Profile - Comrade Peter Phillips
Comrade Peter David Phillips enjoys the love, respect and confidence of his colleagues at every level of the Peoples National Party (PNP) for his loyal and outstanding service. In the wider community he is admired and respected as a leader who has served the Jamaican people with the capacity, the innovativeness and the fixity of purpose which gets the job done.
A Family Man
Comrade Phillips is a family man. He is happily married to Sandra (nee Minott), and makes time for his wife and six children, Mikael, Tsahai, David, Ruth, Luke and Jacob. Despite the pressures of public life, he is often seen making his way to Munro College for a PTA meeting or just a rendezvous with his boys.
Political Tradition
There is no doubt about Comrade Phillips’ political pedigree and his roots in nation building. His great-grand uncle, D.D. Phillips, was a member of the Manchester Parochial Board for sixty years. His grandfather, U.D. Phillips continued the tradition with 30 years of service as a Councillor in the Manchester Parish Council. His father, Aubrey Phillips, after leaving Mico College, worked his way up the ladder to become Professor of Education at the University of the West Indies. He shared Norman Manley’s vision of a new Jamaica and worked tirelessly to provide the youth of Jamaica with quality education from elementary school to university.
From Primary School to University - A Pursuit of Excellence
Comrade Peter Phillips was born on December 28th 1949, and like the overwhelming majority of Jamaican children, began his education at Infant School (St. George’s) and went on to Primary School (Moneague). In 1957 Norman Manley introduced the Common Entrance Examination Programme, so that children with proven ability could enter the best secondary schools in Jamaica. Comrade Phillips did well in the Common Entrance Examination and won a scholarship to Jamaica College.
After leaving Jamaica College, Comrade Phillips continued his education at the University of the West Indies, Princeton University, State University of New York and the University of Florida. At every stage he applied himself and achieved outstanding results. His appointment as a lecturer at the University of the West Indies was a fitting climax to his distinguished academic career.
Walking the Walk
The 60s was the decade of heightened social consciousness and Comrade Phillips not only ‘talked the talk’ but ‘walked the walk’. Throughout his years as a student at high school and university, Comrade Phillips shared his life with the poor youth of Kingston from Trench Town to August Town where he lived. His was a militant voice in the radical councils of the day, demanding an end to discrimination against black Jamaicans and a level playing field for all. His understanding of their poverty and their deprivation did not come from textbooks, but from living and working with them, enjoying the popular culture with them and ‘reasoning’ with them. More importantly, he understood that the only solution to the poverty he saw daily was the implementation of concrete programmes which provided opportunities for the poor to improve themselves. Talk is not enough.
It was in this period that he began his relationship with the Peoples National Party. Significantly, his first area of work was with the Sites and Services Housing Programme which was the first major initiative to improve housing for in the inner city and rehabilitate the squatter settlements which proliferated the city.
Serving his Apprenticeship
Comrade Phillips took his political apprenticeship to a new level during the years when the PNP was in opposition. At the invitation of his mentor, Comrade Michael Manley, he began devoting his talents and energies to the re-organization the Party in order to prepare the PNP to once again become the government of Jamaica. We all remember the energy, the integrity and the commitment with which Comrade Phillips carried out his tasks as:
Member of the Party Policy Group
Member of the Executive Committee
Member of the ‘Shadow’ Cabinet
Member of the International Affairs Commission
Member of the Manifesto Committee
Tutor at the Party School
Chairman of the Political Education Commission
Chairman of the Manifesto Committee
On the Campaign Trail in 1989
Comrade Phillips was a prominent member of the Campaign Committee. His first foray was the Local Government Elections of 1986. The PNP scored a resounding victory, winning every Council except St. Thomas and Clarendon in what everyone was a ‘mini’ general election.
Next came the General Election of 1989 in which Comrade played an even more significant role, as the PNP won 45 of the 60 seats.
A Key figure in the Administration and General Secretary of the Party
When Comrade Michael Manley formed the administration, he chose Comrade Phillips as his Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister. In this capacity, Comrade Phillips, in characteristic style, devoted his energy and his talents to ensure the effective implementation of his responsibilities which included:
Chairing the Greater Portmore Housing Development Task Force which led to the construction of 20,000 houses.
Developing the policy for MIDA.
Conducting policy work for SESP as well as Operation Pride.
Developing a conceptual framework for the privatization of government entities.
A major landmark in his political career came in 1991 when he was elected to the position of General Secretary of the Party. This was a critical period. The Party had been out of office for nearly 10 years and during that period the globalization of the world economy and the emergence of the United States as the only super power, were two new realities for the Party and government to face. Comrade Patterson succeeded Comrade Manley as President of the Party and Prime Minister in 1992 and kept Comrade Phillips as Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for special projects.
As General Secretary of the Party and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, Comrade Phillips occupied two positions which were critical to the success with which the government faced the new challenges.
The Peoples Representative for E. Central St. Andrew
In 1994, Comrade Phillips entered Parliament as the representative of the people of East Central St. Andrew. He immediately prepared a development plan for the constituency and today his achievements in uplifting communities, improving the quality of life of his constituents, providing opportunities for employment and increasing access to education and training are to be commended and emulated.
Delivering Quality Health Service
In 1995, he became Minister of Health and in two years transformed the health services by:
Introducing the Drug for the elderly Programme
Re-building the Mandeville Hospital
Refurbishing the Kingston Public Hospital
Upgrading the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital
Initiating the Health Sector Reform Programme
Reorganizing Public Transportation and Modernizing Physical Infrastructure
Based on his performance in the Ministry of Health, Comrade Phillips was chosen to deal with the challenges being experienced in the Ministry of Transport and Works, particularly those in the area of public transport.
Once again Comrade Phillips performed by:
Putting in place a modern, decent corporate area bus service through the JUTC
Introducing the route taxi system
Initiating the programme to expand and modernize the airports, as well as the Highway Development Programme
Planning for Highway 2000
Answering the Call at the Ministry of National Security
By the year 2000 crime had emerged as the major challenge facing the government and country, and it was to Comrade Phillips that the Party turned once again to take on the Ministry of National Security. He did not stop to consider the implications for his political career. As far as he was concerned, personal ambition should always be subordinated to the interests of the Party and the needs of the country.
In this portfolio, Comrade Phillips once again demonstrated what leadership is all about – character, toughness under pressure and choosing the hard right over the easy wrong. He was already carrying the heavy responsibility of Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives. His impact on the Ministry of National Security was immediate and decisive. While his long term goal was the comprehensive reform of the security forces, in the short term he:
Recruited additional police officers, and
Applied modern technology to crime fighting.
Secured international assistance for the fight against international crime.
Drastically reduced drug smuggling.
Launched ‘Operation Kingfish’.
Ready and Able to Lead the Renewal Process
Comrade P.J. Patterson retired as President of the Peoples National Party and Prime Minister after leading the Party to a record-breaking three consecutive victories at the polls. There were many in the Party who saw Comrade Peter Phillips as the comrade most able to provide the leadership to maintain the finest traditions of the Party and the vision to find solutions to persistent challenges of national development. In the presidential elections which were held none of the candidates received 50 per cent of the delegate votes, and only 200 votes separated the first two candidates.
Since then, the Party was defeated in the General Elections of 2007 and there has been an overwhelming demand from all sections of the Party for more to be done to unite the Party and to initiate the process of renewal which is urgently needed. Jamaica needs the PNP in Opposition to be a ‘government in waiting’, ready not only to take power from the JLP, but to respond to the challenges which face the country at this time.
Comrades across the length and breadth of Jamaica, and from all walks of life, see Comrade Phillips as the only leader at this time with the vision, capacity and experience to provide the PNP with the leadership required to renew the Party, secure victory at the polls and take Jamaica to the next stage of development. The comrade who answered the call to lead the Party Secretariat in 1991; to provide quality health services for the Jamaican people in 1994; to organize a first-rate transportation system in 1997; to take on the challenge of national security in 2001, is ready to answer the call to lead the Party in 2008.