Mark Wignall | Time to cut off the loyalists

The main factor that had me fearing Dennis Meadows was how he came across in his many posts on Facebook. In those that were controversial and came close to skating on the thin ice of corruption, the former deputy chairman of the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) made it known to all that he was honest to a fault.

“I am a straight shooter,” he would say. Many times he would have me agreeing with him in the silence of my office. So eager was I to believe that there was a rare find in a politician who could say that and stand up to the scrutiny of the public and investigative agencies.

Now in my shocking naivety, I must admit that I am totally deflated.

The timeline would show that even as the director of corruption prosecutions at the Integrity Commission was conducting “extensive probes into allegations concerning acts of impropriety, irregularity and corruption in the issuance of firearms permits to persons of questionable character” ( The Gleaner), Meadows was hurling accusations at Shane Dalling, the CEO of the FLA.

Meadows resigned from the FLA board in 2017.

At this stage, it is fair to suggest that these extensive probes may have convinced Mr Meadows that seeking company in the wrong gallery may have made him out to be anything other than a straight shooter.

“The actions of Mr Meadows in trying to assist a relative (in securing a firearms licence) was an explicit act of nepotism which constitutes the common-law offence of mischief in public office and a breach of public trust,” said Stephenson.

He revealed that Meadows approved a firearm user application for a family member who was convicted in the United States of attempted possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Hmm? Straight shooter, eh?

The Gleaner reported on February 16 that Clint Rennie, the brother-in-law of Meadows, was among more that 200 people of questionable character reportedly granted gun licences by the FLA. Now that sounds like a rogues gallery. Not two or 20 but 200!

WHAT MIRACLE CAN SAVE MONTAGUE

Robert ‘Bobby’ Montague is teh long-standing chairman of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), and he knows the political map like very few persons in that party. The Western St. Mary member of parliament, and of late, roving minister, seems to have been walking in stinky, squishy stuff while barefooted. Enough has stuck, and he is now being called out.

“Robert Montague knowingly granted gun licences to persons with a criminal history while he was Jamaica’s national security minister, the Integrity Commission has concluded in a damning Report.” ( The Gleaner, March 10).

Yes, read that again. Knowingly granted gun licences while he was security minister. The Integrity Commission Director of Investigation, Kevon Stephenson, pointed to six instances in which Montague overruled the FLA (as minister he had that authority) and approved gun permits to persons with criminal traces whose applications had either been denied or their licences revoked.

In the previous People’s National Party government, enough was found to add Senator Peter Bunting to that list of shame.

This, as they would say, is a very big thing, especially for Montague. This pulls on the heart strings of the politically iconic Bustamante who built the JLP around his image. For those who are short on history, among the many parts that make up the tales of Busta are his exploits as a usurer or money lender at high rates of interest.

Busta was certainly no Sunday school teacher while he was collecting those loan payments. But this column is about the present stock of politicians, and Andrew Holness now has the unenviable job of bringing back decency to the JLP cabinet.

The question is, if upstream is seen to be tainted, why should we expect any better downstream?

AUDITOR GENERAL EXPOSES UNQUALIFIED

A project management and governance arrangements audit of the Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) has uncovered that the company was in a race to the bottom to employ compatriots, especially those sated on a bag juice education.

Hardly any of the jobs were advertised, and in some instances, the travelling allowances exceeded one million dollars per year. Did they pass the reading test?

In many cases, the basic qualification called for a master’,s degree but many of the officers only have grade 10 qualification or first degrees. Jobs for the tribe.

Surely the prime minister must be wider awake than he ever was at these embarrassing happenings. The question I have always asked is, did they believe that these things would never come to light?

The more troubling question is, are corrupt acts the first resort and not one nefarious act slipped in when no one was looking? Is this government rushing headlong into proving that it can race to its own shame without anyone pushing it in that direction?

I would, on a bad news day like today (Thursday as I write), give Bobby a call and ask him to lay out his side of the story. The fact is, I like Bobby, but I can deal with those problems a molehill at a time and not mountains of stuff that need shovelling.

But at this stage Mr Montague seems perfectly poised to make his exit from minister without portfolio to just another backbencher. At this stage, for his own survival, he will have to call on many at the political level to get a feel on what he has as political leverage.

Today is a sad day for the JLP, for the governmental administration. As Busta’s party, maybe not so much.

- Mark Wignall is a political and public affairs analyst. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and mawigsr@gmail.com.