Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

[Lazie]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Trafigura matter is still 'song and dance'</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline>Heart to heart</SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Betty Ann Blaine
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>Dear Reader,
If the Trafigura Beheer matter was not so serious, aspects of it could easily be taken as comic relief. The Observer's March 21 report of the prime minister's responses to questions posed to her by the Opposition leader Bruce Golding in Parliament can either be treated as humour, or seen as one friend puts it, as a case of "arrogant avoidance".<P class=StoryText align=justify>It certainly was a case of conflicting statements. In one of her responses, the Observer reported the prime minister as saying, "Trafigura Beheer made a contribution to the People's National Party in September 2006. The contribution was paid into an account in the name of CCOC Association and was facilitated by a document signed by the donors and a representative of CCOC Association.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The document was described as a service agreement, the subject of which was ostensibly a consulting agreement, whereby CCOC undertook to do a study of the bauxite industry."<P class=StoryText align=justify>However, in another question posed to her the Observer reports that the prime minister said that "she was advised by Senator Colin Campbell that he did not sign any documentation relative to Trafigura Beheer". Asked by the Opposition Leader whether she sought to obtain a copy of the agreement between CCOC and Trafigura, Simpson Miller said her advice was that no such documentation was available. "I did ask. I was not able to attain it," she added.<P class=StoryText align=justify>For many Jamaicans with whom I talk , the question is still hanging, does the prime minister have a document or doesn't she? In one instance, she speaks about the "document", but in another, she simply says that there is "no such documentation".
One just has to itemise the following statements reported in the Observer that were made by the prime minister to see that this is either "high comedy" or the "arrogance of avoidance":<P class=StoryText align=justify>1) "Simpson Miller refused to offer any further details" (when asked whether she had documentary proof to show that the money was returned to the Dutch firm).
2) "No such documentation was available" (when asked whether she sought to obtain a copy of the agreement).<P class=StoryText align=justify>3) "The prime minister said she was not able to" (when asked to ascertain the precise nature of the study).
4) "I had no basis on which to proceed any further" (when asked if she sought further proof that Colin Campbell was telling the truth).
5) "That was within his own guilt" (when asked if it was appropriate for Mr Campbell to remain in the Senate).<P class=StoryText align=justify>I'm not sure if the prime minister is aware that Jamaicans are completely dissatisfied with the way she has dealt with this very serious matter of Trafigura. The countless number of emails I receive daily regarding the issue is proof of what people are saying. One citizen wrote, "After I read the Observer today which carried the PM's response to the questions posed to her in the House about Trafigura's "gift" to her minister/constituency/party, I swallowed hard and shed a tear for both my country and its leader who is leading/following from the rear."<P class=StoryText align=justify>Another citizen wrote, "You can easily tell that the Trafigura matter is murky and disturbing when so many versions emanate from the various members of the government. We are now hearing from the prime minister that the Trafigura money was sent back through the banking system, while a few days ago Minister Buchanan swore by all things sacred that the money went back via an emissary.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Although we all found the emissary story pretty du

[Briggie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

I wonder when Portia wins the next election ( not necessarily a cause for celebration)what Bruce is going to be talking about. However, if I was in the PNP my advise would be if the money was paid back provide the proof because Trafigura's confirmation has to be taken with a grain of salt due to the lack of credibility of the parties. The PNP has handled this matter poorly because without this Bruce and the JLP would not have anything to talk about and would reveal how bereft they areof any ideas to move the country forward.

[Lazie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

It appears you have some hangups wid Bruce. The article was not written by Burce, suh figetBruce bredren. Yuh gov't is caught taking a bribe or teifing taxpayers' monies and you only have strength fi Bruce? As a former ite once asked, "Opposition, who listens to them?" It appears you are one of them too. For you to claim that Bruce have no ideas simply prove that you're ignoring when Bruce talk except when him talk bout Trafiguria.

However, if I was in the PNP my advise would be if the money was paid back provide the proof because Trafigura's confirmation has to be taken with a grain of salt due to the lack of credibility of the parties.

... and that solve the problem? Why when a police is caught tekking a bribe he / she isn't given the option of returning the money?

"I live among the creatures of the nite
Vampire, Hypocrites and Parasites"

[Briggie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

My hangup with Bruce and the JLP is that after eighteen years in the wilderness this is what they have to offer the Jamaican people. Ever since Trafigura was exposed this has been the sole issue that they have pursued. At the end of the day the people will want more than the expose of Trafigura they will want to know how a JLP government will imporove their life. The JLP has been unable to succeed at conveyingthis for the past eighteen years and are running the same risk again. I would like to see the Jamaican people be presented with a viable alternative if they had one the PNP would not have been the government for the past eighteen years. Time will bear out this argument but if the JLP does not produce something for the people to hold onto then you may see them in the widerness for another term. Trafigura is not it they NEED to get something else.

[Lazie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

Again, if yuh not listening how yuh gonna hear? Yuh remind of another staunch comrade that love to use that Houdini line bout "Viable Alternative." Viable Alternative to WHAT? Don't attempt to blame the JLP for this, blame yuhself and all other unthinking voter that kept this inept gov't in power. The JLP's record of the 80s was there and we removed them. The next 3 elections they put forward their proposal, but the white man Seaga was rejected for "Black MAn Time" and "Logon to Progress"

Viable Alternative? Yuh joking Briggie? This gov't has made us the second poorest in the Caribbean, yet unthinking people talk bout progress, woman time and viable alternative. According to the 2006 UN HDI;

Bahamas - U$17,843
Barbados - U$15,720
St. Kitts - U$12,702 (They were way behind us at one point)
T&amp;T - U$12,182
Guyana - U$4,439
Jamaica - U$4,163.

Wait ... Singapore that used our economic model has a benchmark .. U$28,077.

Only in Jamaica this inept gov't could be in power so long. <UL><LI>The oppositon warned about the Cement Company's monopoly .... they were mocked</LI><LI>They keep asking for a referendum regarding the CCJ, they are ignored, and court jester like Jawge claim dem nuh want the people fi decide. Clown.</LI><LI>The opposition warned about this LNG deal with T&amp;T ... again they were ignored.</LI><LI>They asked for the PetroCaribe Funds to be spent via Parliamentary approval and the former PM tell dem "NO!!! When we spend it, we tell yuh how it is spent!" Guh read the comical document called the Jamaican Constitution and tell me who was right?</LI><LI>Who tabled 2 billed almost 2 years now fi address Corruption? I guess yuh nuh know.</LI>[/list]

Again, if yuh choose to ignore the opposition, how yuh gonna hear when dem talk?

[Muadib]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

Do you really believe winning elections in Jamaica is about conveying a strategy to move the country forward ???

Before we continue to dance, please answer this question.

[Briggie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

I think to win a election in Jamaica the Jamaican people have to be given something to believe in, something to grasp on. This can be achieved sometimes based upon superficial promises and messages but if you are unable to convey something that resonates with the populous then you have a problem. Sure you have people who vote because they got a little last minute money but that doesn't win elections on a national scale.

Lazie, firstly you cite some statistics knowing full and well that doesn't reveal the full story because in Jamaica we have a large non-compliance rate with taxes therefore making the statistics incomplete as it does not capture the full picture. The government has spoke of trying to address this issue but it is still outstanding. The government's performance has been anemic on many fronts but the JLP's performance has been atrocious which is why they have taken up residence as the opposition for 18 years. Which for the record is not something I celebrate because a strong democracy requires a strong opposition. Seage hijacked the JLP and everybody in the party was cowering in a corner, hence the reason why the PNP has had the electoral success they have had. I under no illusion about the PNP's performance but I definetly not deluded by the JLP. In the eighties, the so-called glory days, when the only election the JLP won was the farce election in 1983 (if my memory serves me correctly) the JLP was able to borrow an unprecedented amount of the money. What is the legacy of that money. What industries were built, which new schools and hospitals were built? How was the infrastructure improved. I do not have any personal recollection and Lazie I know you is a man with alot of statistics so I welcome the information, as when I have discussions with friends who favor the labor party this information is always unavailable. Did the opposition warn about the impact of highway 2000, did they warn about the unprecedented investment in tourism, did they warn about the transformation of secondary schools into high schools, which though still not up to par, the students now have the opportunity to improve themselves in a way that the typical secondary school education did not allow. The cement factory was a loss maker until it changed hands and and significant investment was made to improve the plant. It is not unprecedented that the newcomers would require an assurance that their investment be protected. The fallout as to the quality of the cement i guess is the PNP's fault. I haven't seen where all decisions affecting Jamaican's require a referendum, but I haven't looked at the constitution. However, I don't understand the JLP's opposition other than their affinity to the colonial master and his ways. Jamaica could have never spoken up against the Iraq war if the JLP was in power as they would be too concerned with what massa bush thinks. This is not what Jamaicans are reknowned for and it's one of the reasons that the JLP has failed to resonate with the masses in the past two decades. Once again I would like to see a strong JLP but I'm still patiently awaiting. I do not subscribe to the philosophy once espoused by your savior Edward seage that people in Jamaica get some rum to drink and in essence lose their sense when making electoral choices.

[Muadib]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

The Opposition comprehensively won local govt elections and the 2002 General Elections were probably the closest in the history of the Country..

How much stronger do you want the opposition to be ?

The PNP has had 17 years to build the Nation.. they have failed miserably by regional standards.

The JLP is currently as strong as any opposition has been in our history... time for the change.

PNP got a golden opportunity and blew it. Quite pathetic.

[Lazie]

RE: Song and Dance. Portia can surely tango.

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">PEOPLE LOVE ASK FI STATS, what difference does it make?<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">Briggie, never let it be said you ask Lazie for stats and yuh nuh get it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Revealing stats to loyalists is meaningless as all they do is make up flimsy excuses like “<SPAN style="COLOR: black">that doesn't reveal the full story.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>After this lesson, you may put forward as much excuses as possible, but facts are facts.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o></SPAN><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">
<B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">Debt<o></o>[/B]</SPAN><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">I have never denied that our debt \ GDP was at its highest under the JLP gov’t of the 80s and I haven’t heard anyone from within the JLP deny it.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The fact is drastic times called for drastic measures.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In 1972 we gave likkle boy big man job and him simply fu … no mess up (I’d prefer to use a 4 letter word that starts with ‘f’ as it paints a better picture .. but out of respect .) the economy.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o></o></SPAN>

1. <LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">His own comrade Arnold Bertram wrote in the Sunday Gleaner, “we are yet to experience the levels of growth since 1972.”<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Who dropped the ball?</SPAN></LI><LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">According to Ralston Hyman of Real Business, our GDP depreciated by 25% in the 1970s.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Again, who was in charge?</SPAN></LI><LI class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in"><SPAN style="COLOR: black">According to the US Congress Library, “</SPAN><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN style="COLOR: red">Between 1973 and 1980, the island experienced seven consecutive years of negative growth</SPAN>[/B]. The economic downturn in the 1970s demonstrated the highly mobile nature of both labor and capital in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comffice:smarttags" /><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1lace w:st="on">Jamaica</st1lace></st1:country-region>, as skilled labor and investment capital left the island. The democratic socialist government of Michael Manley from 1972 to 1980 was popularly blamed for the poor performance during the 1970s (see Political Dynamics, this ch.).”</LI>

<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o></o><P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt">It took the JLP under Seaga’s leadership 6 years to turn around the disaster, yet you talk about the farce election of 1983?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Yuh should be glad as unthinking people would give back Manley the reigns?<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>So to use the comrade get out of jail card bout highest debt is flimsy, as by 1987 the economy