TOUGH test for Holness

Political commentator Lloyd B. Smith, asserting that the ruling Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) showing in the recent local government elections created a breeding ground for rifts to develop, has declared that Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ tenacity as a leader is set to be tested.

“There is definitely some amount of panic in the JLP camp and usually when that happens in politics, the blame game is accelerated and a leader has to watch his back,” Smith told The Gleaner.

His pronouncement follows a revelation by controversial former Cabinet Minister Everald Warmington, who disclosed to Television Jamaica reporter Kelesha Williams yesterday that he was fired by Holness from his post as minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. The dismissal, which had last week been positioned as a resignation, came in the wake of Warmington’s controversial comments in which he appeared to say he would starve an elected People’s National Party (PNP) councillor of public funds.

Following calls from members of civil society, the prime minister, in a statement last Thursday, indicated that he met with Warmington and, at the end of the meeting, he received Warmington’s resignation.

However, in his interview with Williams, Warmington, who has been member of parliament for South West St Catherine since 2002, also divulged that he has resigned as chairman of the JLP’s Area Council 2.

Stating that his “national profile and work in the party… is in doubt now”, the 72-year-old parliamentarian said going forward he would only work with a few select candidates.

He suggested that he felt slighted by Holness.

“If you give me your word as the prime minister, you don’t change it because somebody pressure yuh,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Warmington was also the subject of a stern rebuff from Daryl Vaz, minister of science, energy, telecommunications and transport, during the first day’s sitting of Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee, which is in the process of reviewing the proposed Estimates of Expenditure for the 2024-2025 fiscal year.

In a brief and heated exchange, Warmington posed what he described as a “general question” to Vaz, who was making his presentation to the committee.

He enquired whether Vaz, as a minister, could make allocations to councillors, to which Vaz responded “not to my knowledge”.

He further quizzed Vaz on whether he was aware of any ministry that could do so.

“Not that I know of,” Vaz replied.

Warmington then revealed that the reason for his questions was a recent newspaper article in which Vaz disassociated himself from his comments regarding the partisan allocation of funds.

“But then, if that’s the case, why [are] you making statements? You made a statement the other day where I am concerned that you disassociate yourself from a statement I made on allocation. If it is not within a minister’s [power] to do it, then how you making such statements in The Observer?” Warmington charged.

“Let me make it clear for all who have ears to hear and eyes to see, I do not support partisan political politics at any level, whether it’s the councillor level, MP level or government level, and as a minister of government, that will never happen under my watch in any way, shape or form,” Vaz responded.

As Vaz continued to speak, a seemingly agitated Warmington made numerous sotto voce comments that could not be clearly heard as his mic was muted.

“It doesn’t seem like you have learnt anything,” Vaz shot back at Warmington in response to his off-mic comments.

Last evening, Smith said he believed Warmington’s behaviour was evidence of disunity in the JLP.

“I think Mr Holness will be challenged to reunite the party around his leadership which has suffered a serious dent. There’s definitely a dent in his armour at this time as a result of the local government results,” he told The Gleaner.

In a predicted dogfight for dominance in the local government elections, both political parties will be swearing in seven mayors, with the PNP snatching the coveted Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation which, though tied 20-20 up to yesterday, would see the Opposition party deciding the mayor due to securing the popular vote.

“I suspect a lot of that is what is going on now [is] ‘who is to blame’, ‘who is not not to blame’ and ‘where do we go from here’, especially now that an election is due in maybe relatively less than a year’s time, so there is going to be that sort of unease as to how the JLP manages. It remains to be seen because he will have to assert his leadership and manage it,” he said.

In the meantime, Winston Ennis, councillor-elect and former deputy mayor of Kingston, was yesterday unwilling to confirm or deny whether it was he who circulated a voice note stating that he has “walked away from the Jamaica Labour Party” and will not be sworn in “because I have to protect my dignity”.

If Ennis were to leave the JLP, the tie would be broken and the PNP would take charge of the KSAMC outright.

Ennis’ status and the dismissal of Warmington and its aftermath were reportedly among the subject slated for discussion during a high-level meeting at the JLP’s Belmont Road headquarters in New Kingston last night.

Smith in the meantime stated that the JLP stood to lose further political capital if it is exposed as disunited.

“The fact is that, for the past few years, the JLP has been boasting that, unlike the PNP (People’s National Party), it was unified around its leader and that there was no disunity, none of this fractiousness. What we are now seeing unfolding, it may be the tip of the iceberg,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com