Shooting the messenger? Andrew Wheatley catches heat for JPS tweet
Disgraced former Energy Minister Dr Andrew
Wheatley today, June 15, resurfaced from the depths of internet obscurity to
awaken the collective rage of social media users who had all but forgotten him.
The Member of Parliament for South Central
St Catherine, in a tweet, claimed the country and its energy needs were being
held hostage by the monopolised Jamaica Public Service Company (JPS).
“The Jamaican people are hostages to
JPS. Guaranteed revenue and in-house
inefficiencies. Who pays? Must be the people. #Jamaica #JPS #OUR,†Wheatley
tweeted.
The Jamaican people are hostages to JPS. Guaranteed revenue and in-house inefficiencies. Who pays? Must be the people. — Dr. Andrew Wheatley (@Aowheatley)
The Jamaican people are hostages to JPS. Guaranteed revenue and in-house inefficiencies. Who pays? Must be the people. — Dr. Andrew Wheatley (@Aowheatley) #Jamaica #JPS #OURJune 15, 2020
Surely enough, the message was not received
well by scores of Jamaican Twitter users, who slammed the former minister for
his alleged involvement in the damning Petrojam scandal.
Let’s just say that the backlash was swift
and BRUTAL, BUZZ fam.
The scandal rocked Jamaica’s state-owned oil refinery in mid-2018 and is still being investigated.
Furthermore, now that you bring it up, where’s the FIVE BILLION dollars worth of missing oil??? Bet that could go a long way to offsetting some JPS bills. — Ambrosiaâ„¢ Ÿ‡¯Ÿ‡² LOOK at ME! (@ambrosia_omG)
Furthermore, now that you bring it up, where’s the FIVE BILLION dollars worth of missing oil??? Bet that could go a long way to offsetting some JPS bills. — Ambrosiaâ„¢ Ÿ‡¯Ÿ‡² LOOK at ME! (@ambrosia_omG) https://t.co/vSuPAmdrCsJune 15, 2020
Auditor General Pamela Monroe Ellis began
her investigations into the operations of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica
(PCJ) and its affiliate, the state-owned oil refinery Petrojam, in May 2018 at
the insistence of the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP).
This you? — Vagi-tarian Ÿ‡¯Ÿ‡² (@Nicholaski)
This you? — Vagi-tarian Ÿ‡¯Ÿ‡² (@Nicholaski) https://t.co/EKoVYu3uyH pic.twitter.com/45RluvgbKaJune 15, 2020
At the time, Petrojam denied any
wrongdoing, claiming it had acted above reproach in the transactions in
question.
Following an initial request for an emergency
meeting with Dr Wheatley, three Jamaican directors on Petrojam’s board – Dr
Perceval Bahado-Singh, Harold Malcolm and Richard Creary resigned a month
later.
Yuh serious? — PNPYO Jamaica (@PNPYOJa)
Yuh serious? — PNPYO Jamaica (@PNPYOJa) https://t.co/q2u3uKGwaXJune 15, 2020
With mounting pressure for a forensic
audit, and two additional Petrojam resignations, Wheatley was stripped of his
ministerial portfolio in July, with the Office of the Prime Minister assuming
leadership.
Dr Wheatley resigned as minister on Monday,
July 30, 2018.
Another report from Auditor General Ellis, which
was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday, December 5, pointed to “explicit acts of
nepotism†at both PCJ and Petrojam, as well as deficiencies in human-resource
recruitment and management practices.
Some J$5.2 billion worth of oil is still
unaccounted for.
