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| The late Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke as he entertained friends in the Digicel booth at Denbigh with his good humour. |
The late Roger Clarke was a likeable man and a hardworking
politician. We met him at a few events
sponsored by clients and it was clear why PM Portia Simpson Miller valued him
as a great fundraiser for the PNP. He smiled
and joked himself into the heart of corporate Jamaica – it would have been very
difficult to refuse this jovial man
A great story I heard about him was on Sharon Hay-Webster’s
programme on “Newstalk” last Friday.
Ambassador Derrick Heaven said the late talk show host Motty Perkins had
been criticizing the sugar divestment programme being undertaken by the
Government, and Roger Clarke volunteered to go on air with Motty. The Ambassador said the Minister arrived
with several sets of documents and told Motty he was willing to spend the
entire programme with him to explain the raison d'être of his Government’s plan. Ambassador Heaven
said that Roger Clarke had the special gift of being able to translate
‘legalese’ into layman’s language and by the end of Motty’s programme, he had
won over the talk show host.
It was touching to
see how moved Minister Clarke’s colleagues were at his passing, especially
those in his constituency. Members of
the JLP were also generous in their praise of the late Minister. His sudden
departure has brought into sharp focus the reality of our mortality, and the
value of a life now lost. Let us use
these sad moments to deepen our compassion for our fellow Jamaicans, beyond
superficial political divisions. Rest in peace, Roger Clarke.
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