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Hypocrisy... Holness calls PNP the Caribbean's most corrupt

Published:Monday | September 17, 2018 | 12:00 AM
Holness... the mark of a good government is when there is no cover-up of wrong-doing.

Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader, Prime Minister Andrew Holness last night fired back at People's National Party president Dr Peter Phillips who yesterday accused him of leading the most corrupt administration in independent Jamaica.

Speaking at a gospel concert in the JLP's Area Council Two, Holness said Phillips was being hypocritical.

READ: Phillips says Holness gov't most corrupt in independent Jamaica

According to Holness, the PNP's list of corrupt activities dates back to 1989 with the Rollins land scandal to 2017 with the Manchester Parish Council scandal.

"There is no point to be scored on corruption. You can’t curse me when you corrupt, that is called hypocrisy," Holness said.

He also said Phillips should not be trusted.

"We already know that him bad-mind, him nuh like si people prosper and now we know that he is a hypocrite," Holness said.

Holness said the JLP is the only Government that has taken serious action to deal with corruption and put in place the necessary mechanisms to fight it.
 
He cited the establishment of the Office of the Contractor General by former Prime Minister Edward Seaga and the recent passage the Integrity and the MOCA bills. 
 
“We are the administration that is making the institutional changes to ensure that we tackle the issue of corruption," Holness said.

He conceded that in every Government, there will always be people who break the rules.

But Holness said the mark of a good government is when there is no cover-up of wrong-doing.

"When we face our challenges there is no one who can criticise this Government to say that we have covered up corruption… We are taking a strong stance against corruption. The Jamaica Labour Party stands firmly against corruption and we have put in place and have been putting in place the measures to address it," the Prime Minister said.

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