PNP breaks silence on leaked audio

One week after a damaging audio recording became public, in which the voices of two alleged People’s National Party (PNP) officials could be heard discussing ways to discredit Major General Antony Anderson in his role as head of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), the party has broken its silence on the matter.

The issue was the first item on the agenda at a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC) on Sunday. The meeting is usually the last such gathering before the party’s annual conference in September, provided there is a conference.

However, a scheduled post-NEC press briefing did not take place.

A video recorded by the party and sent to the media showed PNP President Mark Golding addressing the matter before beginning his formal presentation.

“Before I get into the issues relating to this National Executive Council meeting, I want to say something on the issue swirling out there about these leaked recordings. I think it is necessary for us to say something. The PNP chose not to comment publicly on that matter until we had the facts before us,” said Golding.

Continuing, he said: “Our review is now complete and it established three things. Firstly, the conversations in which those leaked recordings took place did not happen in any official party forum. Secondly, no party officer, no officer of the party participated in that discussion, and thirdly, the PNP has no official NEC or executive WhatsApp group. That doesn’t exist, and certainly not where party policy is made.”

“This was a WhatsApp group formed by individuals within the party, and the views expressed were their personal views. So those recordings do not represent the official recordings of the PNP, or any policy of the PNP. The PNP takes responsibility for its official positions; those are set by our constitutional organs, such as this National Executive Council or the executive committee of the party and those that are communicated by our authorised representatives and shown through our public actions or public media, social media outlets, and so on. So with that clarified, I just want to turn to the matter at hand ... .”

Possible leadership challenge

At that point, the recording of the NEC meeting ended, with no question-and-answer session shown.

NEC members have traditionally been vocal at such meetings, which are held by the party’s highest decision-making body outside of its annual conference.

The PNP appeared to have been caught flat-footed by the leaked recording, which emerged within hours of rumours of a possible challenge to Golding’s leadership at what would be the party’s 89th annual conference in 2027.

News of a rift in the party became political fodder on social media, a space without guard rails, until Damion Crawford, the member of parliament for St Catherine North Western and the potential challenger, addressed the matter publicly.

Crawford made it clear that he had not signalled any intention to challenge for the leadership, while noting that it was his right to do so if he chooses.

He cited what he described as disrespect from his party despite the work he had done, and noted that he had been labelled “hype man in chief”, despite ideas he said had formed part of the party’s policies going into the 2025 general election.

He outlined 10 such policies, including a rent-to-own housing framework, national insurance for children and the elderly, and an increase in the tax threshold rather than increases in income tax.

“Despite multiple approaches from Comrades throughout the island, I have made no public announcement to offer myself for any position of leadership within the PNP at this time. However I remind all and sundry that doing so remains my fundamental right as a duly registered member of the party,” said Crawford.

“Furthermore, as per the established rules of the party, there is no election for the president or vice-president until September 2027 [as] it would be increasingly damaging to the movement to endure a 14-month sustained internal campaign. This reality seems completely lost on those coordinating this attack on PNP members,” a section of Crawford’s response, also posted on social media, read.

Crawford’s response suggested that all was not well within the party and that relationships were strained.

“I have reduced my own presence, literally jumping walls to avoid cheers upon entrance, and choosing to flee situations where there was a clear reason to fight, just to preserve the party’s image. I will maintain my silence for the same reason,” he said, adding that the moniker with which he had been labelled would have rubbed a nerve had he not known the weight of his policy contributions.

After Sunday’s NEC meeting, all did not appear well, as people leaving the meeting declined to speak with the few members of the media present.

The Gleaner was told instead that the issue had been addressed and that a video recording would be sent out.

One attendee was heard questioning why the media was present, while another asked whether she had been invited to another meeting, and said she would rather attend “when there is peace, and not pieces”.

The party president was reported to be travelling early Monday, while the meeting ran late, resulting in the cancellation of the planned post-meeting press briefing, which was expected to feature Golding, the party general secretary and chairman.

erica.virtue@gleanerjm.com