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EDITORIAL - Missed opportunities in Trafigura debate
published: Monday | April 2, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody rDszF="true">
A fortnight ago, Prime Minister Simpson Miller faced a grilling in Parliament from the Opposition benches, including their leader, Bruce Golding, on whether her party, the People's National Party, had returned the equivalent of J$31 million it had received from the Dutch commodity trader, Trafigura Beheer.
Mrs. Simpson Miller, from a political standpoint, dealt with questions with reasonable aplomb, suggesting that after a year in the job she is not only growing comfortable in the role as PM, but gaining a mastery of the cut-and-thrust of parliamentary debate. But that, essentially, was all the debate proved. There was, unfortunately, little substance from either side; and for that we are disappointed.
The point is that for us, Trafigura was and remains more than the political point-scoring issue, to which it has been reduced. It raises fundamental questions about how we conduct our politics and how, and by whom, the process is financed. Trafigura also poses questions of integrity and accountability in public life. These matters are being skirted.
Trafigura, it is recalled, has the contract to trade crudeoil supplied by Nigeria to Jamaica on a concessionary basis. Last year the company ostensibly made a contribution to the PNP to fund its annual conference, but passed the money through an account controlled by the party's former general secretary and his associates. Apparently, that is the way Jamaican political parties do business; they use anonymous accounts and roundabout methods of payments to hide contributors. This appeared to be good for Trafigura too, which could have been in breach of European regulations with regard to political contributions.
Unfortunately for the PNP and Colin Campbell, this time there was someone who seemed to have a vested interest in leaking this information to the Opposition. Having been caught out, Trafigura announced that the payment was for services provided, but at the same time suggested that it knew of the political connections of the persons behind the account to which the money was sent. Having initially blustered, Mr. Campbell resigned his party and ministerial posts, but clings to his seat in the Senate.
The Trafigura affair brought into the open just how little Jamaicans, in the normal course of events, know about the source of funding of the country's political parties; and this lack of transparency means an inability to determine why someone may be pumping huge wadsof cash into a campaign. Indeed, the former leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Edward Seaga, at one time raised concerns about so-called 'dirty money' financing an internal campaign he retreated from the allegation.
Peter Phillips, the Security Minister, has publicly expressed his fears about the investment of drug money in the political process and the possibility of narco-bosses buying their way into the legislature and organs of power.
All this points to the need for party and campaign finance reform, which, unfortunately is not been attended with the urgency we believe it deserves, especially from the Opposition. Abe Dabdoub has a perfectly good bill wilting in the legislature, while it awaits the proposals of the Electoral Commission. But this is a matter that demands more than the input of the EC; many more stakeholders must have their say.
The bottom line is that the Trafigura affair provided an opportunity for much more than scoring political points. <HR>[B][I]The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be publ
published: Monday | April 2, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody rDszF="true">
A fortnight ago, Prime Minister Simpson Miller faced a grilling in Parliament from the Opposition benches, including their leader, Bruce Golding, on whether her party, the People's National Party, had returned the equivalent of J$31 million it had received from the Dutch commodity trader, Trafigura Beheer.
Mrs. Simpson Miller, from a political standpoint, dealt with questions with reasonable aplomb, suggesting that after a year in the job she is not only growing comfortable in the role as PM, but gaining a mastery of the cut-and-thrust of parliamentary debate. But that, essentially, was all the debate proved. There was, unfortunately, little substance from either side; and for that we are disappointed.
The point is that for us, Trafigura was and remains more than the political point-scoring issue, to which it has been reduced. It raises fundamental questions about how we conduct our politics and how, and by whom, the process is financed. Trafigura also poses questions of integrity and accountability in public life. These matters are being skirted.
Trafigura, it is recalled, has the contract to trade crudeoil supplied by Nigeria to Jamaica on a concessionary basis. Last year the company ostensibly made a contribution to the PNP to fund its annual conference, but passed the money through an account controlled by the party's former general secretary and his associates. Apparently, that is the way Jamaican political parties do business; they use anonymous accounts and roundabout methods of payments to hide contributors. This appeared to be good for Trafigura too, which could have been in breach of European regulations with regard to political contributions.
Unfortunately for the PNP and Colin Campbell, this time there was someone who seemed to have a vested interest in leaking this information to the Opposition. Having been caught out, Trafigura announced that the payment was for services provided, but at the same time suggested that it knew of the political connections of the persons behind the account to which the money was sent. Having initially blustered, Mr. Campbell resigned his party and ministerial posts, but clings to his seat in the Senate.
The Trafigura affair brought into the open just how little Jamaicans, in the normal course of events, know about the source of funding of the country's political parties; and this lack of transparency means an inability to determine why someone may be pumping huge wadsof cash into a campaign. Indeed, the former leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Edward Seaga, at one time raised concerns about so-called 'dirty money' financing an internal campaign he retreated from the allegation.
Peter Phillips, the Security Minister, has publicly expressed his fears about the investment of drug money in the political process and the possibility of narco-bosses buying their way into the legislature and organs of power.
All this points to the need for party and campaign finance reform, which, unfortunately is not been attended with the urgency we believe it deserves, especially from the Opposition. Abe Dabdoub has a perfectly good bill wilting in the legislature, while it awaits the proposals of the Electoral Commission. But this is a matter that demands more than the input of the EC; many more stakeholders must have their say.
The bottom line is that the Trafigura affair provided an opportunity for much more than scoring political points. <HR>[B][I]The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be publ
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