US embassy cable - 05KINGSTON1534

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 KINGSTON 001534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PDA 
STATE ALSO FOR INL/LP, EB/TPP, AND EB/IFD 
STATE ALSO FOR CA/OCS/ACS/WHA (RUTH BRANSON) 
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, EINV, JM, SNAR, KCOR, KCRM, ELAB, CASC, corruption, TIP 
SUBJECT: KINGSTON POL/ECON ROUNDUP: MAY 7 - JUNE 16, 2005 
 
 
1. This week's topics: 
 
-- TIP: GOJ Responding to Threat of Sanctions 
-- Foreign Carriers Yield After Call Blocking Crisis 
-- Mayor of Spanish Town Resigns Following Arrest 
-- Seaga Offers Advice on his 75th Birthday 
-- Crime Statistics - Count Them Yourself 
-- Tax Laws to Fight Crime 
-- Prime Minister Fights Corruption 
-- Four Arrested in Death of American Tourist 
-- Local Citrus Threatened by U.S. Bacteria 
-- GOJ Reacts to Inconclusive BSE Test Results 
-- Delta Opens New Route to Jamaica 
-- Inflation Soars 
-- Growth In Local Film Industry Continues 
-- Jamaican Invents Portable Clothes Dryer 
-- Poverty Intensifies In Jamaica 
 
------------------------------------- 
GOJ Responding to Threat of Sanctions 
------------------------------------- 
 
2. The GOJ has responded vigorously to the June 3 release of 
the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which downgraded 
Jamaica to Tier 3 status and opened the door to the 
possibility of sanctions by the USG.  Senior GOJ officials, 
including Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and the Leader of the 
Opposition, have criticized the report for unfairly labeling 
Jamaica, but have at the same time vowed to take action 
against human trafficking to avoid sanctions.  The Office of 
the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and 
Foreign Trade, and the Ministry of National Security, which 
labeled the report "prejudicial," are reported to be 
spearheading Jamaica's efforts to combat trafficking.  Media 
coverage of the TIP Report and of related issues, including 
children's welfare, has been extensive in the two weeks since 
the report was released.  Reports are beginning to emerge of 
planned concrete actions to combat TIP, including raids of 
massage parlors in Kingston at the behest of Mayor Desmond 
McKenzie (septel). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Foreign Carriers Yield After Call Blocking Crisis 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
3. On June 1, by ministerial edict, Commerce Minister Phillip 
Paulwell ordered Jamaica's three main local telephone 
companies -) Cable & Wireless, Digicel, and MiPhone )- to 
block the incoming signals of all foreign telecom carriers 
that had not agreed to pay a new fee imposed on calls 
terminating in Jamaica.  The tax, amounting to USD 0.03 per 
minute to landline networks and USD 0.02 per minute to 
cellular networks, is called the Jamaican Universal Service 
Fund, and was designed by Paulwell to raise J$ 1 million (USD 
16,400) per year over the next three years to help develop 
Jamaica's infrastructure.  On June 6, Charge and Econoff met 
with Paulwell to discuss the situation (Ref A).  On June 8, 
local media reported that all overseas carriers had agreed, 
albeit reluctantly, to pay the fee, which represents an 
increase in the price of some calls from the U.S. to Jamaica 
of more than 80 percent. 
 
------------------------------ 
Mayor of Spanish Town Arrested 
------------------------------ 
 
4. Dr. Raymoth Notice, the mayor of Spanish Town, resigned on 
June 16, one day after he was arrested and charged with five 
counts of assault against his wife, Verna Notice.  Although 
his wife agreed to drop all charges if Notice agreed to 
attend counseling, the former mayor told the media that he 
has lost his moral authority to lead.  Following a meeting 
with senior officer of the Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Notice 
also announced his resignation as chairman of the St. 
Catherine Parish Council.  Senator Dwight Nelson, the JLP's 
spokesman on information, told the media that the party would 
not tolerate assault against women.  In related news, police 
investigations continue into allegations that a Suzuki Grand 
Vitara automobile assigned to the former mayor was seen 
leaving a crime scene in St. Catherine on June 3.  Police 
seized the car on June 15 (septel). 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Seaga Offers Advice on his 75th Birthday 
---------------------------------------- 
 
5. On May 27th, the eve of his 75th birthday, former prime 
minister and opposition leader Edward Seaga was praised by 
his friends and colleagues at a lavish testimonial banquet 
held in his honor at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel in Kingston. 
After more than five hours of thanks, compliments, good 
wishes, and tributes to Saga's 45 years of government 
service, the former Jamaica Labor Party leader shared his 
advice on the future success of the country.  First, Seaga 
urged Finance Minister Omar Davies, who was in attendance 
along with many other senior members of the ruling People's 
National Party, to &fix the exchange rate.8  The move, he 
insisted, would cause interest rates to fall quickly, 
providing affordable financing for a variety of the 
government's initiatives.  These should include, Seaga said, 
the merging of the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) with the 
Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), a move that would increase 
the police force by nearly 50 percent.  Third, Seaga urged 
greater focus and increased spending on the country's 
education system. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
Crime Statistics - Count Them Yourself 
-------------------------------------- 
 
6. On June 10, the Constabulary Communication Network (CCN), 
the communications unit of the Jamaica Constabulary Force 
(JCF), advised reporters that it would no longer provide 
weekly crime statistics, and that interested organizations 
would have to tally the numbers themselves.  CCN 
Superintendent Ionie Ramsay-Nelson said the decision was made 
after the head of the statistical department suffered a heart 
attack brought on by work pressure.  She commented, "We have 
contributed to the man's condition and I think we have a 
responsibility to relieve the stress."  The CCN compiles 
statistics on murders and fatal shootings on a daily basis 
and releases statistics on a weekly basis that include all 
other crimes committed. 
 
7. Derrick Smith, Opposition spokesman on national security, 
demanded that the crime statistics continue to be made 
available to the media and general public, saying "We refuse 
to accept this whittling away of people's individual rights, 
including the right of information on matters of national 
concern."  As of June 14, 781 individuals have been murdered 
in Jamaica since January 1. 
 
----------------------- 
Tax Laws to Fight Crime 
----------------------- 
 
8. On June 9, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson stated that he 
wants tax laws to be used aggressively against drug dealers, 
extortionists, and other leaders of organized crime against 
whom the police have had difficulty building cases.  While 
recognizing that Jamaica does not have the equivalent of U.S. 
racketeering laws, Patterson argued that income tax and other 
tax laws could be useful weapons against persons who are 
conspicuously wealthy without visible or obvious sources of 
income.  Patterson claimed that he was frustrated with the 
lack of effort put forth to use tax laws as an anti-crime 
tool.  When asked why no one had been dismissed for inaction, 
Patterson replied, "I can fire a minister.  I can't fire the 
Income Tax Department." 
 
-------------------------------- 
Prime Minister Fights Corruption 
-------------------------------- 
 
9. The Prime Minister on June 13 suggested several measures 
to deal with the unethical behavior of public sector 
officials: retirement of officials in the public interest; 
amending the Public Bodies and the Corruption Prevention Acts 
to strengthen penalties for unethical behavior; and reducing 
the number of public officials monitored by the Corruption 
Prevention Commission to allow a greater focus on officers 
whose positions expose them to graft.  An additional proposed 
amendment would prevent officials guilty of unethical 
behavior from migrating to other departments or agencies. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Four Arrested in Death of American Tourist 
------------------------------------------ 
 
10. Natasha Timberlake, Dennis Morris, and Damion Miller were 
arrested on June 13 for the murder of American tourist 
Stephen King.  Police stated that the investigation has 
revealed that Timberlake was seen using King's credit card to 
make purchases after the tourist was reported missing.  On 
May 22, King's body was found, burned, in a shallow grave in 
the Flankers area of St. James. 
 
-------------------------------- 
Delta Opens New Route to Jamaica 
-------------------------------- 
 
11. On June 6, Econoff spoke with Benet J. Wilson, Senior 
Manager for Media Relations at Delta Airlines, regarding the 
newly established route between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Montego 
Bay, Jamaica.  Wilson said that the decision to begin service 
to Montego Bay was made in September 2004, when Delta 
Airlines made a strategic decision to add more international 
routes, with a particular focus on the Latin American and 
Caribbean markets.  While Delta Airlines has a long history 
of code sharing with Air Jamaica, Wilson said that the 
decision to fly Delta-flagged airplanes to Montego Bay was 
not a reaction to Air Jamaica's shaky financial situation. 
She added that Delta took Air Jamaica's recent problems in to 
consideration, but would have added the route even if Air 
Jamaica were fully solvent.  (Comment: If air Jamaica does 
fail in the coming years, Delta now has an established 
foothold from which to expand in the Jamaican market to avoid 
losing its code-sharing clientele.  End Comment). 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Local Citrus Threatened by U.S. Bacteria 
---------------------------------------- 
 
12. The GOJ has raised intense awareness within the country's 
citrus industry of the imminent threat that the 
identification of citrus canker in Florida and The Bahamas 
pose to the local industry.  Citrus canker is a highly 
contagious disease of citrus crops caused by the bacterium 
"Xanthomonas axonopodis."  Minister of Agriculture Roger 
Clark has pointed out that the Jamaican citrus industry, 
which is currently struggling to cope with the devastating 
effect of the tristeza virus, could easily be wiped out by 
the citrus canker and its pathogen, "citri."  In addition to 
a public education campaign, the GOJ has commenced a 
nationwide surveillance exercise and has strengthened its 
quarantine capabilities to monitor imports of all species of 
Rutaceae, which include the genus Citrus.  The GOJ has not, 
however, issued any WTO notifications of amendments to its 
sanitary or phytosanitary regulations. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
GOJ Reacts to Inconclusive BSE Test Results 
------------------------------------------- 
 
13. GOJ Director of Veterinary Services, Dr. Headley Edwards, 
has adopted an uncharacteristically consultative and 
scientific approach to the announcement of a "reactive" 
result from the retesting of cattle tissue in the United 
States for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, or BSE. 
Subsequent to the announcement, Edwards contacted Post's 
Agricultural Office to request additional information from 
USDA on the U.S. surveillance and testing program.  He 
acknowledged the unique nature of the discrepancies in the 
Immunohistochemistry (IHC) and Western Blot test results, and 
said, in this regard, that changes to Jamaica's sanitary / 
phytosanitary regulations will be informed by the results 
from the Office of International Epizooties (OIE) reference 
laboratory, and the soundness of the U.S. monitoring and 
testing program. 
 
--------------- 
Inflation Soars 
--------------- 
 
14. Prices jumped by 2.2 percent during May, bringing 
inflation for the first five months of 2005 to 5.7 percent, 
or 2.7 percentage points higher than in the similar period of 
2004.  Inflationary impulses were driven by increases in 
domestic food and drink.  Jamaicans are also expected to face 
higher electricity and bus fares this summer.  While the 
level of electricity increase is yet to be announced, the 
Office of Utilities Regulation (OUR) has confirmed that the 
adjustment is automatic and relates to the spike in oil 
prices, the jump in local inflation, and rehabilitation costs 
associated with Hurricane Ivan.  With respect to bus fares, 
the OUR is already analyzing the extent of the increase 
required to reduce the public company's USD 10 million loss 
last year.  These adjustments, combined with spiraling 
domestic food prices and tax increases, are expected to feed 
inflation in the latter half of 2005. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Growth In Local Film Industry Continues 
--------------------------------------- 
 
15. Jamaica's film industry earned a record USD 20 million 
last year on the back of several foreign film projects shot 
on the island.  Based on figures published by Jamaica 
Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), earnings in 2004 were 40 
percent higher than in 2003 and USD 14.3 million higher than 
in 2002.  Chief among the projects shot on location in 2004 
was the reality TV series entitled "The Amazing Race."  The 
industry is expected to continue to remain buoyant in the 
short to medium term, given the recent signing of a 
co-production treaty with the UK to facilitate a sharing of 
expertise and talent for film production. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Jamaican Invents Portable Clothes Dryer 
--------------------------------------- 
 
16. Jamaican Halden Morris, a lecturer at the University of 
the West Indies, has invented a portable clothes- and 
hairdryer.  The device, which works from electricity mains 
and weighs about 20 pounds, is designed to fit in a suitcase. 
 Operated by a fan heater, the dryer can dry about two days 
worth of clothes in about 30 minutes.  In 1984, Halden also 
devised a way to strengthen the font ball on IBM typewriters, 
but did not patent his invention; several years later, his 
invention was commercialized.  Having learned from this 
experience, Halden secured a U.S. patent for his current 
invention in July 2004 and is now seeking a manufacturer to 
produce the dryer for executive travelers.  Jamaica's own 
patent laws are outdated, forcing inventors like Halden to 
seek patent protection in the U.S.  The parliamentary council 
has been given drafting instructions to revise local 
intellectual property laws. 
 
------------------------------ 
Poverty Intensifies In Jamaica 
------------------------------ 
 
17. Based on data published by the Planning Institute of 
Jamaica, the number of Jamaicans living in poverty, as 
measured by per capita consumption, jumped by almost four 
percentage points to 19.7 percent between 1998 and 2002. 
This is a turnaround from the results of the last survey, 
which showed that poverty had declined from 35.2 percent of 
the population to 15.9 percent between 1992 and 1998.  At 
that time, the reduction was attributed to, among other 
things, the taming of inflation and liberalization. 
According to the latest survey, the poverty line was based on 
an annual per capita consumption level of USD 773 for an 
individual, USD 608 below the nation average.  The data also 
showed that poverty had increased in 11 of the country's 14 
parishes, with St. Ann replacing St. Mary as the poorest 
parish.  This is particularly interesting as St. Ann accounts 
for a significant portion of the country's tourist arrivals. 
The increased incidence of poverty in St. Ann was attributed 
to the decline in visitor arrivals in the aftermath of the 
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks combined with prolonged 
drought. 
 
18. MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
TIGHE