I believe the chairman of the People's National Party, Bobby Pickersgill when he says that the government would not "sell out the country for $30-million, and to be doing this with a company with the reputation of Trafigura".

Tamara Scott-Williams

I believe him when he suggested that if there was anything suspicious about Dutch oil trader Trafigura Beheer's 31 million dollar donation to the PNP conference then the donation would have been handed over in a brown paper bag, not in a cheque, deposited to a bank account.

While sitting there all dressed in black with a white tie on Wednesday night being interviewed by Milton Walker, he was impatient, menacing at times, looking every bit like 'don dadda'. When he suggested that $30 million was 'peanuts', I believed him. He looks like he knows what he's talking about when it comes to brown paper bags.

I might not believe PNP general-secretary Senator Colin Campbell, however, when he said that his party had not approached Trafigura for funds, but that Trafigura had offered the donation. He said "They made the offer. They said that they know elections are imminent in Jamaica and they are intending to make a contribution. I don't know if it is for both political parties, but they spoke to me as the general-secretary of the People's National Party." If that's the case then the Jamaica Labour Party's general secretary needs to see if some of the donation was intended for the opposition.

While we may question Trafigura's judgement when it comes to donating so much to a country that earns so little for them, I'll go with Senator Campbell's explanation that it's not for us to second-guess a corporation's philosophy when it comes to charitable donations. If Trafigura Beheer's largesse is in direct proportion to controversial and questionable practices it has been accused of, so what?

Trafigura has been linked to Marc Rich, who was described as "the most wanted white-collar criminal in US history until his controversial pardon on President Bill Clinton's last day in office in 2001". Last year, Trafigura Beheer made US$28.4 billion: $30 million Jamaican is pennies to them.

Last month, the Trafigura Beheer was accused of dumping 528,000 litres of toxic chemical waste at 15 sites in and around the West African city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast which killed seven people and caused over 52,000 to seek medical assistance. Being involved in questionable campaign financing activities in Jamaica is child's play by comparison.

Earlier this year Trafigura pleaded guilty and was sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement to pay a US$8-million fine and to forfeit US$9.9 million, the amount of money it earned from the illegal oil shipments to two US companies after falsely stating that the oil was 'obtained pursuant to all necessary approvals and in accordance with all applicable procedures of UN Resolution 986 and the UN Security Council Committee established by SCR 661'. Trafigura does business in 36 countries around the world; being a player in the Jamaican political landscape is all in a day's work for this organisation.

I agree with the attorney general AJ Nicholson when he says that it cannot be assumed that a political party is in the pocket of a person who operates a company in Jamaica and gives money to a political party, "unless it can be shown that there was some hanky-panky in this gift." Hanky-panky is a strong term: smart businessmen give to both parties.

So, contrary to Opposition Leader Bruce Golding's press conference statement that the euro 466,000 donated to the PNP by Trafigura and subsequently transferred to an account known as CCOC Association, where it masqueraded as "poor people's money" used to finance the PNP conference, was hardly the "mother of all scandals". A $30-million cheque donation deposited to a bank account hardly a scandal maketh, Mr Golding. This one seems legitimate. Exorbitant, but legitimate.

Undisclosed campaign financing is hardly the breeding ground for PNP scandals. This government has presided over many a scandal involving in-your-face corruption, waste and mismanagement: the zinc scandal, the furniture scandal, Operation PRIDE, Shell waiver, JPSCo overcharge, street people, 'fat cat' salaries, National Solid Waste Scandals I and II.

What about the Government's decision to spend over US$100 million to host the 2007 World Cup Cricket, to earn only US$9 million for the country in addition to the "national assets" that would come in the form of the revamped Sabina Park and the brand new Greenfield Stadium?

What about the Cement Company's dilemma which saw the recall of thousands of tons of cement from a market which was already in short supply of the stuff; that brought the construction industry to its knees, that put the burial industry in a holding pattern, saw as many as 100,000 Jamaicans put out of work, cost the country a conservatively estimated $100 million per day and had its citizens walking in fear every time they passed a newly built wall or building?

Recall that the Cement Company, a Trinidadian company, had been given a monopoly on cement manufacturing and distribution by minister Paulwell. One foreign company. One source of cement. Bound to be a problem. Shouldn't we be looking still more closely at that?

Do we forget the NETSERV scandal that saw over $200 million of public money from the Intech fund created in the 1990s from the sale of cellular licences being youthfully, exuberantly,

unquestionably mismanaged to the tune of $1 billion in losses?
While the $30 million could have been better spent on education, feeding programmes, health care and the like, instead of mobilising party supporters for the 'mother of all conferences', $30 million is chump change in comparison to the public funds that have been wasted over the past 17 years.

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