Portia admits nation jaded with PNP too
Published:Monday | May 17, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporter
WHILE INSISTING that Prime Minister Bruce Golding should resign because of his double-talk in the Manatt scandal, the president of the People's National Party (PNP) has also called for serious introspection within her own party.
In a sobering presentation to the National Executive Council (NEC) at the University of the West Indies, Mona, yesterday, Portia Simpson Miller cautioned against rejoicing over the sordid developments that have gripped the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
"Whatever the outcome of this situation, let us not gloat. Let us not be uncharitable," Simpson Miller stated.
The PNP president encouraged disenchanted Jamaicans not to lose hope in the political process.
"We also know that some of these Jamaicans are not happy with us as a party either. Comrades, we need to recognise that. We must be big enough to recognise it, mature enough to admit it and strong enough to address it.
"As a party, we have not been perfect. However, here and now, the PNP is ready, willing and able to be part of a conversation with our people so that we can develop the country's programmes and mechanisms to detribalise the society and eradicate the links between governance systems and criminality," she said.
In a strident declaration to the NEC, Simpson Miller said: "I charge you to look in the mirror. Each and every one of us in this room can learn from the situation in which the nation finds itself."
Simpson Miller argued that the country was now at a crossroads, adding that it provided the party an opportunity for reflection.
"The standards of conduct demanded of our leaders have changed. The bar has been raised and should continue to rise until Jamaica has rid itself of the challenges that are holding the country back," she added.
Ready to fight gang culture
Embracing a statement by party General Secretary Peter Bunting, Simpson Miller said the PNP repudiated and dissociated itself from organised crime and gang culture, which were responsible for the escalating murder rate.
"It is the cause for which we are prepared to expend political capital. This is the cause for which we in the PNP are prepared to die," she asserted.
The PNP president told the NEC that the international community was watching closely the unfolding of the Manatt affair, in which Prime Minister Bruce Golding sanctioned a lobby thrust involving an alleged crime baron.
On the matter of garrison politics, the PNP president said her organisation was ready to engage in talks with "those who have studied the issue, and those who have ideas on the matter, to define and examine the character of the communities that are now called garrisons".
She said the PNP wanted to work out a practical way to address concerns about such political strongholds. "We are willing to chart a course of action on this issue."
However, Simpson Miller said while the PNP was moving to play its part in making the necessary changes, it should be recognised that the majority of persons in these areas are decent Jamaicans who were living in fear.