Colin Campbell steps away

Former minister withdraws candidacy for NC Clarendon seat

BY HG HELPS Editor-at-Large helpsh@jamaicaobserver.com

Thursday, August 26, 2010

COLIN Campbell has decided to postpone his re-entry into elective politics and has withdrawn his candidacy in the North Central Clarendon constituency, in light of a recommendation by Contractor General Greg Christie that action be taken against him.

Christie had asked Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn to charge Campbell, a former minister of government, with obstructing and hindering its probe into the matter known as the ‘Trafigura Affair’.

The Trafigura Affair arose from the previous Government’s acceptance of a $31-million donation to assist with campaigning for the 2007 general election from the Dutch oil trading firm, Trafigura Beheer.

At the same time, Campbell, 56, has urged members of the Government, including Prime Minister Bruce Golding, to resign, based upon their role in another high-profile matter involving US law firm Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

The issue involving Manatt, Phelps & Phillips stems from charges that the Government used the firm to lobby the United States Government on extradition matters, specifically related to former fugitive Christopher “Dudus” Coke, who is now in US custody on drugs and gunrelated charges.

Word began circulating early yesterday that the Opposition People’s National Party had written to Campbell, asking him to withdraw his candidacy in the Clarendon seat held by the 74-year-old veteran politician Pearnel Charles, who is also minister of labour and social security, until the Trafigura matter is settled.

By mid-afternoon, PNP chairman Robert Pickersgill gave little away, telling the Observer then: “I can't tell you that yet,” when asked to confirm whether or not Campbell had been asked to step aside.

“Anything I say now will be highly premature. Very shortly you will hear,” Pickersgill said.

However, by late afternoon, Campbell, a former journalist, issued a statement confirming that he would be ending his interest as a candidate in the North Central Clarendon seat, based upon what the contractor general had recommended to the DPP.

“The contractor general has issued a report, after having concluded his approximately four years investigation into what has been dubbed as the Trafigura Affair.

“Members of the public will recall that the then leader of the Opposition, now Prime Minister Bruce Golding had called for the resignation of the then Government when he

made his utterances about Trafigura,” Campbell said in his statement.

“I was at that time the general secretary of the People’s National Party and minister of information. I stated then, and hold fast to that position still, that I had done nothing

corrupt. However, since I was the accountable functionary in the PNP I accepted responsibility and resigned from both the party and Government positions. I thought it was the right thing to have done and did it.

“With the passage of time, I contemplated re-entering elective politics and offered myself as a candidate in the constituency of North Central Clarendon.

“The contractor general has accused me of not having given him all the information he required and he has submitted this to the director of public prosecutions to determine if the Contractor General’s Act has been breached. Whilst I know that I have committed no breach, the fact is that the process continues even though in his investigation he found no corrupt act on my part.

“In the circumstances, I have decided that I will not offer myself as a candidate at this time as I await the decision of the director of public prosecutions. Again, I think this is the right thing to do,” Campbell said in his statement.

At the same time, he called for the resignations of Prime Minister Golding and the minister of justice, Dorothy Lightbourne “to help to usher in a new day in Jamaican politics”, in the face of the controversial Manatt issue.

There was no immediate comment from Golding on Campbell’s call, but the prime minister was expected to respond during his live radio programme late last night.

Campbell, a former minister of information who also served as a two-term Member of Parliament for Eastern St Andrew between 1993 and 2002, had been working feverishly in North Central Clarendon, which has a strong JLP base.

Incumbent Charles, the brother-in-law of Prime Minister Bruce Golding, is serving his second term as MP for that constituency.

Campbell had been making regular weekend trips to the constituency and was gaining some amount of traction, some in the PNP leadership said.

It was Campbell who took the fall when the JLP claimed that the PNP had accepted what the JLP called a ‘bribe’ from the Dutch firm, which incidentally was formed out of a merger involving eight international trading companies in 1993, the same year that Campbell contested his first general election at age 39.

Campbell, who is a life member of the journalists’ organisation, the Press Association of Jamaica, which he served as treasurer, has been known to be a close confidante of party leader Portia Simpson Miller.

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Colin Campbell steps away