Dear Editor,
The allegations that members of the People’s National Party (PNP) received funds that were to be placed in the coffers of the party for use in political campaign and converted these funds to their own use is not a private matter to be kept secret within the party.
While it is true that the PNP is somewhat a private organisation with members entitled to have matters of a confidential nature kept out of the public domain, acts of fraud and theft within the party are of fundamental interest to the public for the simple reason that the PNP is a party that has provided the Government for this country and is seeking to again provide the Government for the country.
Of greater significance is the grave possibility that, if funds were misappropriated, the act could have been, as is being alleged, committed by either sitting Members of Parliament or aspiring Members of Parliament. The people of Jamaica need to be assured that those offering themselves to be political representatives are individuals of honour, probity, honesty, and trust.
This being the case, the PNP needs to act with dispatch in investigating the allegation of misappropriation of campaign contributions. The party should expose those who are involved, if anyone is involved, and should forthwith sever all links from such people as part of a process of rebuilding confidence and trust in the party. Any effort to cover up or to sweep these allegations under the carpet should be seen as an indication that the PNP is prepared to tolerate people in its ranks who are not trustworthy and who are unsuitable to sit in the Parliament of Jamaica.
The sums of money that are being bandied about as “stolen” are not small, and therefore it should not be difficult to trace them from source to where they went. This is so, especially for the funds that are said to be US currency.
The PNP is a well-recognised and well-established institution in Jamaica. It has membership from a wide cross section of Jamaicans. Those in the party who believe in honour, trust and probity should step forward and insist that there be no cover up where this matter is concerned. If members of the party indulged in wilful blindness they should also shoulder the blame for what will most likely be a period of decline of the PNP as its credibility is shattered by allegations of corruption and cover-up.
Above all, it is in the interest of Jamaica that the PNP remains as a credible and viable alternative to the JLP. This is in the interest of our democratic tradition. The PNP is needed to form a responsible and functional Opposition in our Parliament.
We therefore should all demand that the leadership of the PNP, beginning with Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller, be open and frank to the people of Jamaica, both as to what occurred where fraud and theft are alleged, and secondly all the disciplinary steps that are taken to sever the recalcitrants from the PNP.
Linton P Gordon
Ocho Rios, St Ann
lpgordon@cwjamaica.com
The allegations that members of the People’s National Party (PNP) received funds that were to be placed in the coffers of the party for use in political campaign and converted these funds to their own use is not a private matter to be kept secret within the party.
While it is true that the PNP is somewhat a private organisation with members entitled to have matters of a confidential nature kept out of the public domain, acts of fraud and theft within the party are of fundamental interest to the public for the simple reason that the PNP is a party that has provided the Government for this country and is seeking to again provide the Government for the country.
Of greater significance is the grave possibility that, if funds were misappropriated, the act could have been, as is being alleged, committed by either sitting Members of Parliament or aspiring Members of Parliament. The people of Jamaica need to be assured that those offering themselves to be political representatives are individuals of honour, probity, honesty, and trust.
This being the case, the PNP needs to act with dispatch in investigating the allegation of misappropriation of campaign contributions. The party should expose those who are involved, if anyone is involved, and should forthwith sever all links from such people as part of a process of rebuilding confidence and trust in the party. Any effort to cover up or to sweep these allegations under the carpet should be seen as an indication that the PNP is prepared to tolerate people in its ranks who are not trustworthy and who are unsuitable to sit in the Parliament of Jamaica.
The sums of money that are being bandied about as “stolen” are not small, and therefore it should not be difficult to trace them from source to where they went. This is so, especially for the funds that are said to be US currency.
The PNP is a well-recognised and well-established institution in Jamaica. It has membership from a wide cross section of Jamaicans. Those in the party who believe in honour, trust and probity should step forward and insist that there be no cover up where this matter is concerned. If members of the party indulged in wilful blindness they should also shoulder the blame for what will most likely be a period of decline of the PNP as its credibility is shattered by allegations of corruption and cover-up.
Above all, it is in the interest of Jamaica that the PNP remains as a credible and viable alternative to the JLP. This is in the interest of our democratic tradition. The PNP is needed to form a responsible and functional Opposition in our Parliament.
We therefore should all demand that the leadership of the PNP, beginning with Portia Lucretia Simpson Miller, be open and frank to the people of Jamaica, both as to what occurred where fraud and theft are alleged, and secondly all the disciplinary steps that are taken to sever the recalcitrants from the PNP.
Linton P Gordon
Ocho Rios, St Ann
lpgordon@cwjamaica.com