Dear Editor,

We are now days into a new year and we do not know for sure what our prime minister owes and/or owns.

Our prime minister is bound by law to make these disclosures to avoid conflicts, malicious speculation, and to be termed a fit and proper person to lead our nation.

The prime minister is the first of our nine prime ministers to have his/her assests and liabilities undeclared and unverified for such an extended period. What this is saying, quite clearly, is that we do not know if our prime minister is very wealthy or a pauper? This question cannot be answered unless he submits the statutory declarations and have them verified by the Integrity Commission.

It is often said that the fish rots from the head and if our leader continues to breach that lawful obligation it sends a wrong signal in our governance processes.

The prime minister, in the latter part of last year, said quite instructively that he his hoping to have the matter resolved in short order, but we are yet to hear if the matter has been resolved.

To compound matters, his 2023 statutory declaration becomes past due on April 1, 2024. Well, April 1 is a significant day in Jamaica’s folklore, being termed “Tom Fool’s Day”, and I won’t be fooled that day.

I can only hope and pray that the prime minister’s statutory declarations are submitted/resubmitted and verified before any elections and 2024-2025 budget day.

We wait with bated breath for this matter’s resolution. If not, it may well resonate in the ballot boxes.

Fernandez Smith

fgeesmith@yahoo.com