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Pressure builds on PM
Friday, May 14, 2010
A powerful group of private sector and union bodies charged with charting solutions to the country's social and economical problems yesterday suspended its agenda in light of Prime Minister Bruce Golding's admission on Tuesday that he had sanctioned the hiring of US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby Washington for a favourable outcome in the contentious Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition saga.
The Partnership for Transformation (PFT), which meets monthly, said in a release yesterday that the suspension was necessary to afford its members time to discuss with their constituents the prime minister's revelation with a view to developing their respective positions on the matter before the next scheduled meeting in June.
GOLDING… coming under more pressure to resign
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"In light of the recent developments surrounding the extradition and Manatt affairs, the organisations this morning asked for a suspension of today's PFT meeting agenda in order to canvas their members to decide on the way forward," the release said.
"The decision was made in the context of concerns regarding fundamental issues of governance, the spiralling crime situation and the links between organised crime and the political directorates of both parties, which lie at the heart of the current controversies surrounding the extradition matter, the Manatt affair and their broader implications," the release said.
The organisations representing the private sector in the PFT are the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Alliance, the Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA) and the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA). The unions are represented by the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).
Disrupted by yesterday's agenda suspension were discussions on fundamental issues of trust among the PFT partners and a code of conduct for leaders in Government, civil society and other institutions.
In the face of repeated calls for the Government to reveal the facts in the Manatt affair, Golding finally told Parliament that he had sanctioned the hiring of the law firm. He, however, said the decision was made in his capacity as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party and not as prime minister.
Golding's confession has been juxtaposed with his vehement denial in Parliament on March 16 when Opposition MP Dr Peter Phillips first questioned whether the Government had retained the law firm to lobby Washington on treaty issues.
The fallout from the admission was swift, with the Opposition People's National Party and members of the wider public calling for Golding's resignation.
The current saga was triggered by the United States' request last August for the extradition of Coke, the reputed Tivoli Gardens don who is wanted in the US on drug- and gun-running charges.
Relations between Washington and Kingston have been strained by the Golding administration's refusal to act on the extradition request. The administration is contending that the US has presented illegally obtained wire-tap evidence against Coke.
Yesterday, PSOJ President Joseph Matalon told the Observer that in the face of all that has happened the PFT members felt that it could not be business as usual.
"The fact is that with all of this development and the issue of the brutality of major crimes and the fact that both independent researchers and members of the respective political parties have in the past acknowledged the links between the political parties and some of these organised crime elements within the society, those are really the underlining issues to be dealt with and the feeling of the membership was that it can't be business as usual," said Matalon.
"We are hopeful that the partnership mechanism can be helpful in resolving some of the issues that we are faced with and in particular some of these underlining issues," he added.
Danny Roberts, vice-president of the JCTU, agreed.
"The Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions supports that position," he told the Observer. "We are of the view that it was critical to have a suspension of the PFT talks."
Unions, he said, will be meeting Monday to discuss the implication that Golding's admission has on the issue of governance, the rule of law, issues of criminality and the link between politics and crime. "Those are the kinds of central issues around which we want to conduct our discussions -- things that impact upon the Jamaican society," said Roberts.
"There is a growing issue of trust and credibility and the question of openness and transparency. We are not here to judge that, but we cannot ignore that perception," he added. "Therefore, our concern would be what is it that needs to be done to restore and create a sense of trust. It is much more than talking; it speaks to the question of the kind of action we need to take to sever some of the links with garrison politics.
President of the JEA Vitus Evans, speaking with the Observer after the meeting, said a position would not be forthcoming before next week as the groups will be speaking as one on the issue.
The PFT has a number of subsidiary working teams charged with looking at fiscal and monetary performance, tax policy and administrative reform, job creation and employment strategies, rule of law, and education.
Friday, May 14, 2010
A powerful group of private sector and union bodies charged with charting solutions to the country's social and economical problems yesterday suspended its agenda in light of Prime Minister Bruce Golding's admission on Tuesday that he had sanctioned the hiring of US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips to lobby Washington for a favourable outcome in the contentious Christopher 'Dudus' Coke extradition saga.
The Partnership for Transformation (PFT), which meets monthly, said in a release yesterday that the suspension was necessary to afford its members time to discuss with their constituents the prime minister's revelation with a view to developing their respective positions on the matter before the next scheduled meeting in June.
GOLDING… coming under more pressure to resign 1/1 "In light of the recent developments surrounding the extradition and Manatt affairs, the organisations this morning asked for a suspension of today's PFT meeting agenda in order to canvas their members to decide on the way forward," the release said.
"The decision was made in the context of concerns regarding fundamental issues of governance, the spiralling crime situation and the links between organised crime and the political directorates of both parties, which lie at the heart of the current controversies surrounding the extradition matter, the Manatt affair and their broader implications," the release said.
The organisations representing the private sector in the PFT are the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC), the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Alliance, the Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA) and the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA). The unions are represented by the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU).
Disrupted by yesterday's agenda suspension were discussions on fundamental issues of trust among the PFT partners and a code of conduct for leaders in Government, civil society and other institutions.
In the face of repeated calls for the Government to reveal the facts in the Manatt affair, Golding finally told Parliament that he had sanctioned the hiring of the law firm. He, however, said the decision was made in his capacity as leader of the Jamaica Labour Party and not as prime minister.
Golding's confession has been juxtaposed with his vehement denial in Parliament on March 16 when Opposition MP Dr Peter Phillips first questioned whether the Government had retained the law firm to lobby Washington on treaty issues.
The fallout from the admission was swift, with the Opposition People's National Party and members of the wider public calling for Golding's resignation.
The current saga was triggered by the United States' request last August for the extradition of Coke, the reputed Tivoli Gardens don who is wanted in the US on drug- and gun-running charges.
Relations between Washington and Kingston have been strained by the Golding administration's refusal to act on the extradition request. The administration is contending that the US has presented illegally obtained wire-tap evidence against Coke.
Yesterday, PSOJ President Joseph Matalon told the Observer that in the face of all that has happened the PFT members felt that it could not be business as usual.
"The fact is that with all of this development and the issue of the brutality of major crimes and the fact that both independent researchers and members of the respective political parties have in the past acknowledged the links between the political parties and some of these organised crime elements within the society, those are really the underlining issues to be dealt with and the feeling of the membership was that it can't be business as usual," said Matalon.
"We are hopeful that the partnership mechanism can be helpful in resolving some of the issues that we are faced with and in particular some of these underlining issues," he added.
Danny Roberts, vice-president of the JCTU, agreed.
"The Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions supports that position," he told the Observer. "We are of the view that it was critical to have a suspension of the PFT talks."
Unions, he said, will be meeting Monday to discuss the implication that Golding's admission has on the issue of governance, the rule of law, issues of criminality and the link between politics and crime. "Those are the kinds of central issues around which we want to conduct our discussions -- things that impact upon the Jamaican society," said Roberts.
"There is a growing issue of trust and credibility and the question of openness and transparency. We are not here to judge that, but we cannot ignore that perception," he added. "Therefore, our concern would be what is it that needs to be done to restore and create a sense of trust. It is much more than talking; it speaks to the question of the kind of action we need to take to sever some of the links with garrison politics.
President of the JEA Vitus Evans, speaking with the Observer after the meeting, said a position would not be forthcoming before next week as the groups will be speaking as one on the issue.
The PFT has a number of subsidiary working teams charged with looking at fiscal and monetary performance, tax policy and administrative reform, job creation and employment strategies, rule of law, and education.
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