “I come from the grassroots. All of them look up to me because of the example I set in the business.”

Black believes the PNP is on the verge of a dramatic resurgence. He is predicting a win in “roughly about 38” seats, enough to form the next government.

“It’s the first time in a long time I feel like this … and it’s right across the country,” Black said. “People are complaining a lot. A lot of people are suffering, a lot of pressure. People come to my office all the while looking for assistance.”

Despite the JLP’s boasts drawn from national statistics pointing to historic low levels of unemployment, poverty, and declining murders, Black argues that economic pain and social disillusionment are more persuasive than macroeconomic metrics.

“Once the ground moves in Jamaica, it’s kind of hard to come back,” Black said. “And I don’t think they have enough time before the election.”

In Manchester, he forecasts a clean sweep for the PNP, including the seat of Manchester North Eastern, currently held by the JLP’s Audley Shaw, who is expected to retire. “Wint (PNP candidate) is going to win. That’s the only seat I was really [concerned] about, [but] he’s going to win ... . A lot of people call me from that side and letting me know what’s going on.”

He added: “Audley is not really physical as first time; he was very influential on the ground.”

Crawford declined to comment on the role of Black as an influential figure in the constituency.

“I much rather maintain my focus on continuing the excellent work that I have been doing as a member of parliament and organising for my victory/re-election,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com