Robertson quits

• Energy minister resigns in wake of cancelled visa, vows to remain JLP deputy leader

Arthur Hall and Edmond Campbell, Senior Staff Reporters

AS THE governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) remained in a tailspin following the resignation of Energy and Mining Minister James Robertson, a cloud of uncertainty last night hung over his position as a deputy leader of the party.

JLP Chairman Mike Henry told journalists that Robertson's tenure as deputy leader was a "matter the party has not yet addressed" and that there would be discussions on the issue "as the party has its rules and regulations that we follow".

However, in an unequivocal pronouncement yesterday, Robertson declared that he was not about to relinquish his position as deputy leader.

Robertson told journalists at Gordon House yesterday that while he had submitted his resignation as minister, the question of his tenure as deputy leader "does not arise".

"I am not stepping down from the party, from the people who have voted for me on many occasions and for the people I represent," Robertson insisted.

He dismissed concerns that the revocation of his visa by the US government and his subsequent resignation would tarnish the image of the party.

"A lot of unsubstantiated comments have been made which I have put in this (resignation) letter and in the press release, and in life you must be strong," he said. "Look at what others have been through. What I am going through, you couldn't even test it in comparison to what others have been going through, who have been vindicated, who have come out on top."

The former minister did not rule out a return to a Cabinet position in the future, but told reporters that it would be up to Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

With senior government members already reeling from revelations in US Embassy cables acquired by WikiLeaks and being published by The Gleaner, news that the Americans had cancelled the visas of Robertson and his wife Charlene could not have come at a worse time.

And with the immediate public response demanding his resignation, Robertson yesterday morning made a short stop at the weekly Cabinet meeting to announce that he had quit.

official statement

Hours later, the official statement came from the minister who has long attracted his fair share of controversy and innuendo.

"Following discussions with my wife Charlene and my daughters, as well as with you and my Cabinet colleagues, I have taken the decision to resign as minister of energy and mining with immediate effect," Robertson said in his letter to Golding.

"Recent events which include several unsubstantiated allegations have taken a heavy toll on my family and me. I am confident, however, that this matter will be resolved, once given the opportunity and due process," he added.

According to Robertson: "Under the circumstances, I believe my resignation from the Cabinet is the correct course of action at this time. I wish you (Golding) and my colleagues all the best and assure you of my continued, unwavering and wholehearted support."

Up to last night, there remained stony silence from the Golding administration, with the prime minister failing to use the opportunity of yesterday's meeting of Parliament to provide the nation with any information.

However, government sources later told The Gleaner that Robertson had had no option but to quit as minister.

Robertson is perhaps the member of the Golding administration who has attracted most controversy over the past decade.

From November 2003, when he unseated Olivia 'Babsy' Grange as the JLP's deputy leader for Area Council Two, Robertson has been forced to defend himself in one episode after another.

In the immediate aftermath of that victory, he was to face accusations by then JLP leader Edward Seaga that his campaign had been funded with 'dirty money'.

Seaga was to later withdraw that accusation, but that did not prevent Robertson from playing a lead role as one of the Young Turks who forced him out and heralded Golding to the helm of the party in 2005.

Those Young Turks were also at the forefront of the 2007 election campaign that culminated with an end to the JLP's 18 years on the Opposition benches.

Robertson was initially named a government minister in the Office of the Prime Minister but was handed the energy and mining portfolio during a 2009 Cabinet reshuffle.

trouble with the law

Even as that was happening, Robertson found himself in trouble with the law after he reportedly 'rescued' a man who was shot by the police in his West St Thomas constituency.

He was charged with obstructing the police and using abusive and calumnious language, but was admonished and discharged by the courts.

Months later, Robertson was again on the defensive, fighting allegations by a former supporter, Ian Johnson, that the member of parliament had launched a plot to kill him.

Robertson denied the charges and the attorney who represented Johnson, Professor David Rowe, later said he was satisfied that the allegations against the government minister were baseless.

That was expected to be the end of the matter but in publicly confirming that his visa had been cancelled, Robertson pointed to the allegations as a possible reason.

In a quick response to Robertson's decision, general secretary of the People's National Party, Peter Bunting, said the resignation was expected.

According to Bunting, the Golding administration would continue to have challenges coming on the heels of the Christopher Coke extradition debacle extending over a nine-month period and the Manatt saga.

"I believe that it is going to be very, very, difficult for them to establish any real credibility, both with the Jamaican people and with the international community," Bunting told journalists yesterday at Gordon House.