US embassy cable - 05KINGSTON797

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 000797 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA 
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, EB/IFD 
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA HALDANE 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR TABERNAKI 
CUSTOMS MIAMI FOR LOWEN AND MAHABIR 
SANTO DOMINGO FOR FCS, FAS, AND LEGATT 
STATE PASS USTR FOR A. GASH-DURKIN 
DOJ FOR OPDAT/ R LIPMAN 
TREASURY FOR L LAMONICA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, EFIN, ECON, JM, KCOR, KCRM, EINV, EAID 
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: MAR 5-17, 2005 
 
 
1.  This week's topics: 
 
-- Date Set for West Kingston By-Election 
-- A New Record?  Crime Rate up 49% from 2004 
-- Shooting at Funeral; Finance Minister Unharmed 
-- JLP Councillors Sue Government over Toll Bridge 
-- 11 Cubans Rescued Near Jamaica 
-- Jamaica Hosts African Diaspora Conference 
-- GOJ Reduces 2004/05 Budget 
-- Cement Company To Create New Jobs 
-- State Minister Upbeat About Tourism Prospects 
 
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Date Set for West Kingston By-Election 
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2.  On March 16, the Prime Minister announced that by- 
elections in the West Kingston constituency would be held 
on April 13.  Former JLP leader Edward Seaga represented 
West Kingston, which includes the Tivoli Gardens community, 
for 43 years, and residents are fiercely loyal to the 
opposition party.  The area is considered a safe seat for 
recently elected JLP leader Bruce Golding, who needs a seat 
in the House of Representatives to formally assume the role 
of Opposition Leader.  The Prime Minister exercises sole 
discretion in calling election dates, and many expected he 
might delay to exclude Golding from upcoming parliamentary 
budget debates.  JLP leaders were publicly pleased with the 
Prime Minister's timely action.  Golding will run against 
the PNP's Joseph "Bunny" Witter, though a JLP victory is 
widely held to be inevitable. 
 
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A New Record?  Crime Rate up 49% from 2004 
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3.  The Jamaica Constabulary Force reported 342 murders in 
the period January 1 to March 13, 2005.  The number of 
homicides represents an increase of more than 49% compared 
with the same period in 2004, and is more than double the 
2003 figure.  2004 saw the highest crime rate in Jamaica's 
recorded history, with a total of nearly 1,500 murders from 
January through December.  The rate, approximately 57 per 
100,000 citizens, made Jamaica, along with South Africa, 
the world's murder capital. 
 
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Shooting at Funeral; Finance Minister Unharmed 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
4.  On the afternoon of March 13, Finance Minister Omar 
Davies attended the funerals of two murdered constituents. 
Newspapers reported the following day that gunmen had 
"begun a shooting spree" at the second funeral.  According 
to the U.S. Law Enforcement Development Advisor, some 
mourners took refreshments from street vendors without 
paying as they entered the church.  The vendor subsequently 
called some "friends" to question the mourners, causing a 
crowd of mourners to confront the vendor.  As the 
confrontation escalated, the finance minister's bodyguards 
fired their weapons into the air to disburse the crowd. 
Upon hearing the gunfire, the vendor's friends returned and 
opened fire into the parking lot to "intimidate" the 
mourners.  No one was injured or arrested, and the 
investigation is ongoing. 
 
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JLP Councillors Sue Government over Toll Bridge 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5.  The debate over a new toll bridge across Kingston 
Harbor became politicized when three Jamaica Labor Party 
(JLP) councillors on March 14 filed suit against the 
government in the Supreme Court.  The Kingston Harbor 
Bridge was built in the 1960s to serve Portmore, a rapidly 
growing commuter community west of Kingston that now has 
nearly 200,000 residents.  As part of the government's 
Highway 2000 project, the bridge will be replaced by a six- 
lane toll bridge.  Portmore residents first protested the 
amount of the toll (approximately USD 1.00), but now object 
to the toll entirely and, after weeks of dispute, have 
filed a suit claiming that the government's plans violate 
the constitution, which protects citizens from the 
arbitrary expropriation of property.  James Robertson, 
deputy leader of the JLP, described the court filing as 
"just the beginning" of what he expects will be "a 
protracted battle against the government." 
 
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Eleven Cubans Rescued Near Jamaica 
---------------------------------- 
 
6.  On March 16, eleven Cuban nationals were rescued by 
the crew of a Bahamian cargo vessel 85 miles off the 
northern coast of Jamaica.  The Cubans, whose boat was 
reported to have been sinking, were taken into custody 
by the Montego Bay police and offered accommodation at 
the Freeport police station.  In interviews with the 
police, the Cubans, all of whom are males between the 
ages of 27 and 46, were said to have been found to have 
fradulent travel documents.  The men, who remain in 
police custody, claimed to be traveling to Mexico, and 
it is unclear whether the United States was to be their 
final destination.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
will decide their fate. 
 
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Jamaica Hosts African Diaspora Conference 
----------------------------------------- 
 
7.  On March 16, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson addressed an 
audience at the opening ceremony of the South Africa, 
African Union, and Caribbean Diaspora Conference, held at 
the Jamaica Conference Center in Kingston.  Patterson 
described the event as an opportunity to strengthen 
bilateral ties between African countries and the Diaspora, 
and for those countries to pursue a unified position for 
their own social and economic empowerment.  Citing their 
shared historical experience, Patterson encouraged 
attendees to insist that poverty, disease, and illiteracy 
"be resolutely addressed at long last," pointing to poverty 
as a major cause of environmental degradation and resource 
depletion.  He added his own conviction of the "compelling 
need to reform, rebuild, and improve the work of the United 
Nations," and the "urgent need to alter the design and 
function of the Security Council."  In his remarks, 
Patterson outlined a Pan-Africanism for the new millennium 
and touched on the HIV/AIDS pandemic, adverse effects of 
globalization, and African conflicts sparked by "the 
hegemony of western nations."  In attendance were 
representatives from 15 Caribbean nations and delegates 
from South Africa and the African Union, including the 
South African Foreign Minister, Dr. Nkosaza Dlamini Zuma. 
-------------------------- 
GOJ Reduces 2004/05 Budget 
-------------------------- 
 
8.  With only two weeks to go before the end of fiscal year 
2004/05, the GOJ has tabled its second supplementary budget 
estimates.  The new estimates will reduce the expenditure 
budget for 2004/05 by USD 55.7 million, bringing spending 
back in line with the original budget of USD 5.4 billion 
(the first supplementary estimates increased the original 
budget by USD 54.1 million).  The second estimates 
increased recurrent expenditures (used for day-to-day 
housekeeping) by USD 3.6 million, but reduced capital 
spending by a further USD 60.7 million.  The reduction in 
expenditures could be part of the Finance Ministry's 
attempt to reign in the fiscal deficit, which surged to USD 
525 million, or USD 82 million above the target for April 
to January 2005. 
 
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Cement Company To Create New Jobs 
--------------------------------- 
 
9.  Caribbean Cement Company, through its USD 100 million 
expansion project, expects to create over 600 construction 
jobs.  The project to increase production capacity from 
750,000 to 1.2 million metric tons of cement will create 
jobs for skilled workers such as masons, carpenters, 
plumbers, painters and steel framers.  However, Anthony 
Haynes, managing director of the local company, has stated 
that only certified workers will be allowed to work on the 
project.  In this regard, the company has partnered with 
the National Training Agency to provide a USD 164,000 
training program for residents in the various skills. 
 
 
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State Minister Upbeat About Tourism Prospects 
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10.  Wykeham McNeil, State Minister of Tourism and 
Industry, is upbeat about Jamaica's tourism prospects 
for 2005.  McNeil said his Ministry expects over 1.5 
million stopover visitors and about 1.1 million cruise 
visitors.  The Minister based his projections on the 
increased investments in the industry, which he expected 
to translate into thousands of new hotel rooms and 
attractions.  McNeil also pointed to the number of new 
airlines now flying into the island. 
TIGHE