The Opposition People’s National Party has accused minister with responsibility for information, Robert Morgan, of being crass and arrogant in his response to queries regarding the controversial public letter of reprimand issued by House Speaker Juliet Holness to former parliamentary clerk Valrie Curtis.

“The information minister‘s dismissive attitude is symptomatic of a Government that has lost its way in serving the people, crudely resisting accountability and flippantly dismissing the legitimate criticisms from a broad cross-section of media, civil society, unions, and the Opposition about a matter which exposes a worrying tendency of misuse of power in the country,” Shadow Minister of Information Nekeisha Burchell said.

“That pattern of abuse was exacerbated yesterday in Parliament when the Government used its control of the House to bar the Opposition from raising the issue. The Government’s refusal to answer the criticisms in this matter demonstrates blatant disregard for accountability and transparency and is the antithesis of responsible governance,” Burchell continued, adding “This affair underscores this Government’s arrogance and disrespect towards the Jamaican people. Ms Valrie Curtis dedicated decades of her life in service to this country, and it is deeply troubling to witness her being unjustly vilified on the eve of her retirement.”

She reiterated the Opposition’s call for the Government to apologise to Curtis.

“It is imperative that the House speaker shows appropriate contrition to rectify this injustice by withdrawing her offensive letter and offering a sincere public apology to Ms Valrie Curtis. Anything short of this would be a betrayal of the principles of fairness, natural justice, and accountability that should guide our democracy,” the release stated.

Curtis, who retired on April 6, was publicly reprimanded a week earlier in a letter by House Speaker Juliet Holness for failing to comply with the ruling of the Speaker on the tabling of reports.

The House Speaker had ruled in November last year that reports from the Auditor General’s Department (AGD) on public bodies would be tabled in keeping with Section 30 of the Financial Administration and Audit (FAA) Act.

The Speaker’s letter was in relation to the two special audit reports of the Financial Services Commission and Tax Administration Jamaica the AGD had sent to Parliament on December 28, 2023 and January 29 this year, which the Speaker said were received in breach of the ruling she made in the House of Representatives on November 7, 2023.