Henry-Wilson out of order, says Henry
THE Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has challenged People’s National Party (PNP) general-secretary Maxine Henry-Wilson to either prove the Opposition’s alleged involvement in Monday’s demonstration by taxi operators or proffer an apology for what it described as “rude” and “intemperate” utterances by her.
“Her rude and intemperate statements belied her status as a senior Cabinet minister,” the party’s spokesman on transport, Mike Henry, said Tuesday in statement to the press.
“…The JLP, in denying any organisational input in yesterday’s demonstrations, is demanding that Mrs Henry-Wilson either substantiate her charges of a JLP involvement or do the honourable thing and apologise for both the content and tone of her statements,” Henry said.
The PNP had charged that the taxi protest was orchestrated by the labour party to embarrass the Government and undermine the economy. In fact, Henry-Wilson issued a statement Monday claiming that the demonstration was arranged to derail recent gains in the tourism sector following the failure of contrary predictions by the labour party’s tourism spokesman, Ed Bartlett.
Bartlett had previously predicted a poor winter tourist season for the island.
Said Henry-Wilson: “Now that his (Bartlett’s) prophecies have been proven wrong, it is clear that he is party to this plan to prevent visitors from moving freely and enjoying the pleasures of their vacation.”
However, on Tuesday, Henry noted that Henry-Wilson’s assertions that the JLP was party to the protest mounted by taxi operators over the increase in petrol prices, vehicle licence fees and traffic fines was “disturbing, rude, intemperate and unwarranted.”
“Without producing a shred of evidence, Mrs Henry-Wilson and her party chose to take the easy, but unprincipled route of blaming the Opposition for a problem that is evidently a bi-product of the Government’s broad economic failures and its general inadequacies in addressing the growing problems within the local ground transportation sector,” Henry argued.
“Indeed, had there been organisational input and direction from the JLP, the entire country would have been drawn into the fray… considering the stridency among the demonstrators,” he added.
At the same time, he said the JLP believed that the taxi operators have a valid case.
“In noting the concerns expressed by the protesting taxi-men over the broad range of increased fees, petrol prices and traffic violation fines coming on stream together, the Opposition has been forced to accept that there is some validity in the protesters’ position,” Henry said.
“Much of this, of course, is borne out of clear indications that the Government has opted to use the public transportation sector to close much of its budgetary gap, even in the absence of any detailed study or data on the potential for the sector to meet the increased burden being placed on it,” Henry added.
Against this background, the JLP has also called for a meeting with Transport and Works Minister Robert Pickersgill, with a view “to lend some guidance to the aggrieved taxi operators who have indeed been clamouring for support in their bid to bring their position to the table of government”.
“This is out of our endeavour to keep the country out of any form of strife, where dialogue is possible,” Henry said in explaining his call for a meeting with Pickersgill.
In addition, Henry said member of parliament, Shahine Robinson, had also been asked to meet with protestors and other stakeholders in St Ann, where demonstrations were reportedly staged Tuesday.