JMA treads softly on Trafigura affair
THE Jamaica Manufacturers’ Association (JMA) has broken its silence on the Trafigura affair, but unlike the other major private sector groups, is seemingly more alarmed at the breach of banking confidentiality rules.
In a statement issued Tuesday, which only emerged in the media yesterday, the JMA’s tone was distinctly different from that of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) and the merchant grouping, the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce (JCC).
“Firstly, the JMA is extremely concerned about the fact that banker-customer confidentiality seems no longer sacrosanct,” the manufacturers complained. “In fact, the confidence between banker and customer is a very important element of being able to conduct business.”
The reference was to the leak of information – allegedly from the FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB) – that an account named CCOC operated by the ruling People’s National Party (PNP) recently received $31 million from Trafigura, the Dutch oil and commodities trader which has a contract with the state-run Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ).
The disclosures also resulted in the downfall of PNP general-secretary and minister of information and development Colin Campbell, the man at the centre.
The JMA, which has remained outside the PSOJ, is headed by businesswoman Doreen Frankson, but the statement was issued over the signature of executive director Nicola Gordon-Rowe.
In their statements leading into last weekend, both the PSOJ and the JCC stridently condemned the appearance of corruption in the ruling party receiving money from Trafigura. The situation was worsened by a statement from the oil trader that it had made no gift to the party and had only a commercial arrangement with CCOC, an acronym for “Colin Campbell Our Candidate”.
The JMA maintained that the breach of banker-client relations at FCIB brought into “sharp focus the fiduciary responsibility of deposit-taking institutions and the implication for business confidence in such institutions” and “the JMA is of the view that on this point the society cannot afford to equivocate.”
Raising a second issue out of the Trafigura affair – the question of contribution to political parties – the JMA said the issue “represents somewhat of a grey area”.
“In the past, both political parties have benefited from contributions which are well within their rights. In this regard, however, as the discussions continue about openness and transparency, we must be also cognisant of the system in which we operate.
“In our current democratic process of electing political officials, we consider secret ballots to be a fundamental imperative. The question, therefore, is what should hold for contributions to political institutions? If contributors wish anonymity, should this be preserved?
“The JMA joins the call for discussion on this fundamental issue and goes even further to call on the government to provide to the nation full disclosure of the facts surrounding the Trafigura affair.”