Executive director of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP), Jeanette Calder, believes it is unfair for Jamaican voters to be left in the dark regarding the identity of politicians who are currently under investigation for illicit enrichment.
While noting that it is unlikely that all parliamentarians currently facing the serious corruption allegations are innocent, Calder is concerned that Jamaicans will be casting their votes without the information being made public.
Jamaicans will be heading to the polls on September 3. Current Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness is among those being investigated by the Integrity Commission (IC) for illicit enrichment. The IC has indicated that 13 parliamentarians in total are under investigation for either illicit enrichment or providing false information over the last seven years.
“Jamaicans going to the polls are not mere voters. They pay the salaries of the politicians asking for their vote, and in giving any a vote, they are in fact providing a job; this makes the voter an employer. Jamaicans also fund every government programme and project, and they own every public asset and dollar that could be abused by a politician guilty of illicit enrichment,” said Calder.
“It is highly improbable that all parliamentarians currently under investigation are innocent of the allegations they face. While fairness to the political class is important, fairness to the public is equally vital. Asking Jamaicans to choose representatives—potentially for the second time in similar circumstances, as in the 2020 elections—without confidence that they are free from such abuse of power is asking too much,” she told the Freedom Come Rain newspaper.
Holness, 53, who became the country’s youngest prime minister in October 2011, is hoping to also become the longest-serving leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). However, investigations by the country’s anti-corruption agency into his finances dating back to 2017 have dogged his political career in recent years. This did not prevent him from securing election victory in 2020. The JLP won a resounding 49 seats in the 63-member House of Representatives. It is to be seen whether Jamaicans will once again look beyond Dr. Holness’ questionable finances and help him secure a personal and national legacy which is just within grasp.
Investment banker and leader of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), Mark Golding is his main contender as the country prepares to go to the polls. While there has been infighting in the party and questions regarding the integrity of some of its members, the party’s leader has, for the most part, maintained a respectable image. His personality, however, is not as endearing to the wider public, while his upbringing is admirable to most. His family lineage has been used as fodder by his opponents on the campaign trail.
Although Jamaicans have been ruled by one of the two parties since its independence in 1962, other parties have emerged, promising to offer more to the voting public and to rid the country of the scourge of political corruption.
The United Independents’ Congress of Jamaica (UIC Jamaica) has been registered as Jamaica’s third political party since December 2019. Its founder, Joseph Patterson, has been vocal about national issues but did not come to prominence until September 2021, when he was arrested for leading a march to Parliament to lobby for the rights and freedoms of Jamaicans during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patterson, a chartered accountant, was subsequently arrested along with other supporters. He was charged for breaches of the Disaster Risk Management Act and for breaching the Public Order Act. That matter is still in court, and he is challenging the constitutionality of the arrests.
There are other parties on the fringes, hoping to weaken the hold the two dominant parties have on the voting public, although based on the turnout at the last few elections, it is obvious that there is not much of a hold. The Marcus Garvey People’s Political Party (MGPPP), which has 21-year-old Antwayne Campbell at the helm, hopes to improve the lives of Jamaicans. There is also the Jamaica Progressive Party (JPP), which has Gilbert Edwards as its president, and the Jamaica First Movement, which was recently launched by prominent clergyman Rev. Al Miller.
Polls have consistently shown that the voting public do not place a lot of value on integrity in selecting a leader. That has been the case based on the voting patterns for the two major political parties.
“The issue for many is not that it is irrelevant; rather, they are not convinced that either party is measurably better than the other in the area of honesty and adhering to strong moral and ethical values,” Calder surmised.
She is, however, of the view that issues of integrity and corruption should be of importance since the job of any government is to serve the needs of the people.
“I cannot imagine any Jamaican saying, ‘Yes, I’m perfectly fine with a politician enriching themselves and their family instead of using my taxes to give me better roads, better schools, better health care, or a reliable transportation system,’” she said.
“Nor can I imagine anyone preferring a leader who deceives them, breaks promises, remains inaccessible when needed, or intimidates them for not offering political support. These behaviours are exactly what lack of integrity looks like in Jamaica—and they should absolutely be a concern for every voter,” Calder stated.
JAMP is a non-partisan, non-government, non-profit organisation dedicated to improving governance in Jamaica.