Lead Stories

Arthur Hall, Senior Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has gone on the offensive while suggesting that critics of his handling of the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips issue have been unfair, unkind and political.

According to Golding, the critics, which he implied include sections of the media, are seeking to detract from the achievements of his administration.

"I have declared all that I know about this Manatt matter but that still don't satisfy some people," Golding said as he addressed Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters at a meeting of its Area Council One in Papine, St Andrew, yesterday.

"Some people say you haven't said all that you know. I have said that the Government did not employ Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and I went further to say that if the Government did employ (the law firm), there would be some document signed by the attorney general or the solicitor general or by me or the foreign minister," Golding added.

With his supporters cheering his every word, Golding declared that he had presented all the facts and outlined all the issues but the Manatt matter has provided an opportunity for persons to coalesce in opposition to the Government.

"I don't deny them that. They are free to do that. However, I'm disappointed at the strategy that is being played out," Golding said.

He argued that on March 16, he was asked by Opposition Member of Parliament Dr Peter Phillips if the Government had contracted Manatt and answered truthfully that it had not.

However, Golding noted that when he later declared that the United States law firm was retained by the JLP, he was accused of lying to Parliament.

Golding pointed to a Gleaner editorial which claimed he lied to Parliament and said he sent a copy of the page of Hansard - the official record of Parliament - to the managing director of The Gleaner Company, Oliver Clarke, showing the question asked and his response.

"And two weeks later, another editorial appeared in The Gleaner again saying that I lied. This is after Mr Clarke had gotten the Hansard copy," Golding said.

"And therefore I am left with no other conclusion than that there are persons in Jamaica who do not want the propaganda to be disturbed by the facts.

"You have a line that you want to take and you have to keep the facts as far as possible from that line because the line and the facts cannot dwell together," charged Golding.

Mistakes made

He again admitted that the Government made mistakes in its handling of the Manatt issue and said the party should have probably put a halt to the entire process once it was told by Manatt that it would have to pay a retainer.

But Golding argued that there was nothing unusual in the party seeking to get persons with influence in the United States to attempt to settle a dispute between the Jamaican and American governments over the extradition request for Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.

Golding repeated the claim that his instructions were that it should be made clear that this was a party initiative and this instruction was not followed.

The prime minister again failed to say who messed up.

However, it was clear that Golding was not prepared to blame Solicitor General Douglas Leys, who engaged in months-long email discussions with officials of Manatt.

Unknowingly engaged

According to Golding, the solicitor general was "unwittingly and unknowingly engaged" with the law firm.

Golding pointed to the reduced crime figures over the past three months, the reduction in interest rates and the stability in the foreign-exchange market as signs of the progress being made by the administration and declared that the Government would no longer be detained by the Manatt issue.

In an apparent response to the 10 readers' questions published by The Sunday Gleaner yesterday, Golding said his administration would focus on the challenges it faces to continue putting the country on the right path.

"If we are not careful now, all our focus will be shifted from trying to do those things - trying to make sure we get the economy properly stabilised and growing again, trying to make sure we get investments going - to answer questions that some people will never let go," said Golding.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com