The gall of Golding
Dear Editor,
Recently, President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding went to Portland Eastern and accused the Member of Parliament (MP) Annmarie Vaz of not speaking out against, what he calls, rampant murders — as if to somehow link them to MP Vaz.
Really, Mark Golding? Of all the politicians in this country, he should be the last one to ever criticise another MP on the matter of crime. Mark Golding is the Member of Parliament for a PNP political garrison that is a central part of the division which sits at the top of the crime statistics for murder, shootings, and other violent crimes in the entire country.
He, of all people, should know better than to criticise anybody on the long-standing national problem of criminality. And, in the process, tried to use it as a springboard to scratch for relevance to revive his dismal political fortunes. It’s rather embarrassing.
But that’s not all. It’s interesting to note that the St Andrew South Division, in which the PNP president’s constituency falls, leads the country with 92 murders so far this year which, in fact, is 800 per cent more murders than eastern and western Portland combined — and, perhaps, St Mary, too. Yet, Golding, unfortunately, has seen it fit to be opportunistic and play politics with crime. You’ve got to laugh at his undiluted barefacedness.
What President Golding did not tell the Jamaican people is that Portland has traditionally been, and continues to be, a very peaceful place. It is precisely because of that fact the 11 or so murders in the parish have been seen to be extraordinary. That’s the important context here. Politicking, however, hardly ever brings context.
One life lost is indeed too many. And, as a nation, we must redouble our efforts to cauterise and bring under control the matter of crime. However, we will never be able to do so if it becomes a partisan issue.
Mark, my advice to you: Go pick another fight somewhere else. You aren’t in any position to criticise...period!
Fabian Lewis tyronelewis272@gmail.com