‘Not enough’
Campbell blasts Holness’s handling of SSL issue
RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann — Saying Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s statement on allegations of a multi-billion-dollar fraud at investment firm Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) had not gone far enough, general secretary of the Opposition People’s National Party, Dr Dayton Campbell has urged the Government to “step aside” if it is unable to effectively handle the crisis and outline the way forward.
“The prime minister’s statement was belated, in my opinion, and I don’t think he went far enough. I think we want to see the leader of the country come forward to outline clear steps to say, ‘This has happened, this is what we are aware of, these are the steps that we have taken, this is what we are going to put in place to ensure that this does not happen again,’ ” Campbell told reporters after the party’s National Executive Council conference in Runaway Bay, St Ann, on Sunday.
“Without him doing that, I don’t think that his statement has gone far enough so what I want to know is: What are the steps that are going to be taken to unearth what actually took place at SSL? What will be done to return the funds to Usain Bolt and others who have lost their investment? And what will be put in place to ensure that this never happens again?” he questioned.
On January 20, in his first official comment on the SSL issue, Holness said he was “thoroughly disgusted and upset by revelations in the public domain surrounding this matter”. He also said a thorough investigation was being done and no effort would be spared in identifying and bringing to justice those involved in defrauding SSL investors.
But Campbell remains unimpressed. He believes the PNP could do better.
“If it is that the Jamaica Labour Party does not have the whereabouts (sic) to do these things [explain what happened and what it will do to prevent a recurrence] then I’m asking them kindly to step out of the way and let Mark Golding and his team put the regulations in place to monitor the industry,” the PNP general secretary said.