We are known to say locally, “A nuh same day leaf drop a wata bottom it rotten.” I don’t believe Opposition leader and president of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding understands the huge applicability of this adage to his presidency, which now hangs from a shaky limb at 89 Old Hope Road.

Reputational damage is a cumulative process in party politics, as in so many other aspects of this mortal life. Each time a leader is given the privilege of heading a major political party in this country or elsewhere he/she receives a unique opportunity to let in fresh air. Has Golding done so? I think not!

The present leader of Norman Manley’s party has continued a moribund process of releasing stale air into the local political atmosphere. In a real sense, since Golding became president, almost six years ago, fresh air has become an even scarcer commodity in the PNP.

Where is the evidence that Golding puts the national interest above fixed party objectives?

Where is the evidence that he is adept at securing long-term advantages rather than short-term gains for the PNP?

Is he an authentic, visionary, and disciplined strategist? I think not!

SAME OLD, SAME OLD

As I see it, the Opposition leader has showed time and time again that he is the scarcely better than his colleagues.

Does Golding understand that the loudest critic is often not the favoured choice of the voters in a Western liberal democracy such as Jamaica’s? Golding is fixated on pointing at the barnacles on the ship of Jamaica, but too often fails to suggest fully costed and practical ways in which the pesky and costly creatures can be removed.

I don’t see the required evidence that Golding can move the PNP beyond being a parliamentary curiosity — which it is at this time, I believe.

Theatrical performances staged for the cameras are useful in politics, but a transformational leader understands that attaining and retaining State power, especially these days, is more about mathematics and far less about romanticism.

Political parties “live in a house of power”, said the renowned German sociologist, historian, and jurist Max Weber. Prolonged absence from State power causes fatigue and atrophy. This is where the PNP is now, I believe.

Can Golding rescue it? I think not!

When a party finds itself in the doldrums, a leader with three critical skills is needed. He/she has to be authentic, visionary, and a disciplined strategist. As I see it, Golding does not possess those three skills in sufficient measure to dislodge Andrew Holness from Jamaica House.

Three Sundays ago I noted in this space that Golding’s support from the Opposition benches during his 2026/27 Budget Debate presentation appeared more procedural than genuinely enthusiastic. It was, I believe, his penultimate budget presentation.

Recall that soon after the PNP’s defeat in the last general election I wrote in this space that Golding would face a leadership challenge in 2026/27. Horse-trading over that contest has already begun.

Some weeks ago I noted that when the challenge eventually comes I do not believe he will cross the finish line first. To save his position he will have to dig into resources the PNP has yet to see from him, and in doing so demonstrate a credible path back to the days when the PNP was a party of winners. I do not think he possesses those extra assets, not least because he continues to show that he is no better than his colleagues.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Two Sundays ago I detailed the missed opportunity that was Mark Golding’s 2026/7 Budget Debate presentation. He dropped another absolute sitter — think cricket — in the Dennis Gordon/JACDEN wrangle.

Consider this: “According to the AGD [Auditor General Department] report tabled in Parliament, the UHWI [University Hospital of the West Indies] misused its tax-exempt status to import goods for four private companies, which it identified as companies 1, 2, 3, and 4, resulting in losses totalling $23.1 million.

“Customs records showed that items such as office furniture, laundry and medical equipment were declared as hospital imports, but inventory records confirmed these were not acquired by the hospital and were instead obtained by private entities,” the audit report stated.

“This misrepresentation breached the Customs Act, resulting in over $20 million in unpaid import duties,” the AGD said, pointing out that false declaration on Customs documents are subject to fines or prosecution.

“The UHWI has since named the four companies as Supreme Laundry Services, Willman Sales, Scientific Medical Services, and JACDEN Limited.

“Gordon, who heads JACDEN, admitted that the UHWI cleared a shipment of dialysis machines for his company, but was adamant that this was not an attempt to avoid the Customs duties, which the company has since paid.” (Jamaica Observer, April 5, 2026)

The same newspaper item also gave these details. “Member of Parliament for St Andrew East Central Dennis Gordon has rejected calls for his resignation and scoffed at claims that he scammed the State out of millions of dollars when his company, JACDEN Limited, benefited from the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI’s) tax-exempt status.

“In his first full media interview since the matter was raised in a report from the Auditor General’s Department (AGD) in January, Gordon told the Jamaica Observer that the calls for his resignation are being done for political reasons as there was no finding of corruption or criminality by his company or himself.”

Like other well-thinking Jamaicans, I strongly believe that Gordon should have immediately tendered his resignation as a member of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), as chairman of the PNP’s Region 3, and from the PNP’s shadow Cabinet as soon as these important revelations were made in Parliament. Gordon, instead, decided to remain wrong and strong until he could no longer do so. And neither could the PNP.

Why did Gordon decide to remain wrong and strong? Simply put, it is the modus operandi of the PNP. Over the last 10 years I have presented verified receipts to demonstrate that great political burden and folly of the PNP. In my The Agenda column last Sunday I said that I believe the failed circle-the-wagons tactic which is consistently present in the PNP is one of the major reasons a critical mass of Jamaicans did not vote for that party in the September 3, 2025 General Election.

The PNP has now been defeated in three-straight general elections. When will its members see and learn the obvious lessons?

The Chinese say that in every crisis there is opportunity. The scandal involving Dennis Gordon’s company was a glorious opportunity for Opposition Leader Mark Golding to send an unambiguous signal to Jamaicans that the days of circling the wagons were over and that it was no longer business as usual in the PNP. He failed.

Think on this: “Based on the facts made available to me I have seen nothing to suggest that JACDEN has broken any law. Furthermore, Mr Gordon has, as is appropriate, recused himself from the Public Accounts Committee hearings considering this matter. Nevertheless, this situation with JACDEN has emerged in the public domain within the context of the many serious findings of maladministration at UHWI in the auditor general’s report.”

This is wishy-washy; spineless! I believe our political history will remember Golding as a comma or exclamation mark, not content.

Consider this, too: “In coming to this decision, I wish to reiterate that I am not aware of anything which suggests Mr Gordon or JACDEN has breached any law. Furthermore, JACDEN’s dialysis machines are now providing life-saving services to Jamaica’s renal patients at a lower cost than otherwise available in the marketplace. Nevertheless, it is the nature of public life that we must take a stance demonstrating adherence to rigorous standards of accountability, especially given that Jamaica is suffering from an environment where such standards are sadly lacking.”

This is vacillation on steroids. It cannot positively advance Jamaica towards becoming “the place of choice to live, work, raise families, and do business”.

Golding’s press release of April 5, 2026 provides further confirmation that he is running scared. He chose the path of least resistance. He decided not to poke Santa Claus for fear it would jeopardise his chance of receiving gifts at Christmas. This is foolish.

PARTY OVER COUNTRY

If Golding is to shift his and the PNP’s political fortunes positively he needs to cease elevating party unity at all costs above the interests of Jamaica. This failed tactic — not strategy — is part and parcel of this frightening mindset: “We believe that it is best for the PNP to form the Government; therefore, anything that will lead or cause us to be in power is best for the PNP and best for the country,” said PNP Chairman Emeritus Robert Pickersgill. Years later it is still a shocking utterance. The PNP has never distanced itself from this severely backward mindset. It is antithetical to democratic practice.

Golding’s embrace of the circle-the-wagons default is a close political cousin of Pickersgill’s dictum. It is crippling the PNP in the long run, even though it delivers some short-term advantage.

Every time Golding resorts to this moribund tactic the PNP’s credibility on accountability, transparency, and integrity deteriorates further. As long as the PNP continues down this dead end it will only be able to reminisce about the days when they were winners. A party without titans is doomed.

BUNKER SYNDROME

I believe that there is a type of Bunker Syndrome operating in the PNP. This is not something peripheral to Golding’s leadership; indeed, it is central.

Admittedly, keeping a party united when in Opposition is much harder than when that party forms the Government. Why? An Opposition leader has far less patronage to distribute. Therefore, he/she cannot rely on the automatic loyalty of those around them.

The days of loyalty to ideology are largely dead. The giving out of Opposition spokesperson titles and a few board assignments is pretty much all the patronage in Golding’s gift. The longer the PNP remains in the political wilderness the more insignificant its limited patronage becomes to the high-calibre talent it desperately needs to refresh its ranks.

The PNP has been in Opposition since February 2016. The more Golding listens to those around him who insist that all is well with this circling-the-wagons approach, the further the PNP’s fortunes will slide down the path to more defeat. Golding is setting himself up to be a mere political irritation to extremely hungry wolves.

If the PNP is to have any real chance of winning the next general election, scheduled for 2030, it must abandon the circle-the-wagons tactic. Among other things, it must recognise when protest is more reckless than useful. It has to spend far more time painting — in the minds and hearts of Jamaicans — a compelling portrait of what Jamaica would actually look like during and at the end of five years under a PNP Administration. That portrait must be far more attractive than the one being offered by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP). A critical mass of voters who did not support the PNP in the last election will continue to find a political home elsewhere if the party keeps failing in these areas.

Is the PNP attracting the wrong people into its fold? Or is Golding the wrong president for the PNP? And, is the biggest problem with Mark Golding himself? These are questions that need to keep the PNP’s top brass up late, very late at nights.

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

PNP Member of Parliament Dennis Gordon (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

An unfurled People’s National Party flag tells the mood of the Opposition party on general election day in 2020. The PNP has been in Opposition since 2016. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

Supporters of the People’s National Party listen in to party speeches on election night September 3, 2025 (Photo: Naphtali Junior)