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As soon as it came to light that M.P.  Dennis Gordon and his company JACDEN were part of the UWHI imbroglio and benefited from tax exemptions, he should have stepped away from parliamentary obligations like his participation in  Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meetings until investigations are completed.

His party leader, Mark Golding, was not quick to jettison him, insisting Gordon has not been found to have committed any illegal acts. Gordon should be grateful that Golding has his back 

However, Golding has now been forced to make a statement that Gordon should step aside from PAC and the Shadow Cabinet pending ongoing investigations.

Why didn’t Gordon have the wherewithal to see this? Why did he compromise the party leader and embarrass his party? 

The misadministration of the UHWI has been a monumental mess and shows up the shortcomings of accountability and corporate governance in Jamaica.

Both Chris Tufton and Patrick Hylton were called out for being asleep at the wheel, and the entire fiasco has been placed in the Government’s lap. 

Now it looks like the PNP is also complicit and must take a good, hard look at its own part in this sorry affair. 

What we are seeing here is corruption and unsavoury practices go across party lines -neither the PNP nor the JLP is clean.  They are both pigs feeding at a very big trough. 

If you are in public life, you should conduct yourself accordingly. You should be held to account. Time and time again in Jamaica, we see politicians milking the system and getting rich by doing so.

The PNP is in no position to point at the JLP regarding the UHWI scandal.

A few months ago, there were calls for the Minister of Health Dr. Christopher Tufton, to step down as a number of revelations came out concerning  Market Me, Cornwall Regional Hospital and UHWI.

But what is good for the goose is good for the gander.

The PNP now looks compromised, and its consternation has no weight because of Dennis Gordon’s involvement. 

The public looking on at all this must deem all of them sitting in Gordon House a bunch of opportunists. There are no standards; just grab what you can and pray you don’t get caught.

It didn’t appear to Gordon Brown that he should step away, and none of his colleagues whispered in his ear that he should recuse himself for a while. 

Golding should have taken the decision sooner rather than allowing this to escalate and embarrass the PNP, which now has a lot of egg on its face. 

Calling for Tufton’s resignation now rings hollow because he also hasn’t done anything illegal. If he hasn’t like in the case of Gordon, according to Golding, the PNP should say so and take the noose off around Tufton’s neck but we know that will not happen. 

It really is a case of cock mouth kill cock!

The JLP’s youth arm, Young Jamaica, wrote: “ Young Jamaica notes that it was revealed at the sitting of PAC that JACDEN used the UHWI’s tax exemption status in the purchase and importation of items, including dialysis machines, which were immediately transported to the premises of JACDEN.

“This unlawful use of the UHWI tax exemption status, which is now the subject of separate investigations by the Integrity Commission and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) has deprived Jamaican taxpayers of millions of dollars which could have been used to provide vital services to the public.

“Young Jamaica is of the view that given his company’s status as a prime beneficiary of the unlawful use of UHWI’s tax exemption privilege and the additional burden the unlawful arrangement has placed on taxpayers, Dennis Gordon’s positions both as Member of Parliament, PNP Region 3 Chairman and PAC  member are all untenable. 

“Consequently, Young Jamaica call on Gordon to immediately resign from all three positions with immediate effect.

Is this an unreasonable demand? Would this not be the expectation in a country which has high parliamentary standards, where accountability, and governance practices and processes are followed?