Time to clean house

MARK GOLDING’S ejection of Dennis Meadows as a candidate, and his pledge to hold all others of his party to “higher standards of accountability”, is welcomed.

It is sad, nonetheless, that this action by the president of the People’s National Party (PNP), and last week’s firing by Prime Minister Andrew Holness of his works minister, Everald Warmington, for publicly threatening to victimise political opponents, should be perceived as almost grand groundbreaking gestures. But that’s because they happen so infrequently, even in the face of the most egregious behaviour by people who control taxpayers’ resources, as well as those who offer themselves for public office and might come to exercise great power.

But as significant as Mr Golding’s move was, he must do more. He should assure Jamaicans that there are no more Dennis Meadows’ in his party, even if their infractions are not applauding criminals who swindle mostly old, white Americans out of their money, then excuse the crime as reparations for slavery.

This weeding out isn’t an obligation only for Mr Golding and his PNP. Prime Minister Holness, too, must move hard against all forms of corruption in government, starting by being definitive on whether any one – or six – in the political executive, or any member of Parliament on his side, is the subject of an investigation for illicit enrichment by the Integrity Commission. It is not sufficient for Mr Holness

SWIFT AND CLEAR

merely to say that he has asked but received no answer. It can’t be, as the response suggests, that Mr Holness’ authority as head of the government and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) is being defied by his MPs.

In establishing a paradigm of accountability, the leaders and their parties have to ensure that even in defending natural justice, firm action against egregious behaviour is swift and clear, rather than a kind of mission creep – done because of a build-up of public opprobrium. Which, it appears, is what happened in the Meadows and Warmington sagas.

A week ago, Jamaica voted in municipal elections, after a campaign in which the state of crime, corruption and accountability were major themes. Few issues are believed to contribute to Jamaica’s crisis of criminal violence more than what, in local parlance, is called ‘chopping’ or lotto scamming.

In these rackets, foreigners are told they have won sweepstakes, but have to send money to Jamaica, or to the swindlers’ contacts overseas, to cover taxes and other expenses, before the winnings can be collected. Many old and vulnerable people have wiped out their bank accounts and the demands for payments, sometimes accompanied by threats, mount.

The police say that fighting for turf among the scammers, as well as documents with information about potential victims, are factors in inter-gang killings and other gun crimes.

This is the backdrop against which Mr Meadows, a former JLP politician who fell out with his old party, told PNP supporters that he had no problem with people who “chop” because the victims “chop us during slavery, so nothing wrong if we chop dem back”.

With the backlash to a viral video of the remarks, the PNP, via its general secretary, condemned Mr Meadows’ statement and issued its own apology, but said nothing about Mr Meadows’ position. Mr Meadows himself issued a full-throated apology. That didn’t stem the deluge of criticism.

The following day, Mr Golding made clear, rightly, that Mr Meadows’ candidacy was untenable. He added: “Let this precedent be a warning to all who serve in the PNP under my leadership. We are demanding higher standards of accountability. Jamaica will no longer tolerate weak, unprincipled leaders who say one thing but do another. Jamaicans deserve better, and I will give it to them.”

It is not unreasonable to ask whether anyone in the PNP’s leadership knew of Mr Meadows’ statement before it went viral, and if so when, and what was done about it.

GO ALL THE WAY

But having now acted on the Meadows issue, Mr Golding must go all the way. He should comb his party’s candidates and officeholders to determine if any of them may be subject of criminal investigations, the circumstances under which the investigations may have arisen, who referred the matters to the authorities that might be investigating them, and the status of the probes and what actions, if any, the subjects of these probes prevent transparency.

Further, the PNP – as should the JLP – should disclose whether it has an internal group that vets its candidates, the names of its members and the ‘fit and proper’ criteria it applies in determining whether the potential candidates meet the bar for selection. Neither party, even if for different reasons, should want incidents such as occurred with Messrs Meadows and Warmington.

Mr Holness, in most respects, carries a heavier burden than Mr Golding. He is head of a country which upwards of seven in 10 adults believe is corrupt and a dwindling proportion of the population have trust in the institutions of the state, including politicians, the legislature, the police and the judiciary. That is why when Mr Warmington – who has a long history of rude or boorish behaviour – was caught saying an opposition municipal councillor for a division in his constituency wouldn’t be allowed to “spend my money”, should have been fired forthwith.

Mr Holness suggested that his intervention spurred a rare supposed clarification issued by Mr Warmington. But the public outcry, and the simultaneous Meadows affair, ultimately made Mr Warmington’s membership of the Cabinet untenable.