December 22, 2017 – Mckoy’s News (Jamaican News)
St Catherine, Jamaica – Former JLP MP Enid Bennett is Dead: Longstanding member of the Jamaica Labour Party and former Member of Parliament for St Catherine West Central from 1967 to 1997, Enid Bennett died on Thursday (December 21, 2017) night.
Miss Bennett, who served as a minister in the administration of former Prime Minister Edward Seaga in the 1980’s, was also one of the early female MPs in Independent Jamaica who encouraged other women to enter the political arena.
In her final speech in Parliament just ahead of the 1997 election, which she would not contest, Miss Bennett said “We have capable women, women with ability, but for some reason, they will not come forward because they seem to be afraid of the political system. I hope that the little that I have done in this Parliament will give inspiration to other women to take up the challenge and become Members of Parliament”.
She also gave a stern warning against allowing persons “who are not deserving of the position,” to enter Parliament, because “in the long run the country will suffer.” Political representation required “honest people, people with integrity,” she declared that day.