PM criticizes those who “weaponize” corruption locally with “bad minds”
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| Holness foreshadows a reassessment of the nation’s anti-corruption framework |
Prime Minister Andrew Holness has hinted that the controversy surrounding a recent Integrity Commission (IC) report about him presents an opportunity for a review of Jamaica’s anti-corruption framework by claiming that the problem of corruption has been “weaponized” locally by “bad mind” individuals.
According to Holness, this assessment will sharpen the nation’s anti-corruption legislation.
He stated, “I think that what has transpired has given Jamaica a chance to really review our anti-corruption framework and legislation.
According to Holness, “I believe that there is now a chance to make the law more explicit, more useful, and to center it on where the problem actually resides.
He said that as ecstatic JLP supporters gathered on the grounds of the party’s Belmont Road offices in St. Andrew to welcome their party’s leader upon his return from a CARICOM summit in The Bahamas.
An investigation report that implicated Holness in a potential conflict of interest over the granting of Government contracts to Westcon Construction Ltd during the years 2006-2009 was tabled in Parliament and made public while the hearing was taking place on Wednesday.
After receiving a recommendation from the commission’s head of investigations, the IC’s director of corruption prosecution, Keisha Prince-Kameka, said a day later that no criminal charges will be filed against Holness.
On Friday, Holness reaffirmed the government’s commitment to battling corruption.
He bemoaned the fact that the IC report against him had been used as a political weapon by others, calling their actions just “poor mentality.”
Holness said, “We must take this as a chance to reassert our own commitment to dealing with the problem of corruption, which has been turned into a political weapon.
It has been turned into a weapon and employed in a way that takes attention away from the main objective, he continued.
While the government continues to prosper in some regions, he claimed that “there are people who see themselves continually slipping to the background, and they have grown desperate, they have gotten corrupted in their brains, in their thinking, and in their acts as well.
“We have a phrase for that; it’s called ‘bad mentality,’ and they are not able to stomach it when they see the success happening, the magnificent worldwide acclaim being given to Jamaica,” said Holness.
“I would appeal to those persons of such inclinations, put Jamaica first,” he continued.
Although claiming to be an experienced politician, Holness stated that at the CARICOM summit, he was able to “compartmentalize” and concentrate on matters relating to Haiti and regional crime.
He made reference to the news on the IC report by saying, “I was very tied down thinking at issues to do with Haiti, issues to do with crime…, and then I read something in the press that amounted to a diversion.”
He thanked his JLP members at Belmont Road for their support and said it demonstrated how “powerful” the party is.
