Bruce Golding
His Cabinet years
Following the 1980 elections Golding was reappointed to the Senate and at 32 years appointed Minister of Construction in the new JLP government. During his tenure:
Construction sector, which had declined by 68% under the PNP administration of the 1970s, grew by 43%. 25,000 new housing units were built.
Promulgation of a National Shelter Sector Strategy which was acclaimed by the United Nations Commission on Human Settlements and used as a model in several developing countries.
Reform of Rent Restriction laws to encourage new construction while providing protection for tenants.
Major programme of road improvement and maintenance to restore dilapidated road network including the establishment of the IDB-funded Rural Road Improvement Programme (RRIP) and the HUB Programme to upgrade township roads.
Enactment of legislation to provide professional registration for architects and engineers.
In the 1983 elections Golding returned to representational politics when he was elected Member of Parliament for what was then South Central St. Catherine (later reconfigured as Central St. Catherine). He was subsequently re-elected in 1989 and 1993 increasing his majority on each occasion. He acted as Prime Minister on a number of occasions when the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister were away from the island. In 1984 Golding was elected Chairman of the JLP succeeding the late Dr. Ronald Irvine.
Following the JLP defeat in 1989 he was named Shadow Minister of Finance and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee. His leadership of the investigations into the furniture scandal, distribution of zinc to hurricane victims and irregularities in the sale of government lands made a strong impression on the public.
