Garth Rattray
To be perfectly frank, I was hoping for far more excitement and revelations than transpired in Parliament last week Tuesday. It was obvious that the no-confidence motion put forward by Opposition Leader Bruce Golding was doomed to fail but he still made it into a 'Golding' opportunity. He used Parliament as a platform for his upcoming election bid. I was very disappointed in the rehearsed denials, muddying of the waters, waffling, ramblings and tangential arguments presented by the current administration.
What troubles me most about this Trafigura Beheer issue is the way that the intelligence of the Jamaican people has been insulted. Are we to believe that Mr. Colin Campbell acted alone? Are we to believe that one man was given a free hand to raise $31 million for campaign financing and that no one else knew the details of how that much money was come by? What if it were drug money? Certainly there must have been someone else overseeing such transactions to ensure that dirty mony was not used.
Questionable practices
It is my belief that the reason that this event is going to eventually die a quiet death and that there will be no other casualties (save Colin Campbell), is because deep inside, we Jamaicans feel that both major political parties engage in questionable election practices from time to time. Many people genuinely feel that it's six of one and half dozen of the other. As in the case of United States President Richard M. Nixon and the Watergate scandal, his 'sin' was getting caught.
The Government should set the example for the rest of us. Certain very basic principles were violated in the Trafigura affair. Even in my job there have been times when patients have offered me money outside the office fee for 'being nice to them.' Needless to say, I have always refused such 'gifts' for many reasons, not the least among them is that it would make me feel beholden to them. I would feel as if they bought me. The very thought of it was upsetting.
And, if one of my office staff does something untoward, it is I who must finally accept responsibility for their actions. This introduces the issue of responsibility and accountability. Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945-1953), had a sign prominently displayed on his desk that read: 'The buck stops here.' The sign was given to him by his friend, Fred M. Canfil, United States Marshal for the Western District of Missouri, who saw the inscription while visiting the Federal Reformatory at El Reno, Oklahoma in 1945. It meant that responsibility is not passed beyond that point.
PM should have apologised
I think that Prime Minister Simpson Miller would have done herself, her government and all Jamaica proud if she had bared the facts, taken responsibility and simply apologised for the whole mess. The no-confidence motion would still fail, no one would have expected or wanted her to resign, she would have endeared herself to people and taken the wind out of the Opposition's sails. Now, Trafigura, like 'Gilbert' (the 1988 hurricane), will become part of the Jamaican lexicon and haunt the People's National Party forever.
Dr. Torun Dewan (lecturer in comparative politics, London School of Economics) and professor Keith Dowding (professor of political science, London School of Economics) have stated that, "there is an increase in popularity following a resignation when taking into account the negative effect on popularity of the resignation issue." So, Minister Campbell had to go, but that isn't fooling anyone.
Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
