Trouble comes to everyone at one time or another. Political administrations and Opposition parties are no different. There is no utopia anywhere in this world.

For me, a key indicator of good governance is a demonstrated willingness and ability on the part of the leader of an Administration — or the head of an Opposition party — to put a finger in the dike and, thereafter, repair the dam quickly. This is a primary and conspicuous difference between the Andrew Holness-led Administration and His Majesty’s Loyal Opposition, now headed by Mark Golding.

All movements attract bad actors. This has been the reality since time immemorial. Recall, for example, that among Jesus’s 12 disciples was Judas Iscariot. He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. To Judas’s credit, when he realised the abominable nature of his actions, he hanged himself. A crucial lesson here is this: The credibility of an organisation rests on whether the members who make up its formal structures — especially its leadership — are changed by its values, or whether the entity provides a haven for the bad habits of its supporters.

BAD CONSEQUENCES

When especially the ‘top-ranking’ members of an Administration or an Opposition party are involved in actions that are evidently egregious, or in behaviours that teeter on the edge of decency, or the borders of legality, John Public takes notice.

Folks are usually not familiar with highfalutin legalese or the fancy jargon of rules and structures which guide the internal operations of government or various private sector entities. Folks are not usually knowledgeable about the nebulous narratives that are liberally used in the wholesaling and retailing of public relations sales pitches. These are the go-to defences when some public servants and politicians get into scrapes or are trapped in more serious snares. But, make no mistake: Folks are not fools. The general public knows when something does not pass the new car smell test. Folks know when they are being given a ‘6 for a 9’.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson said: “What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” All who serve the Jamaican public need to understand the great significance of this adage.

When people see public officials get away with what we locally call ‘blue murder’; that is, improper or unseemly behaviour, it has a chilling effect on the adhesive that holds the social contract together. One of the terrible consequences is that public trust falls not only to its knees, but flat on its face. When public officials play fast and loose with rules and regulations this gives credence to the legitimisation of bad behaviour. Unacceptable behaviours then become routine, and the rule of law — the critical glue that makes society function meaningfully — begins to whittle away or disappear.

Here is something else which John Public fully grasps. Folks know we are all mortal. We make mistakes. Folks understand this perfectly. But we do not countenance the actions of those in public office who ride the rickety broom of victimhood, hide behind conspicuous dodges, hug ambiguities, double speak, and invent elaborate camouflages when they are caught napping in the public arena. We expect officials to man up or woman up, as applicable. And, where necessary, we expect leaders to send them packing in the public interest.

PLIABLE PRINCIPLES

I have argued in this space, with ample examples, that the leader of the Opposition and president of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding is a flip-flopper. I stand by that. I continue to believe that he is not prime ministerial material. He has been consistently inconsistent, especially since his ascension to the helm of Norman Manley’s party in 2020.

Five years on, Golding’s flip-flopping ways have caught up with him and are derailing his ambitions to take the keys of Jamaica House away from Prime Minister Andrew Holness and the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

In May 2024 Golding spoke at a divisional meeting in St Ann. Among other things, he said: “Jamaica needs a Government of accountability, transparency, and integrity.” He has branded himself Mr Accountability, Transparency and Integrity; however, his actions do not match his words.

In this space, I have previously outlined some of Golding’s utterances on the political stump that have triggered broad condemnation and raised serious questions about his suitability for the high constitutional office he occupies.

Golding continues to maintain that he is an exemplar of accountability, transparency and integrity. The truth is, he can shout these words until he is blue in the face, as we say locally, but what is crucial are his actions. Actions always speak louder than words.

The gaping gap between Golding’s lofty political pitch of accountability, transparency, and integrity and his actual performance is a matter that should concern every well-thinking Jamaican. Why? Recall that in my
The Agenda column of July 1, 2023, titled ‘Substance over empty rhetoric’, I noted among other things: “Golding is the alternative prime minister. He has been auditioning for the post for almost three years.” He continues to audition, even after being defeated in the last local government election of February 2024 and the most recent general election of September 2025.

Given that Golding is still auditioning for the keys to Jamaica House, all well-thinking Jamaicans have not only a responsibility but a solemn duty to keep applying the sanitising heat of sunlight to his public utterances and actions. It is the right thing to do.

“If they will abandon their most cherished principles in Opposition what will they do with their promises in Government?” — Margaret Thatcher, the late three-time prime minister of the United Kingdom. She fired a powerful political projectile into the body armour of Neil Kinnock, then leader of the Opposition and the British Labour Party — the fraternal counterpart of Jamaica’s People’s National Party (PNP) — in the run-up to the UK’s 1987 General Election. Politically, Kinnock never recovered.

Why was Thatcher able to deliver such an effective career-ending blow to Kinnock’s political solar plexus? Unlike some of his predecessors, he was accused by many in the inner sanctum of his party, large sections of the media, and several notable political pundits of playing see-saw with the foundational principles of the Labour Party.

“Higgins, what does this have to do with Golding and Jamaica?” some readers will inquire.

Ample examples in the public domain show that Golding’s constant mouthing of accountability, transparency, and integrity has become a very bad sales pitch.

POLITICAL DELUSION

There is a common delusion that has afflicted politicians and even some public servants in different jurisdictions globally. They suffer from the delusion that they are indispensable. This delusion explains why some in the PNP continue to shout from various soapboxes that ‘Jamaica is PNP country’. Even some at the higher echelons of the PNP — and indeed at the lower rungs — persist in this belief, notwithstanding their party’s recent national election defeats.

The weight of this long-standing political delusion at 89 Old Hope Road has become a great burden. The manifestations of this burden have turned into an unattractive joke fit only for a second-rate pantomime. If arrogance had a face, it would look like today’s PNP. This over-supply of political delusion is destroying the party. Being wrong and strong has become a pastime for Comrades who have yet to realise that the Jamaica of today is not the Jamaica of 30 years ago. People are no longer buying dodges, duppies, and ideological contortions. They have become far more aspirational.

IT’S A PATTERN!

When one contrasts the Holness Administration’s ‘finger in the dike, quick repair’ approach with the PNP’s ‘circle-the-wagons’ modus operandi over the last 10 years, for example, a conspicuous pattern becomes inescapable. For those who suffer from convenient political amnesia, here are some examples of that noticeable pattern.

When Jamaica was embarrassed by the Krauck and Anchor cock-up, Anthony Hylton was given political hugs and kisses by the Portia Simpson Miller-led Administration. He did not offer his resignation and he was not relieved of his ministerial functions.

Recall, when septuagenarian A J Nicholson made the dastardly “flexi-rape” remark in Parliament, he did not resign, and Prime Minister Simpson Miller did not fire him. Nicholson remained the majority leader in the Senate, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, and a senior Cabinet minister.

When Dr Fenton Ferguson, as minister of health, presided over inadequate preparation for the arrival of chikungunya on our shores, he was defended by the Prime Minister Simpson Miller Administration. Under Ferguson’s watch there was country-wide suffering, which cost the economy, conservatively, $7 billion and 13 million lost man-hours of production time, according to data from the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

When Phillip Paulwell, minister of science, technology, energy, and mining, bungled and botched the 381-megawatt energy project, he was stoutly defended and embraced by Simpson Miller in Parliament: “Let me make it quite clear, I have a minister of energy in place. Unless he does something wrong that would affect and impact the Jamaican people in a serious way and the Government of Jamaica [he will not be fired],” Simpson Miller said, in responding to a question from Opposition Leader Andrew Holness. (Jamaica Observer, June 4, 2014). Phillip Paulwell and his “youthful exuberance” has cost this country dearly.

Some are going to bellow, “But, Higgins, it looks like you don’t believe in redemption. Plus the Bible says “come as you are.”

The Bible did not say, ‘stay as you are’. Which of them resigned or were fired? None!

STARK CONTRASTS

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green resigned from the Cabinet in September 2021 after he was seen in a video with several others breaching COVID-19 safety protocols during a no-movement day.

“In the video Green and his colleagues were seen sharing in a toast and uttering shouts of ‘no-movement day’ and ‘Shower Labourite’, while seated at a table boasting bottles of Moet, Red Bull, and other refreshments and food items.” (Jamaica Observer, September 16, 2021) Green later apologised publicly for his actions.

Consider this: “This morning I met with Minister Ruel Reid regarding certain allegations in the public domain. In keeping with the principles of good governance, I requested and received Minister Reid’s resignation. Minister Reid has also resigned from the Senate. The minister’s resignation will ensure that any investigation into matters of concern will not be in any way impeded by his presence or oversight of the ministry.” (Jamaica Information Service, March 20, 2019)

Ponder this: “Late this evening, I met with Minister Robert Montague, who tendered his resignation with immediate effect. Minister Montague expressed that it was a privilege to have had the ‘opportunity to serve at the highest levels in government’. (Jamaica Information Service, March 12, 2022)

Think about this: Dr Andrew Wheatley resigned from the Cabinet in July 2018 as minister of science and technology following a series of management and governance scandals at Petrojam.

The stark contrast in how Cabinet ministers with dark clouds over their heads behave — and how they are treated by the prime minister as chairman of the Cabinet — is worlds apart when the JLP is in power compared to the PNP. When JLP ministers drop the national baton there are no minstrels of ambiguity rushing to rescue them. Loyalists with little technical knowledge, masquerading as civil society, are not called to provide air cover. Those suffering from acute fact-aversion and fact-resistance are not resurrected. And drive-by shootings on people’s reputations are not commissioned.

Garfield Higgins is an educator and journalist. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or higgins160@yahoo.com.

PNP President Mark Golding (Photo: Karl Mclarty)

Former PNP President Portia Simpson Miller

HIGGINS.

Anthony HyltonLyndale> Woolcock

A J Nicholson

Phillip Paulwell.

Fenton Ferguson.

Floyd Greena

Robert Montague.

Ruel Reid

Andrew Wheatley.