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.