See part 1 HERE
So we now see the Manatt issue has just boomed right before our eyes in less than three months we have gone from it's not a government matter to the PM on his feet in parliament saying among other things,
"On March 16th, I stated in this House that The government of Jamaica has not engaged any legal firm, any consultant, any entity whatsoever in relation to any extradition matter other than deploying the resources that are available within the Attorney-General’s Department”. That was the position then. It remains the position to this day, save and except for the engagement of Dr. Lloyd Barnett to which I have referred.
The initiative which led to the engagement of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips by Mr. Brady started within the Jamaica Labour Party in September when he was approached to see whether, through his contacts with persons in the American political system, assistance could be obtained in finding a way to resolve what was seen as a treaty dispute between Jamaica and the US. Mr. Brady is a member of the Party and a former Executive-Secretary of the International Democrat Union, an organization of centre-right parties including the US Republican Party founded in 1983, currently headquartered in Oslo, Norway and of which the JLP is an associate member.
I sanctioned the initiative, knowing that such interventions have in the past proven to be of considerable value in dealing with issues involving the governments of both countries. I made it clear, however, that this was an initiative to be undertaken by the Party, not by or on behalf of the government."
He continued that what was wrong was that Manatt misinterpreted their role as that of representing the government instead of the Jamaica Labour Party. Their moral authority (JLP) has been damaged severely and one wonders if they will ever have authority to rule, Professor Trevor Munroe of the National Integrity Action Forum says the authority to rule has to be determined by the public in the end, he continued that the technical distinctions are important i.e. the role of government vs the party actions but where are we in relation to controlling criminal enterprises in as far as governance is concerned?
Read the full Statement by Prime Minister Bruce Golding on the Manatt Affair here
Since part 1 of this post the Casino Gaming Bill has been signed by a deputy Governor General in the absence of the other who was away on business a smart move by the administration they may have learned from the PJ Patterson administration there, you have a bill that needs signing set up the timing properly so it can be signed. The nurses still haven't seen a dime of their money owed, the teachers struck again and the above mentioned revelation in parliament by the administration has the nation numb. Crime continues to plague us with two major entertainers shot in one week and a suspect in one of the shootings found dead. The line is now definitely drawn for the administration and last night May 12th there was a meeting with the JLP executive to discuss the impasse. Probably they thought it would have died down and gone away, no punto finale here Bruce.
Morals and hypocrisy
Let us not forget the grandstanding on not having gays in his cabinet as we now know it was a move to present himself and pontificating as an upright leader, boo hoo Bruce, let us not forget he cleverly infused an invented gay marriage debate during the Charter of Rights and Sexual Offences Bill tabling in the houses of Parliament, that lead to the removal of original clauses of discrimination on sexual orientation from the draft Charter coinciding with a submission to the debate by a group named the Lawyers Christian Fellowship who used the Prime Ministers so called christian principles to push their anti gay agenda. He, Bruce in turn pandered to the gallery so as to gain popularity.
Not to be outdone was the opposition party the PNP who for obviously political reasons and in a rare move agreed with the Prime Minister in the invented gay marriage debate asserting that they cannot agree to gay marriage, a right that no gay groups outrightly asked for. The opposition as we know hardly ever agrees on anything proposed by the ruling side of the house.
Track posts on the Charter of Rights Bill debate HERE
More posts on Charter of Rights Bill from GLBTQJA Here and make up your own minds.
While I cautiously call for his resignation who will stand in his stead the Peoples National Party I am sure though strident in their call for his departure would not want to take this up at this time and they clearly have not presented any viable policies to carry on the country's business. Both parties presently suffer from a lack of visible persons suited for succession to top posts in their ranks. Clearly in as far as Portia Simpson Miller's stead is concerned her charismatic feel has wained and she is not clear to me in her positions of governance and national issues. The National Democratic Movement (NDM) of which the Prime Minister was once it's President and a founding member itself has called for his resignation but they have been quiet for so long that it doesn't seem to matter or of very little import. A representative of the NDM on radio this morning said they had hope in him based on the principles Bruce Golding espoused while there.
With the plethora of voices and organizations calling for The Prime Minister's resignation and all of a sudden everybody now has morality fever where were these voices when other ills faced this country?
When the Armadale fire happened and seven girls perished where was the outcry that is so loud now for blood?
Where was the outcry for rights for ALL citizens despite of race class creed or orientation? yes while I may concur that the PM has slipped up many calling now for his head are mere political john crows (not saying this letter writer is) hovering over nearly dead meat waiting for it to die and begin rotting so they can feast.
Why are some human rights groups are so silent so far on this issue?
The Peoples National Party must not forget their own set of scandals and amongst their midst is one who presently is being tried for alleged embezzlement as we all know the Kern Spencer affair where Cuban light bulb money allegedly cannot be properly accounted for, lest we forget he is on tape and by the looks of it he tried to cipher off some of it by false paperwork in collusion with others. The case now dangles in court with all kinds of legal manoeuvres taking place with judicial review after judicial review and delays, justice delayed is justice denied I tell you.
Let us not forget the taped presentation by former Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies in as far as questionable handling state funds. Bunched into that is the trafigura scandal. Also see Police investigating Davies’ action sale of in Heathrow slots. Google the captioned items to see the rest.
Let us not forget the Operation Pride Scandals read more HERE The Patterson legacy?
Straight hypocrisy no pun intended I tell you that's what happening here amongst the real honest citizenry. They do not have the moral authority or political credibility to speak.
In as far as calling for Bruce Golding's resignation I am on the fence, to ask for his head is one thing but what would be the viable alternative? and to ask for an alternative we as a population cannot just leave it to chance, a wing and a prayer in governance of a country we would have to become exceedingly vigilant.
Peace and tolerance
H
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