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PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHKG #1301/01 2411156
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291156Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY KINGSTON
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5255
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0362
RUMIAAA/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 KINGSTON 001301 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DS/IP/WHA 
ALSO FOR DS/IP/ITA 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (JTILGHMAN/KHARNE) 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI ECON EFIN ASEC SOCI CPAS SNAR KCOR JM
SUBJECT: JAMAICA: COMPARING THE PARTY MANIFESTOS 
 
REF: KINGSTON 1194 
 
Summary and Analysis 
--------------------- 
 
1.(SBU) The election date is September 3, the debates are over, so 
what do the two parties actually stand for? 
 
-- The Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) released their 
manifesto first, on July 30.  The document is 127 pages, well 
organized, and easy to digest. 
 
-- The Ruling People's National Party (PNP) waited until August 9 to 
release their manifesto.  It looks more like a travel brochure, 
featuring pictures and brightly colored logos. 
 
-- While the parties differ on key points, much of their manifestos 
are remarkably similar; 
 
-- Both parties list many ideas for new programs and additional 
plans to spend money, yet neither explains how they will be funded. 
 
 
-- The Unknown: What changes will be needed in the wake of Hurricane 
Dean? 
 
2.(SBU)  The JLP was quick to release a very well researched and 
comprehensive manifesto to announce its platform for the upcoming 
elections.  The document ranges from governance in general, to 
economic growth, education, crime prevention, and the environment. 
The ruling PNP was slower to release its manifesto, and while it too 
is a serious document of some length, many points seem to have been 
lifted right out of the JLP manifesto, as if they were trying to 
match the JLP's plans.  The key areas of emphasis in both manifestos 
are the economy and tourism, health and education reform, and crime 
prevention. End Summary. 
 
Economic plans: 
JLP proposes reforms at all levels 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
3.(U)  The JLP plans for reform start with government institutions. 
Its manifesto proposes an independent Central Bank, "insulated from 
political direction and with sole responsibility for monetary policy 
and mandated to maintain domestic price stability."  Under the JLP 
proposal the Governor of the Bank would report directly to 
Parliament twice annually.  Another institutional change is the 
proposed merging of Jamaica Invest, the Development Bank of Jamaica, 
and EXIM bank into a single institution.  The JLP would also enact 
key constitutional legislation restricting the government's debt 
limit and fiscal deficit.  This would restrict the debt to 95 
percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) except in special 
emergencies when approved by a 2/3 majority of Parliament.  Also, 
the fiscal deficit would be constitutionally restricted to 3 percent 
or less of the GDP, unless an exception is approved by the same 2/3 
majority. 
 
4.(SBU)  The JLP manifesto further states the party would initiate a 
debt reduction strategy, phased in over five years, to reduce the 
debt-to-GDP ratio to 60 percent.  At the same time, the manifesto 
proposes raising the threshold for individuals paying personal 
income tax, and eliminating the 'double taxation' on dividends. 
((Note: while the JLP manifesto does talk about establishing 
Enterprise Zones and an offshore financial center for Kingston to 
improve the local economic environment, there is no mention of how 
the government will marry the expenditures for new programs with the 
cutting of debt and lowering taxes for some. End note.))  There are 
many other references to development plans in the JLP Manifesto: 
 
-- Better access to research and development technology; 
 
-- Establishment of a special unit within the Office of the Prime 
Minister to promote and monitor the development and application of 
science and technology within the public and private sectors; 
 
-- Attraction of investors for large-scale projects designed to 
generate significant numbers of new jobs, such as a new air 
transshipment hub in Vernamfield in Clarendon and the expansion of 
the Port of Kingston; 
 
-- Aggressive overseas marketing and exploiting "Brand Jamaica"; 
 
-- Active support for the continued development and growth of Small 
and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs); 
 
KINGSTON 00001301  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
-- Expansion of existing bilateral arrangements for the supply of 
oil; 
 
-- Promotion of bio-technology through the National Research and 
Development Center to increase the quality and marketability of farm 
produce; 
 
-- Improved management of marine fishing; 
 
-- Repositioning the sugar industry, including a divestment of 
government-owned sugar estates and factories; 
 
-- Tax incentives for energy efficiency; 
 
--Export status for hotel operators, giving them the same benefits 
and concessions enjoyed by export manufacturers; 
 
-- Enhancement of Jamaica's duty-free shopping appeal; 
 
-- Redevelopment of the Ken Jones Aerodrome in Port Antonio to 
accommodate private and mid-size aircraft; 
 
--Expansion of Ocho Rios Cruise Ship Pier, to include the relocation 
of shipping operations for bauxite and sugar to another location. 
 
The PNP's plan for wealth and job creation 
------------------------------------------ 
 
5.(U)  The PNP manifesto's economic plan is much more general than 
the JLP's and spends more time  highlighting the PNP's past 
achievements than making a coherent pitch for future plans. 
However, the document makes passing reference to "significant new 
challenges to be addressed in the medium term." 
 
6.(SBU) The first challenge addressed in the PNP manifesto is debt 
and fiscal deficit.  The document states, "There is only one way to 
achieve this objective: contain public expenditure within revenues 
by running a large primary surplus...Unless the fiscal deficit is 
eliminated, the country will continue to be plagued by high debt 
servicing charges...."  ((Note: There is nothing in this document to 
explain how revenues will be greatly increased, or how they plan to 
cut expenditures.  Although it does list references to potential 
buyers for the government-owned Jamaica Sugar Company, and a plan by 
the national airline Air Jamaica that aims to eliminate losses over 
the next three years. However, both of these entities are very 
politically sensitive, so major restructuring or privatization is 
easier said than done.  End note.)) The PNP manifesto cites many 
other economic plans, most of which are extensions of past PNP 
achievements: 
 
-- Establishment of a stronger link between labor market reform and 
the transformation of the educational system; 
 
-- Universal service in broadband technology, allowing wider access 
to E-learning and E-commerce opportunities; 
 
-- Transformation of the city of Portmore into a full-fledged 
municipality with the requisite legal authority, and administrative, 
financial, and physical resources; 
 
-- Expansion and diversification of the economic base of Old 
Harbour; 
 
-- Implementation of Urban Renewal Tax relief; 
 
-- Passage of the Jamaica National Heritage Trust Act and Tourism 
Incentives Act to help investors; 
 
-- Detailed planning for a portfolio of investment projects 
involving 15,000 rooms with the Harmony Cove development in Trelawny 
on the North Coast; 
 
-- Reconfiguration of the cruise ship terminal in Ocho Rios, adding 
new shopping complexes and other attractions; 
 
-- Expansion of Heritage Tourism with the establishment of a Reggae 
Museum and investment in the restoration of great houses and theme 
parks as signature attractions. 
 
Education Reform: 
JLP proposes free public secondary schools for all 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
 
KINGSTON 00001301  003 OF 005 
 
 
7.(SBU)  The JLP has several proposals for education reform. 
However, the one attracting the most publicity in the local media is 
the proposal for all government secondary schools to offer free 
tuition.  While free access to education is a noble goal, most local 
people are far more concerned with the quality of secondary 
education in public schools than the financial burden.  Other JLP 
education reform goals include: 
 
-- Emphasis on early childhood education, commencement of primary 
school enrollment at age five instead of six, and establishment of 
stand-alone infant schools; 
 
-- Enforcement of a maximum class size of 20 for all basic schools; 
 
-- Establishment of performance standards and targets for schools; 
 
-- Elimination of the shift system in all schools; 
 
-- Acceleration of upgrading teacher skills to the Bachelor of 
Education level; 
 
-- Expansion of internet access to primary and secondary schools; 
 
-- Identification of children in need of special nutritional support 
and providing programs to assist feeding them; 
 
-- Issuance of government-guaranteed education bonds to increase the 
loan amounts available to tertiary students; 
 
-- Extension of school-leaving age from 16 to 18 years; 
 
-- Development of a five-year capital expenditure program to 
construct new schools; 
 
-- Establishment of compulsory school attendance for all children 
between the ages of 3 and 18. 
 
PNP Educational Plans 
---------------------- 
 
8.(SBU)  The PNP Manifesto states, "Education for all Jamaicans is 
central to the creation of a viable, prosperous and equitable 
society with a productive citizenry.  We are the party of 
Education." Perhaps the most lofty of all PNP goals is the National 
Remediation Programme to achieve 100 percent literacy within five 
years. ((Note: not even Cuba with its socialized education can 
achieve this goal.  End note.)) The PNP, too, has prepared a long 
list of goals for education, some of which are extensions of 
programs already in place: 
 
-- Continue to guarantee that no student is excluded from high 
school due to inability to pay cost-sharing contribution; 
 
-- Build new primary and high schools so as to sustain universal 
access; 
 
-- Continue to subsidize exam fees for students taking the Caribbean 
Certificate of Secondary Level Competence; 
 
-- Mandate compulsory enrollment and attendance in schools as of 
2010; 
 
-- Build a new university in Western Jamaica to provide training in 
nursing and teacher education; 
 
-- Expand the Student Loan Bureau and make it more responsive to the 
needs of students; 
 
-- Ensure that by 2015 all students in grades 1 to 6 are exposed to 
Spanish as a second language; 
 
-- Develop two types of schools in the entire system (Kindergarten 
to Grade 6; and Grade 7 to Grade 12); 
 
-- Expand E-learning programs currently being introduced in 128 
secondary schools; 
 
-- Eliminate the shift system beginning with 11 schools in September 
2007, and another 100 in the 2007-08 school year; 
 
-- Introduce licensing of early childhood and basic schools; 
 
-- Complete the development of Early Childhood Curricula by 
September 2007; 
 
KINGSTON 00001301  004 OF 005 
 
 
 
-- Introduce performance management systems with agreed targets for 
schools and students by 2008-09. 
 
Crime and Punishment Proposals for JLP 
-------------------------------------- 
 
9.(SBU) The JLP says the safety of the nation will be its "most 
urgent priority" if it forms the next government. Its recent 
manifesto says that "too much of our energy is being devoured by the 
ever-present fear for our own safety." Therefore the JLP's manifesto 
has a large section devoted to Crime Prevention, Security and 
Justice.  Most of the JLP plans for crime involve spending more of 
the budget on law enforcement and increasing the ranks of police 
officers in the Jamaican Constabulary Force (JCF).  These proposals 
include: 
 
-- Increasing the strength of the JCF to 12,000 (currently about 
8,000); 
 
-- Expanding the Mobile Reserve, keeping contingents based at 
strategic locations on the island; 
 
-- Establishing a cadre of Police Auxiliaries to undertake clerical 
administrative and light security tasks at police stations; 
 
-- Establishing a Traffic Corps made up of civilians to relieve the 
police of traffic duties and allow them to focus on law 
enforcement; 
 
-- Improving training in investigation techniques and crime scene 
management; 
 
-- Improving forensic capability by providing appropriate technology 
and training;  ((Note: the sudden desire to improve forensics comes 
after the internationally publicized case of Bob Woolmer, the 
Pakistani Cricket World Cup team coach who died under mysterious 
circumstances in a Kingston hotel room;  local authorities concluded 
mistakenly that foul play had been involved.  End note.)) 
 
-- Increasing surveillance at the ports to stop the inflow of 
illegal guns; 
 
-- Intensifying the program of community policing; 
 
-- Enacting into law a Code of Political Conduct with appropriate 
criminal penalties; 
 
-- Strengthening the powers of the Commissioner of Police to 
discipline members of the force; 
 
-- Strengthening the human rights component of the curriculum of the 
Police Academy; 
 
-- Designing a five-year program for the rehabilitation of police 
stations island-wide. 
 
And the PNP Proposals on Crime Reduction 
----------------------------------------- 
 
10.(SBU) The PNP says the "provision of a safe and secure 
environment is a fundamental responsibility for any government and 
the survival of the state depends on it."  The party, however, 
admits "Jamaica has faced a severe challenge from criminal violence 
over the years." 
"In recent years this violence has been facilitated by the growth of 
the international drug trade and the easy access to illegal 
firearms.  These factors have encouraged the consolidation of 
well-organized criminal networks within Jamaica, the wider Caribbean 
and throughout the hemisphere. This is a serious problem, which 
hinders our continued progress and must be tackled on several fronts 
simultaneously."  ((Comment: This is one area where the PNP 
Manifesto shows weakness, as they are admitting they have done 
little to improve the law-and-order situation in the country during 
the last 18 years in power.  The voters are supposed to believe this 
will somehow get better during their next term.  End Comment.)) 
 
11.(SBU) The PNP Manifesto goes on to say, "Our programme to reduce 
the levels of violent crimes will include an assault on those 
conditions in violence-prone communities, which give rise to 
anti-social activities, in order to restore the law abiding behavior 
as a norm."  Then they list their 'Urgent' plans: 
 
-- Promoting peaceful dispute resolution skills; 
 
KINGSTON 00001301  005 OF 005 
 
 
 
-- Adding 4,000 more police officers to the force to fill the 
increased establishment of the 12,000 officers previously approved 
by the Cabinet; 
 
-- Redeveloping and upgrading the Twickenham Park Police Academy to 
full university status; 
 
-- Providing permanent training facilities for the Island Special 
Constabulary Force (ISCF); 
 
-- Developing more specialist training modules for investigations, 
intelligence, and firearms; 
 
-- Expanding the Graduate Entry Program for the JCF and implementing 
national work standards for the Police Force; 
 
-- Completing the Strategic Review of the JCF and implementing its 
findings; 
 
-- Launching an assault on corruption within the Police Force 
through a revision of the Police Service Regulation and the 
disciplinary rules being undertaken by the Disciplinary Task Force. 
 
-- Completing construction of a new public morgue and equiping the 
forensic laboratory with the most up-to-date analytical 
capabilities. 
 
-- Implementing, within the first three months of the new term, a 
National Independent Investigative Agency to tackle corruption in 
public life and transnational organized crime. 
 
-- Implementing the plan for port security (already drafted). 
 
The Final Analysis 
------------------- 
 
12.(SBU) Comment: A major concern with both manifestos is that there 
seems to be no overarching vision to get Jamaica out of its current 
conundrum.  Both placed a lot of emphasis on the social sectors. 
However, the JLP, wisely or not, appears to have beaten the PNP at 
its game this time around by proposing free education and health 
care.  The problem with the JLP's plan on education is that quality 
is more important than access at this time.  It is important to note 
that a manifesto basically outlines a set of policy proposals.  It 
is essentially a set of promises, which might or might not be 
delivered.  However, it is easier to judge performance if goals are 
easy to measure. 
 
12.(SBU) It could also be argued that the most important aspect of 
any incumbent's manifesto is his/her past performance. 
Unsurprisingly, the PNP made consistent reference to its past 
performance, but this performance has to be judged against what it 
promised five years ago.  A cursory look shows that the PNP 
delivered on some of its promises, but fell far short on others.  In 
particular, the 2002 manifesto had economic transformation, wealth- 
and job-creation as its primary objectives.  This goal has not been 
met by any stretch of the imagination.  In fact, the PNP 
inadvertently admits this failure, as party officials consistently 
speak to macroeconomic achievement as their major success story. 
But macroeconomic stability, while important, is only a means to 
economic development, and not an end in itself.  End Comment. 
 
JOHNSON