WATCH: Holness hits out at ‘badmind’ detractors after Integrity Commission exoneration
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hit out at detractors who he said use the issue of corruption as a “political weapon”.
He made the remarks at the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) headquarters on Belmont Road in St Andrew on Friday afternoon, after being exonerated by the Integrity Commission in relation to a conflict of interest allegation against him over Government contracts awarded to a close associate 14 years ago when he was education minister.
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“We must use this as an opportunity to reaffirm our own commitment to treating with the issue of corruption which has been made into a political weapon, it has been weaponised and it has been used in a way that detracts and distracts from the real focus,” Holness said while surrounded by scores of jubilant supporters who had given the prime minister a warm welcome on his arrival.
“As we achieve success, there are those who see themselves constantly receding to the sidelines and they have become desperate, they have become corrupted in their minds and in their thoughts and in their deeds as well,” he continued, noting “We have a term for it, it’s called ‘badmind’, and when they see the success happening, the glorious international recognition being given to Jamaica, they are not able to stomach it.”
The Integrity Commission is under fire over its handling of the findings in the probe – including the referral of Holness for possible criminal sanction – which was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday without information that the prime minister had eventually been exonerated in the matter more than a month earlier by the commission’s Director of Corruption Prosecution.
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“In every crisis, there is an opportunity. I believe that what has happened has presented Jamaica with an opportunity to take a serious look at our anti-corruption framework and legislation,” Holness said on Friday.
“I think that there is now an opportunity to make the legislation more precise, to make it more practical and to refocus it on where the problem really exists.”
