JAMAICA LABOUR Party (JLP) leader Edward Seaga yesterday announced the appointment of a Century 21 Mission group, made up of young recruits to the party, to track developments in key areas which have the potential to develop or harm the country.

He was speaking at the party's Retreat 2000, at Sam Sharpe Teachers' College, Montego Bay, for members of the central executive, standing committee, shadow cabinet, senators, councillors and constituency care-takers.

Mr. Seaga said the standard portfolio grouping of subjects continued to be in important developmental areas, but new lifelines were emerging which would pull Jamaica rapidly into a new world, for which it must be prepared or lose its ability to progress.

Specific areas

The members of the Century 21 Mission were "all bright young professionals" chosen from among many who had been joining the JLP recently, he said. Each had been assigned the following specific areas:

Dr. David Panton, 28, Ph.D., Rhodes Scholar, investment banker -- globalisation; Dr. Ronald Robinson, 31, Ph.D., university administrator - poverty alleviation; Mr. Vindel Kerr, 30, M.B.A., banking administrator and agricultural consultant -- emerging technologies; Mr. Michael Belnavis, 38, B.B.A., businessman -- the environment; and Mr. Andre Franklyn, 26, BSc., -- corruption.

Mr. Seaga said these were the critical areas which could spur or impede development in the technological age and the JLP wanted to be fully involved in keeping abreast of, and developing, its own initiatives in the global society in terms of, alternate medicine, geo-technology and genetic engineering of plants and animals; anti-corruption systems in public administration; environmental development in alternate energy, afforestation and pollution; and programmes for the alleviation of poverty."

The assignments were not relative to ministerial portfolios and the members were not shadow cabinet members as the subject areas cut across other portfolios.

The JLP leader said that the Century 21 Mission assignments would feed into the overall party mission to overcome poverty, ignorance and injustice.

He outlined in detail to the retreat, the JLP's objectives of combating crippling conditions, economic growth for all, education for all and justice for all.

Full slate

He said the JLP had a full slate of policies and programmes to deal with the conditions, ready and waiting for implementation, including: monetary policy by law, enrolment for every child in early childhood education, compulsory attendance in primary school, equal financing for all secondary schools, extension of graduation to 18 years in secondary schools and enactment of a charter of fundamental rights and freedoms.

Audley Shaw, a deputy leader of the JLP, described the meeting as being "vibrant, really vibrant," despite the impact of a power cut which lasted for some four hours.

On Saturday nearly 40 candidates of the 60 constituencies met with the Standing Committee to examine the party's organisational structure and plan its future course.

Yesterday they were joined by local government representatives and there were 10 workshops organised by Senator Anthony Johnson, which dealt with policies affecting: the political arena, including its organisation and management approach; critical production areas such as industry, agriculture and tourism; areas of education, including early childhood, secondary, technical and vocational; crime and violence; and the party's mission.

Senator Johnson said that most interest was shown in the areas of crime and violence and the party's mission. "This was a retreat to listen to the people and to use their contributions as the basis to build a plan for this year," he said.