THE National Democratic Movement is calling upon Prime Minister Bruce Golding to extend the enquiry into the Manatt-Dudus affair into investigating the links between politics and crime within all Jamaica’s garrison constituencies.

NDM General Secretary Michael Williams, in an open letter to the prime minister today, cited the recent call by Ronnie Thwaites, Member of Parliament for Central Kinston, to extend the enquiry to investigate the links between the Jamaica Labour Party and the Shower Posse gang. But, said Williams, this would not be enough.

“What was missing from Deacon Thwaites’ statement however was the need to investigate ALL possible connections that exist between criminal elements and the Jamaican political fraternity at large!” he said.

The representative of Jamaica’s third political party went on to say that is held that the link between crime and politics continues to be the main deterrent in reducing crime.

“Given that there is some validity in this claim, the logical first step would be to examine those areas where there is the greatest possibility of uncovering such relationships, namely in those constituencies referred to, ad nauseum, as garrisons or near garrisons,” he said.

He contend that investigating garrison constituencies, which he calculated as 22 of Jamaica’s 60 constituencies, would remove the legitimacy of criminal gangs by providing more substantial proof of their political connections.

“Should your Government agree to do this, you may end up redeeming yourself from the controversy surrounding the Manatt affair and enjoy the restored confidence of an appreciative people,” Williams told Golding, who is himself a former member of the NDM.

The NDM listed the garrisons requiring investigation, and their respective Members of Parliament as follows:

Kingston Central, Ronnie Thwaites; Kingston West, Bruce Golding; Kingston East and Port Royal, Phillip Paulwell; St Andrew South, Omar Davies; St Andrew South West, Portia Simpson Miller; St Andrew East Central, Peter Phillips; St Andrew West Central, Andrew Holness; St Andrew West, Anthony Hylton; St Andrew North Central, Karl Samuda; St Andrew North Eastern, Delroy Chuck; St Catherine South Central, Sharon Hay Webster; St Catherine Central, Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange; St Catherine East Central, Natalie Neita-Headley; St Catherine North Western, Robert Pickersgill; St Catherine South East, Colin Fagan; St Mary Central, Maurice Guy; St James North Western, Horace Chang; St Ann South East, Lisa Hanna; St Thomas West, James Robertson; Westmoreland Central, Roger Clarke; Westmoreland South East, Luther Buchanan; and Clarendon Central, Michael Henry.