Who should shut up?

The Editor Sir,

Now that former Prime Minister (PM), Edward Seaga, has spoken out about the inept handling of the extradition affair, the atrocities in Tivoli Gardens, the unsuitability of Bruce Golding as PM, leader of the JLP and member of parliament (MP), there have been cries from certain quarters for him to shut up.

Eager to move on from Tivoli, some members of the media seem quick to forget that Golding has been the MP for Tivoli for the last five years. Where has he been during this period? Mr Seaga claims that he has neglected the constituency and allowed it to be taken over by criminal elements. Is this true? Since Mr Seaga should shut up, maybe we should listen to the words of Bruce Golding himself.

We recall Mr Golding's BBC 'Hardtalk' interview in 2008, when he claimed that he would be identifying contractors who have been receiving government contracts and who have been involved in garrison activity to remove them from the government's contractor's list. Was not Christopher Coke one such contractor? Has any journalist investigated whether Coke's contracts have decreased or increased since Golding came to power?

When confronted by the interviewer about Tivoli, Golding boasted that his constituency had the lowest crime rate in Jamaica and that it had been undergoing a process of transformation over the last five years. This was in response to the interviewer's assertion that perhaps the criminals have a very effective way of avoiding arrest. How prophetic! Or was it simply obvious to all but Golding?

Transformation promises

It was in that same interview that Golding justified his acceptance of a garrison constituency as based on his desire to do more than pontificate but to transform. Two years later, Golding deemed it necessary to call a state of emergency, in effect, to serve a warrant on one of his constituents. Was this the result of Golding's "transformation" or in Seaga's words, "neglect"?

It was almost incredible to hear the interviewer in 2008 then move on to enquire of Golding how he was going to stop the police force "acting with impunity and killing large numbers of your people".

Again the buzz word, transformation, was invoked. He identified the culture that existed under the extraordinary powers of the Suppression of Crime Act, and the need for new leadership and a new system of accountability to accompany a new way of fighting crime. Did Jamaica see this new way under the prime minister's leadership as the security forces engaged the residents of Tivoli under a state of emergency? Do we understand the extraordinary powers given to the security forces under a state of emergency? Was this new and different?

It moved on to the surreal as they now waded into the murky issues of trust and corruption. Golding's famous swearing in speech, where he lashed out at corruption by public officials, was recalled alongside Jamaica's position on the World Corruption Index. Golding defended himself vigorously against responsibility for Jamaica's 84th place, arguing he was only responsible for three months during 2007. Unfortunately for Mr Golding, since he has come to office, Jamaica has continued to slide, ending at 99th in 2009. Does anyone doubt that the slide will continue in 2010?

This was a year dominated by a shadowy contractual relationship between Manatt, Phelps & Phillips and some say the JLP, others the Government of Jamaica, efforts by the prime minister himself to intervene in the extradition of a reputed drug kingpin and a United States narcotics report identifying "pervasive public corruption" as hampering drug war efforts. Unfortunately for us, the year is not over. God only knows what else is in store for us. Does Golding accept any responsibility now that he has been in office for more than three years?

When we look back at Golding's many utterances that have come back to haunt him - whether it is a BBC interview, a no-confidence motion against him by the the PNP or his own swearing in speech, as against Seaga's comments, do we really have to ask who should shut up?

Mr Golding should do the decent thing and resign.

I am, etc.,

LONG-TIME OBSERVER

Kingston