HOPEWELL, Hanover — Former People’s National Party (PNP) member Craig Oates, who has applied to join the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), is encouraging other Comrades to publicly make the switch.

“I am saying to PNP supporters, do not be selective when you say people switch. And we are saying to people who believe that they are afraid to switch: ‘Don’t be afraid. Many others are switching even though they might not come out,’” stated Oates.

He was speaking with the Jamaica Observer on the sidelines of the JLP’s Hanover Eastern constituency workers’ meeting and appreciation ceremony at Bethel Primary and Junior High School on Sunday.

Oates had earlier told the meeting, which he was chairing, that he had crossed the floor. His JLP membership is expected to be approved later this month.

Oates had harboured dreams of representing the PNP in Hanover Eastern in the next general election but during the meeting it was confirmed that he and Kenroy Calame, who had expressed an interest in the Cauldwell Division of the Hanover Municipal Corporation, have applied to the JLP for membership.

“What led me to come over to the Jamaica Labour Party was that I experienced first-hand discrimination and bad treatment,” Oates told the
Observer after the meeting.

“They tried to mar my character and my reputation in a very subtle way — and I don’t think that that is something that I wanted to continue. And, most importantly, I spent at least $7 million that went down the drain and I did not get a call from the leader of the party [Mark Golding]. I did not get a call from General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell, or any other senior members. It is in recent time[s]] I’ve seen persons now calling,” added Oates.

He said that allegations of corruption at the local government level of the PNP also influenced his decision to switch.

“If you are really fighting corruption, Mr Golding, come down to Hanover and lead a demonstration,” Oates challenged the PNP president.

Meanwhile, for those who may have an issue with him switching, Oates made it clear that he is neither the first nor the last individual to make such a move.

He pointed to the late Dr DK Duncan who left the PNP and joined former JLP members — including former Prime Minister Bruce Golding — in forming the National Democratic Movement, and they all later returned to their respective parties. He also pointed to PNP Vice-President Ian Hayles and PNP standard-bearer for St Andrew West Rural Joan Gordon Webley, who both left the JLP.

For his part, Calame, who recently became a Labourite, said the JLP’s history of performance and penchant for keeping promises influenced his decision.

“I am not voting now for a change, I’m voting for the continuation of progress. That’s what I’ve observed that the Jamaica Labour Party is giving to us Jamaicans. I’m voting for food, water security, and public infrastructure,” he said.

“As a well-thinking Jamaican, and based on the last two years of the actions of the Jamaica Labour Party, I’m convinced now that this is the party that I need to vote for,” added Calame.