CHRISTIANA, Manchester — Opposition leader and People’s National Party (PNP) President Mark Golding says the suggestion that Government may move to pass the Enhanced Security Measures Act (ESMA) without the support of the Opposition is “divisive”.

“I am very disappointed that the Minister of National Security [Dr Horace Chang] has said that the ESMA can be passed without the Opposition. We have been calling for the Enhanced Security Measures Act for years. We have not seen anything about it for over four years. We have put forward on the table a specific mechanism for targeting serious violent producers on whom there is credible intelligence to try and address the building of cases that can lead to an effective prosecution of those persons. We want to see that in the ESMA legislation,” Golding told journalists Wednesday in Christiana.

Dr Chang in a Nationwide News report said there has been no agreement with the Opposition on ESMA and that the Government may move to use its majority to pass the legislation.

“We may have to go unilaterally on it and the courts decide if it is within the constitutional framework. The prime minister has insisted on it, because there are aspects of it we need to have going forward to strengthen the hand of the security forces…We may have to use the majority of the Parliament and pass some legislation and make the courts decide if they are within the constitutional bar,” said Chang.

However, Golding took issue with the Opposition not being consulted in relation to what the Government is proposing regarding ESMA.

“We don’t know what is in it. We have not been consulted, but we need to have all hands on deck in this fight against violent crime, so for the minister of national security to be pre-empting the situation without having consulted with us, without having briefed us on what he is proposing and to say that they can pass it without the Opposition it is very unfortunate, because it is a divisive approach and we really need all well-thinking Jamaicans onboard to get ahead of this crime that is plaguing our nation,” said Golding while on a tour of Manchester with the party’s aspirants.

He doubled down on the PNP’s chances of winning Manchester North Eastern.

“We did very well in this constituency in the recent local government election in February and we see it as one [where] it is possible for us to have an historic victory and so I was invited to come and visit Christiana and other towns and other districts today. I am happy to be here with our candidate Valenton ‘Val’ Wint, our councillors and the mayor of Mandeville Donovan Mitchell and Comrade Paul Patmore from the neighbouring South Trelawny,” said Golding.

The PNP’s tour went through major towns in Manchester and was scheduled to culminate with a rally at Manchester High Wednesday evening.