EDITORIAL - The James Robertson affair

It is perhaps opportune that the Americans took the decision out of the hands of Prime Minister Bruce Golding by revoking the visa of his energy and mining minister, Mr James Robertson.

For given the prime minister's dithering, paralysis even, when it comes to tough calls, conventional wisdom is that Mr Golding would have frozen on Contractor General Greg Christie's report on the bidding process for Jamaica's proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage and regasification facility and distribution pipelines.

As it is, Mr Robertson has left the Government, so how the PM would have dealt with the minister over the LNG scheme is now moot.

First, we wish to make clear that this newspaper, on either matter - America's action and the allegations contained in Mr Christie's report - has no evidence of any wrongdoing or illegal behaviour by Mr Robertson. And we imply none.

But what Mr Robertson clearly understood is that he could not escape the implications of the decision to take away his visa and the impact that would have had on his performance as minister.

drug-trafficking claims

Indeed, Mr Robertson's lawyer believes that his client lost his visa, in part, because there may have been suspicions in Washington - unfounded, he argues - that the former minister was involved in drug trafficking, based on affidavits filed by a former governing Jamaica Labour Party activist who is seeking political asylum in America.

Whatever the merit of these claims, Mr Robertson took the decent and practical course in resigning. It would have undermined, and possibly crippled, the administration, which still suffers from a deficit of trust from the fallout of the Christopher Coke extradition affair, were a cloud of suspicion to remain hanging over a senior member of the Cabinet.

Moreover, Mr Robertson's ability to manage a critical portfolio, where he has to interact with international players, would have been severely compromised if he was unable to travel to the United States, either as a final destination or in transit.

issue exacerbated

It need not have come to this; the visa revocation, which has been exacerbated by the Office of the Contractor General's report in which injurious allegations are made against Mr Robertson by the former permanent secretary of his ministry.

Indeed, one inescapable implication of Mr Christie's findings is that Mr Robertson might have turned a blind eye to, if not facilitated, collusion between a key subordinate and a former official of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica with an interest in the deal, to use inside information, and other influence, to rig the bid in favour of the consortium that was eventually named the preferred bidder for the build-out of the LNG facility.

In fact, by late 2010, with allegations swirling about the management of the LNG project, and armed with a legal opinion suggesting that the bid process may have been unfair, Mr Golding yanked it from Mr Robertson's ministry. He named a task force, headed by his special adviser, Mr Christopher Zacca, to salvage the project.

At that point, Mr Robertson should have resigned, on principle, if he felt the PM was intemperate, and to avoid any claim that he might have influenced an investigation.

If he did not, Mr Golding should have requested Mr Robertson's resignation. Instead, the PM opted for public relations.

Hindsight, they say, is 20/20 vision.

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 published.