‘UNACCEPTABLE’

THE CHURCH has called Everald Warmington’s latest public furore an embarrassment to the Government and has questioned Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ seeming reluctance to rein in the minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

“It’s unacceptable and you wonder how it is that those who are responsible for the leadership of our country, of the party and the Government that he belongs to allow him to get away with those kinds of behaviour – disrespecting parliamentarians and now a councillor-caretaker,” Archbishop Kenneth Richards said in a Gleaner interview yesterday.

Richards, president of the Jamaica Council of Churches, said Colin Bell, the PNP representative for the Fellowship division who was the subject of Warmington’s wrath, is a citizen of the country and had a right to know what was happening.

Warmington engaged in a heated exchange with Bell after insisting that he should not accompany him on a tour of that section of the constituency.

Warmington argued that he does not tour with caretaker-candidates or councillors, and said the only political representative who should have been there was the member of parliament (MP), Ann-Marie Vaz.

CARETAKERS NOT RECOGNISED

“You don’t follow my tour. Caretakers are not recognised in the Constitution of Jamaica. I don’t tour with councillor-caretakers regardless of their party. I am touring with the member of parliament, if you want some information then ask her. This is not a political tour,” Warmington told Bell.

Richards pointed to a statement in the past in which Warmington said that he would continue to say what was on his mind so long as it does not embarrass the prime minister.

“This should be an embarrassment to the prime minister, to the Government and to the party. He is indeed embarrassing the position that he holds as a member of Government and a representative of the people and cannot show the kind of respect that he ought to and especially at this time when we are looking at constitutional reform,” Richards said, adding that Warmington has displayed a raft of bad behaviour consistently.

Efforts by The Gleaner to get comment on the matter from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) were unsuccessful.

Up to press time, OPM did not respond to The Gleaner’s request.

LIGHTNING ROD

Warmington has been a lightning rod for critics following several public outbursts including flipping the bird to journalists, chiding the police in a profanity-laced rant, calling a female parliamentary colleague “jezebel”, and using race-baiting comments against Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

The Gleaner contacted Warmington for comment yesterday, but the minister refused to be drawn on the matter.

“Don’t call me about damn nonsense,” he said before ending the call.

Dr Maziki Thame, political commentator and senior lecturer at The University of the West Indies, Mona, said Warmington’s comments to Bell evoke a “hierarchical and classist view of power” that has implications for the approach to political participation as non-inclusive and “definitely” not egalitarian.

She questioned whether Warmington’s clash with Bell was a way to exclude the presence of the Opposition to ensure that no mileage is gained from their presence on the ‘non-political tour’.

“More interesting though is what is being asserted on this non-political tour at this time. What are we to make of the disgruntlement of the constituents of East Portland in the last few months and the posturing of Warmington and the MP on the tour and in statements to the press that the authorities must act? Who are the authorities if not the MP and the Government?” she questioned.

ARROGANT AND BOORISH

Vice President of the PNP and spokesperson for works, Mikael Phillips, called on Holness to sanction Warmington for what he described as “continued arrogant and boorish behaviour”.

Phillips said Warmington’s “abuse” of Bell was “unwarranted and undemocratic as all citizens in the parish are affected and needed information on government plans to ameliorate the misery caused by bad road conditions in the parish”.

“It is unacceptable for any citizen to be subjected to the vitriolic attack and abuse of office that Minister Warmington continuously displays,” he stated.

He said such abusive behaviour should not be tolerated by citizens as “Portland is not Minister Warmington’s plantation but rather a part of Jamaica, and he was there conducting government business related to a matter of high public interest”.

Phillips noted at the same time that Warmington’s comments were made while he was acting on behalf of Holness, who is the minister of works.

He said Holness should ensure there is no recurrence of this episode anywhere in Jamaica.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com