Gov’t stands
The Government last night used its majority to defeat the Opposition’s no-confidence motion, as predicted, after more than seven hours of debate which ended after 10:00 pm.
Both sides voted strictly along party lines for a 33 to 23 defeat of the motion that was tabled last week by Opposition Leader Bruce Golding in response to the controversy over the $31-million in political funding from Dutch oil trader, Trafigura Beheer, to the ruling People’s National Party (PNP).
It was quite evident from early in the debate that Government members would be circling the party wagon. Speakers on that side refuted the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP’s) claim that the Government was showing a greater inclination to protect the PNP from embarrassment, than ensuring probity and transparency in the conduct of its Cabinet.
Golding, describing the revelation as “the mother of all scandals”, told the House of representatives on October 3 that between September 6 and 12, Trafigura transferred euro460,000 – over J$31 million – from their account in Amsterdam to an account in Jamaica known as “CCOC Association”. The amount eventually ended up in a PNP campaign fund named SW Services/Team Jamaica.
During yesterday’s debate, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller broke her two-week long silence on the issue with a brief response to Golding’s charges.
She emphatically denied any wrongdoing in the transfer of the funds to her party’s account, although she reminded the House that she has asked that the money be returned. She also reiterated the party’s claim that the Trafigura controversy was an attempt to divert attention from the censure motion against JLP general-secretary Karl Samuda.
Simpson Miller called on the Opposition to join hands with the Government and participate in the Joint Select Committee of Parliament it has proposed to discuss a bill on party funding and registration tabled by Independent MP Abe Dabdoub.
But Golding was not amused. He said that after two weeks of waiting for a response from the prime minister, her contribution was very disappointing.
He said that it was either that the prime minister did not appreciate the fundamental issues involved in the controversy, or she was not prepared to confront them.
He said that the Government missed a golden opportunity to lay the full details of the arrangements with Trafigura on the table of the House for public information.
Earlier in the debate, minister of housing, transport, water and works, Robert Pickersgill, admitted that he had blundered in telling the public earlier that the contracts between Jamaica and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Trafigura had been signed.
A Ministry Paper tabled last night in the House by minister of energy, commerce, industry and technology, Phillip Paulwell, who did not take part in the debate, stated that while the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ) had signed the renewal documents to the evergreen contract with the NNPC, it was not yet finalised by the NNPC, and that the contract with Trafigura, which expired in December 2005, has not yet been renewed.
However, he said that Trafigura will continue to service the contract until the PCJ completes the tendering process and decides on a lifter for 2006/2007.