Holmwood Past Students Association-South Florida Chapter

PAUL CLEMETSON-

’Mr. Road Safety’

TRANSITIONS

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H e speaks in very measured and quiet tones; hardly above a whisper in fact, but don’t ever make the mistake of misinterpreting this stance for weakness. Paul Clemetson is as formidable a personality one is likely to meet anywhere. Currently, he serves as Director of the Road Safety Unit, a position he has been holding since 1999. But it has not always been ‘peaches and cream’ for this native of Kingston. He speaks of a time during the ‘70’s when according to him, “I had the challenges of working, studying andproblems with my personal finances” “I got some heavy blows”, he lamented.

We run ahead of the story however, let us re-wind to the beginning. Having seen the first light of day in the nation’s capital, Paul later attended Calabar Primary School. His parents subsequently migrated, at which point he went to live with his grandmother in St. Ann. This move saw him attending the Discovery Bay and later, the Holmwood Technical High School in Manchester. The next stop on the academic ladder for him was the Vocational Training and Development Institute (VTDI) where he obtained a Certificate in Pedagogy. A Mechanical Engineering Certificate from CAST (now Utech) followed; that preceded a BSc. Degree in Management Studies from UWI. And with his constant thirst for learning, it should come as no surprise to learn that he is now in the final year of the MBA programme at UWI. If you think that that is all there is to Paul Clemetson, however, you would be very wrong! Another important aspect of his existence involves his spiritual outlook. Says he, ‘My spirituality is very important to me; it has become my mainstay and this has enabled me to me to keep my head above water.’ Currently, he serves as a senior elder at his church – the New Heaven Seventh- Day Adventist Church. As an extension of his spiritual convictions, Paul’s eating habits also reflect his denomination’s stance on diet. To this end, his preferred diet consists of nuts, grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables – in short he’s a vegetarian. Outside of his church family, this tall bespectacled gentleman has three brothers and two sisters while in terms of his own family, there is a wife and two adult children, both of whom were born on October 3, three years apart! Talk about perfect planning! Those same planning skills have served him well in his over twenty-two years in the public service. He embarked on his public service career in 1982 at the then Ministry of Construction and Works. At that time, he started out as a Certifying Officer with the Island Traffic Authority (ITA). During his tenure at the ITA, he rose to the position of Chief Inspector – a feat he copped after only 5 years with the Authority. Perhaps the environment with which Paul is most readily associated however, is that of road safety. He was part of the Unit when it was established in 1994 – then he worked as an Accident Analyst Statistician. After a stint with the Northern Jamaica Development Project (NJDP), he re-joined the Road Safety Unit in 1999, this time as the head honcho. He lists as one of his major achievements in this capacity, the implementation of the Protective Devices Legislation in 1999. With such a colourful tenure in the public service so far, I sought to find out from him how he would sum up those years. As he assumed a reflective posture, he noted that it was “dynamic…it witnessed my upward mobility at a rate I would consider desirable.”

‘Who if anyone would you consider your role model?’ was the next question we posed to this Cancerian. After a reflective moment or two, he stated matter of factly, ‘Dr. Martin Luther King…for his moral turpitude and his

advocacy for racial equality, rights and justice for all human beings’.

Notwithstanding the hectic life led by this devout Seventh-Day Adventist, he still finds time for his hobbies which he lists as reading and being involved in social and community service. It isn’t surprising then to find Paul’s personal philosophy is encapsulated in the maxim, “Do good to all you can for as long as you can.‘ The Golden Rule also finds favour in terms of guidelines which govern his life. Paul’s cool and calm demeanour could almost suggest that he cannot be ruffled - but alas, he does have a pet peeve. Injustice and dishonesty strikes a raw nerve and he will tolerate it in no shape or form. For his fellow Jamaican, he has some sober words of advice, ‘remain focused, set realistic goals…associate with positive persons.’ Words well spoken – obviously he

has taken his own advice!