Last week, while making his Budget Debate presentation in Parliament, Opposition Leader Mark Golding declared: “The head of Parliament is now the spouse of the head of Government. This does not sit well with the tradition that the Speaker must act independently of the Government of the day.” 

This led to Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his Government members walking out of Parliament, the first time this has happened during a Budget Debate in the history of Jamaica.

Golding has said,“ We caused the Government with a big majority to walk out of Parliament over something all of Jamaica can see to be true.”

The subsequent furore has not subsided.

Golding has been asked whether Juliet Holness should step aside as Speaker of the House. He has reiterated that he and the People’s National Party (PNP) have no problem with her competence to be the Speaker of the House but take issue with her performance since her ascension into position and her opaqueness concerning the Integrity Commission reports.

“Should she step aside? I personally feel we should have a Speaker that is independent of the Government. The decision whether she should step down is one to be made between Juliet Holness and her husband.”

Our Today caught up with Opposition Spokesperson on National Security and Productivity, Peter Bunting, who in an exclusive interview said that the issue undermines governance in Jamaica at a time when the country is demanding special effort is made within all State institutions.

“Governance in Jamaica has been on a downward slide for the last eight years. There was a recent article that pointed out that the present Prime Minister has the unenviable record of of seeing eight members of his government having to be fired or resign due to unseemly behaviour while executing their duties on behalf of the country. The point about the suppression of the Integrity Commission reports, the fact that six parliamentarians, including Cabinet members, have engaged in dubious behaviour which is unbecoming is concerning for all Jamaicans. The Government knows this.”

“The people who are in the positions to direct portfolios, ministry departments and agencies are the people in a position more likely to enrich themselves illicitly. The more power and authority you have in the government, the more opportunity you have for illicit leverage so I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine that those being investigated would be in senior positions in the Government and most likely in the Cabinet,” said Bunting.

The former Government minister said that what should always be avoided is the ‘odour of mendacity’ and with the Juliet Holness situation, there is a clear conflict of interest where the three primary arms of Jamaica’s statecraft, the parliament, the government and the judiciary, two were headed by Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet Holness.

Bunting went on to say that nowhere in the world would this be allowed to happen.

“Juliet Holness was an unfortunate choice as Speaker of the House. For one, and all Jamaicans can clearly see, the optics do not look good. The principle was wrong from the very beginning but having gone down that road, we all could have suspended judgment and said let’s see how she behaves and conducts her duties and responsibilities. She has not been forthcoming, she has not insisted on a clear timeline for the prime minister to release his statutory declarations even when he said he would do so at the end of last year and today we are in March,” he mused.

“It has to be said that the Prime Minister’s wife Juliet Holness is the most tribal parliamentarian in Jamaica. I don’t think she was there for the Opposition Spokesperson on Finance’s Budget debate and she was there for a few minutes when the Opposition Leader was speaking; that in itself tells you all you need to know. The Budget Debate is very important. It is one of the most significant events on the parliamentary calendar but where was she? It shows you how partisan she is. Even if we wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt – the principle was wrong, the optics were wrong but let us see what the practice is. She is more tribal than any of her predecessors as Speaker of the House,” Bunting continued.

Perhaps, the Prime Minister left in a fit of pique, his emotions got the better of him and he felt this was a fusillade aimed at his wife.

On reflection, and with counsel from the older heads in the party, people like Delroy Chuck, Babsy Grange and Audley Shaw, Prime Minister Andrew Holness will walk this back, and take a more conciliatory stance.

After all, we all have our moments, we all can get a little steamed up. Sometimes we all get that rush of blood to the head. Let’s forgive and move on.

Bunting responded: “I don’t think this Prime Minister takes counsel from anybody. Maybe with the exception of Mrs. Holness, I don’t think there is anybody who could influence him against his own mind. This is not just my view, colleagues on the JLP side share this opinion.”