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Cables Cite Golding's Worry Over Corrupt Party Members
Published: Thursday | May 26, 20110 Comments
Golding
Documents obtained through WikiLeaks have revealed a United States Embassy claim that Bruce Golding had accepted that there were questionable persons linked to his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), long before he became prime minister.
The then opposition leader had requested help from the Americans to identify the corrupt persons in his ranks.
"Golding has told us privately that he wants to isolate and remove tainted individuals from involvement in the JLP. However, to do so, he needs more than just rumours. He has approached the embassy in the past for information on suspect individuals," a September 2007 diplomatic cable stated.
"How the USG (United States Government) would be able to assist Golding with evidence of wrongdoing on the part of party members and/or supporters bears consideration," the cable added.
According to the confidential cable, sent from the embassy in Kingston to Washington and dated September 25, 2007, "Golding's own party leadership and the JLP's political supporters are not without their own bad apples."
The cable named a reputed key Golding ally, and alleged that he was "involved in unspecified criminal activity, according to the local UK (United Kingdom) High Commission".
It also alleged that suspected drug dealer Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was a financial backer of the JLP.
political will
The cable stated that Golding understood that the fight against corruption "is not necessarily resources; it is political will".
Meanwhile, it was argued in the cable that the new JLP administration might target members of the People's National Party in its probe of corrupt activities. "After 18 years in power, the outgoing senior PNP government officials are likely targets of any corruption investigations. Golding thus can expect little cooperation from PNP opposition members, while his ruling JLP enjoys only a narrow parliamentary majority," the cable stated.
The embassy officials noted Golding's proposal to establish a special prosecutor to target corrupt officials but argued that this faced several hurdles.
"According to a recent report by the Jamaican Justice System Reform Project, even if the special prosecutor's office is established, it would have difficulty moving cases through the Jamaican judicial system: a broken institution with clogged dockets, inadequate infrastructure, overburdened and underperforming judges and an inability to seat juries and protect witnesses," the cable said.
It added: "Whether Golding will be able to muster sufficient parliamentary support to pass the necessary legislation to accomplish his anti-corruption goals remains unclear."
The cable argued that without outside financial assistance, the Golding administration was unlikely to have the financial resources necessary to provide budgets for the anti-corruption organisations to employ quality vetted investigative staff.
Published: Thursday | May 26, 20110 Comments
Golding
Documents obtained through WikiLeaks have revealed a United States Embassy claim that Bruce Golding had accepted that there were questionable persons linked to his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), long before he became prime minister.
The then opposition leader had requested help from the Americans to identify the corrupt persons in his ranks.
"Golding has told us privately that he wants to isolate and remove tainted individuals from involvement in the JLP. However, to do so, he needs more than just rumours. He has approached the embassy in the past for information on suspect individuals," a September 2007 diplomatic cable stated.
"How the USG (United States Government) would be able to assist Golding with evidence of wrongdoing on the part of party members and/or supporters bears consideration," the cable added.
According to the confidential cable, sent from the embassy in Kingston to Washington and dated September 25, 2007, "Golding's own party leadership and the JLP's political supporters are not without their own bad apples."
The cable named a reputed key Golding ally, and alleged that he was "involved in unspecified criminal activity, according to the local UK (United Kingdom) High Commission".
It also alleged that suspected drug dealer Christopher 'Dudus' Coke was a financial backer of the JLP.
political will
The cable stated that Golding understood that the fight against corruption "is not necessarily resources; it is political will".
Meanwhile, it was argued in the cable that the new JLP administration might target members of the People's National Party in its probe of corrupt activities. "After 18 years in power, the outgoing senior PNP government officials are likely targets of any corruption investigations. Golding thus can expect little cooperation from PNP opposition members, while his ruling JLP enjoys only a narrow parliamentary majority," the cable stated.
The embassy officials noted Golding's proposal to establish a special prosecutor to target corrupt officials but argued that this faced several hurdles.
"According to a recent report by the Jamaican Justice System Reform Project, even if the special prosecutor's office is established, it would have difficulty moving cases through the Jamaican judicial system: a broken institution with clogged dockets, inadequate infrastructure, overburdened and underperforming judges and an inability to seat juries and protect witnesses," the cable said.
It added: "Whether Golding will be able to muster sufficient parliamentary support to pass the necessary legislation to accomplish his anti-corruption goals remains unclear."
The cable argued that without outside financial assistance, the Golding administration was unlikely to have the financial resources necessary to provide budgets for the anti-corruption organisations to employ quality vetted investigative staff.
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