Former Ministers of Government

Bobby Pickersgill, Former Chairman, PNP

It is said that “A great man is one who leaves others at a loss, after he is gone”.

Our sense of loss is acute as we mourn the passing of a stalwart, a nation builder, a patriot, and a champion of the poor. We feel deeply, the loss of a man who was much more than partisan politics, but who believed in Jamaica and her people, and served both with a passion and dedication that is at least, worthy of emulation, and at best, legendary. Comrade Easton Douglas, epitomized the saying “He loves his country best, who strives to make it best”. He was always of the view that everything must be done to improve the living and working conditions of Jamaicans. He was not only a man of words, he was also a man of action. I was proud to call him Comrade, having served with him for many years in the PNP Officer Corps. He served the Party as a Vice President and was part of the election machinery that took the party to victory for consecutive terms.

The distinct honour was mine to call him colleague as a member of the Cabinet, first in his capacity as Minister of Health and the Public Service, then as Minister of Housing, Land and the Environment under the regimes of the Most Hon. Michael Manley and Most Hon. P.J. Patterson. As the elected Member of Parliament for South East St Andrew from 1989 until his retirement from Parliament in 2002, he served his constituents faithfully and with distinction. Being the man of integrity he was, Easton would have it no other way. It is noteworthy that one of the ways his legacy will live on is through his daughter, Kari who is now a Councillor there.

But for Easton, there was a much higher cause than Party. His devotion to nation building was evident when he served as Permanent Secretary under the Hon. Bruce Golding administration, the other side of the political divide, in the ministries of National Security, Defence and Construction (Housing and Works).

Easton was by profession, a Land Surveyor and Urban Planner whose career was to stand him in good stead as he worked to empower ordinary Jamaicans and enable them to say the words “I own” a piece of the rock. “Operation Pride” which sought to provide low income housing for the poor, was one of his flagship programmes, and was an attempt to deal with the spate of unplanned developments springing up around the country, which he detested. well do I remember his phrase “Spontaneous Settlements”, he did not like the word squatters. When he left the political arena, he continued to ensure that Jamaicans could have access to affordable housing through his service as Chairman of the National Housing Trust (NHT).

For his efforts and achievements, on behalf of Jamaica and her people, he was deservedly awarded the Order of Jamaica Articulate, personable, brilliant, and dapper, passionate about his country, a true son of the soil, I have called Easton a colleague and comrade, but even more than that, he was my friend. Well do I remember our tennis matches together and post lunches on the veranda at Liguanea Club. I also recall the camaraderie that we shared on the campaign trail. Today, I proudly represent the constituency from which he originated, North West St. Catherine. To his family, I know that there are no words that can soften the blow at this time, and indeed it is our natural state to mourn those who are nearest and dearest to us when they depart this earthly plane. The memories, particularly of those we love are forever and a person’s presence is measured by the space their absence creates. For my part having exceeding the biblical allotment by over a decade Easton’s departure should not be one of mourning but rather one of celebration. What I can advise you to do is to cherish his memory, and lean on your faith to get through this difficult time. As Psalm 147 Verse 3 promises, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” May God comfort you and give you strength and may his soul Rest in Peace. Walk good my Comrade and Friend.

G. Anthony Hylton, MP

In life as in death, Comrade Easton W. X. Douglas was a man in charge of his own destiny; he simply lived life his way. To know him was to know a man who epitomises dignity, sagacity, loyalty. Easton’s wisdom derived from his vast experiences, which built a storehouse of knowledge in a wide scope of activities in government, private sector and in life generally. As his Cabinet colleague, I had an opportunity to not only work with him but to observe Easton at his best, standing up for the principles, policies and causes for which he lived and fought for. He was a man of the people and stayed close to the people at all levels of society, but especially the vulnerable and marginalised in our society. He was no ordinary politician!! He came to politics from the professions having been a town planner who reached the apogee of his profession in becoming a Permanent Secretary in the civil service, before turning his tremendous technical ability to politics as a way of directing policy. He was a politician who was not simply involved in politics for politics sake, but saw politics as an instrument to affect the lives of the people. He was able to affect, in a positive way, the lives of the many persons he touched, especially in the housing and squatter settlement areas in which he was able to bring to bear his encyclopaedic knowledge to impact such programmes as the Operation Pride project. In this arena, he was not a man who courted controversy but did not shirk from challenges as they arise, as he was supremely confident in his abilities to defend his actions through principled conduct. I will always remember Easton as a stalwart of the Peoples’ National Party, someone who I was always proud to enter upon the electoral battle field with, knowing that you had a true soldier alongside you to watch your back and to fight the good fight. He was successful at what he did as a member of Parliament because he cared deeply for those he represented and they in turn loved him for loving them. I was proud to have served with him and to have benefited from his store of knowledge as a young member of the PNP. I remember well his acts of kindness and encouragement to me personally, and to the group of the younger members entering the PNP in the early 1990’s.

However, I was most privileged to be the beneficiary of his wise counsel and prodigious knowledge when he agreed to serve on the taskforce on National Development and Planning with NHT, which I have the honour of chairing. The other taskforce members were enlightened in listening to Easton waxing lyrical on his pet subjects of National Physical Planning and Housing. He was still giving of himself and sharing his tremendous knowledge on these subject areas, while still giving to his Party and the people even in ill-health and failing energies. I am pleased and proud that he answered my call to stand shoulder to shoulder with us and to take his final stand. We have accomplished much in the taskforce under his guidance and tremendous display of love of country and Party.

To his daughter Kari, brother Conrad, and to the rest of his family, I send sincere condolences on behalf of my own family and the other members of the taskforce with whom he served. Walk Good Easton!!