KINGSTON, Jamaica – Prime Minister Andrew Holness has instructed his attorneys to initiate legal action against senior members of the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) following comments about the Integrity Commission’s report on his financial affairs.
In a statement, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) took note of a press conference hosted on Thursday by the PNP and described the statements made during a press conference , as “defamatory and false”.
Member of the JLP’s communication task force Senator Abka Fitz-Henley pointed out that Holness was being truthful when he indicated last August that he was unaware of JLP members being probed for illicit enrichment.
On Thursday, the PNP’s Shadow Justice Minister Senator Donna Scott Mottley referenced what she called the ‘Holness principle of accountability’ when he, as then Leader of the Opposition in 2013, called for a junior PNP minister, Richard Azan, to step aside.
The senator argued that the Prime Minister has proven to be questionable with his decision to remain at the helm of the country’s highest office. She also questioned whether he would be open to fast-tracking the probe by the Financial Investigations Division(FID) into his finances, as directed by the Integrity Commission.
Meanwhile, the FID says it will be undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the Integrity Commission’s Investigation Report into the Prime Minister’s Statutory Declarations.
In a release on Thursday , the FID says it will be seeking to determine what, if any, specific area may be probed in keeping with its mandate.The5 Integrity Commission says it has referred the report to the FID, and the Prime Minister’s Statutory Declarations will not be certified until the probe is complete.
