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LETTER OF THE DAY - Secret sell-out by JLPNP

Published:Monday | January 16, 2012 | 12:00 AM

THE EDITOR, Sir:

The recent announcement that Digicel and Claro will merge could be very good news for the Jamaican mobile-phone user.

However, the way the news came to the public again demonstrates how little trust can be placed in the JLPNP officials to be open, honest and forthright with the people.

The disclosure that the Digicel-Claro merger was agreed to by the JLPNP is little comfort to the thousands of customers and dealers who were under the impression their rights were being protected, but instead have fallen victim to a secret sell-out by the JLPNP.

The National Democratic Movement (NDM) also criticises the manner in which then Prime Minister Andrew Holness secretly reversed the decision made by the administration of former PM Bruce Golding regarding Digicel's handling of Claro's customers. The NDM finds it shameful that the country was kept in the dark and was only last week told of Mr Holness' secret decision, made in consultation with the PNP's Phillip Paulwell. The Movement views this as running counter to Mr Holness' talk of transparent government.

The NDM is calling on Digicel to tell the country if it donated money to the JLP and the PNP and, if so, to follow the example of other major donors and tell the country how much it donated during the recent election campaign.

The silver lining from this sordid disclosure is that the Government can now open the industry to new players which should bring more modern technology.

What the Government needs to do now in the interest of the people is not allow Digicel or LIME to frustrate new investors by their obstructive antics.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS

ndmjamaica@yahoo.com