Jackson denies SOE-Banking Bill trade-off - But criticism of policy proposal forces walkback, source reveals

The Opposition has sought to allay fears that it is about to withdraw from stakeholder discussions on crime amid blowback from critics that the party was planning to use support for states of emergency (SOEs) as a bargaining chip for its chucked Banking Services Bill.

Those talks, which are brokered by the influential Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), involve the Government, the Opposition and civil-society groups.

The PSOJ raised concerns on Monday that those talks could be derailed following the publication of a story by this newspaper indicating that the Opposition was considering withholding support for SOEs, the Government’s main crime-fighting tool.

The private member’s bill, which was piloted by Fitz Jackson, chairman of the People’s National Party (PNP), was defeated by a 30-29 party-line vote in February. Jackson, who is also opposition spokesman on national security, had argued that the bill was necessary to protect tens of thousands of Jamaicans from “arbitrary and exorbitant” bank fees and has vowed to continue his campaign against those fees.

Following the concerns raised by the PSOJ Monday evening, which were carried in the Tuesday edition of The Gleaner, Jackson moved to offer clarification regarding ongoing discussions around crime.

“The public should be mindful that it’s the People’s National Party, the parliamentary Opposition, that has consistently insisted that Jamaica’s crime solution requires a broad-based and all-inclusive approach, including all the various stakeholders. That has been at the forefront of the Opposition’s proposal,” Jackson told The Gleaner.

“Furthermore, for the record, the Opposition set, as a condition, the commencement of the stakeholder engagement for the extension of the Clarendon and St Catherine SOEs in October,” Jackson added.

The shadow minister for national security said that this was in keeping with the agreement that was arrived at with the Government as far back as January 7. “We remain committed to that process,” he insisted.

The party chairman stressed that the PNP would continue to participate in stakeholder discussions around the crime problem but reiterated that the party does not support the SOEs as a crime-fighting tool as they have not worked. He pointed to the fact that murders were running ahead of last year’s numbers.

Contradictions

Jackson’s views, however, contradict assertions from a reliable source, a ranking spokesman and leader in the PNP who has been a long-time lobbyist against high transaction fees and an advocate for the passage of the Banking Bill. Jackson himself retweeted the December 23 lead story and affixed to it a copy of an advertisement that he and the PNP had earlier promoted in a bid to name and shame government members of parliament who had voted against the Banking Bill.

The Gleaner source disclosed that the Opposition intended to twist the arm of the Government in pushing through the banking legislation by leveraging its support for the SOEs in seven police divisions spanning six parishes. The SOEs lapse between February 4 and 27, 2020.

That barter, the high-ranking party officer said, was crucial to the party’s aim for a quid pro quo on the security crackdown. However, resistance and criticism of the policy move, both from the private sector and in political circles, have caused a walkback of the proposal, a source confirmed yesterday.

When Jackson spoke with The Gleaner Tuesday morning, he said: “About the comments reported in the media regarding the Banking Fee (Bill) and the state of emergency, it is a fact that the party has not taken a position on voting and linking both. However, many members, including myself, have been approached by many persons expressing concern about the non-passage of the bill as a result of the JLP Government’s opposition, or blockage, of the passage of the bill.”

“The PNP has not yet taken a position in this regard,” Jackson emphasised.

The opposition spokesman also told The Gleaner that over the past three months, he has approached Prime Minister Andrew Holness; Minister of Finance Dr Nigel Clarke; the leader of government business in the House of Representatives, Karl Samuda; and JLP General Secretary Dr Horace Chang regarding one, the Banking Bill “expressing my concern about the non-passage of the bill, and two, that I am about to resume the campaign for its passage, which I hope would not become necessary if they would pass the bill at the earliest sitting of the House”.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon by the PNP, Jackson reportedly said that he was “approached by different reporters who were interested in his plans for bringing the bill back on top of the parliamentary agenda”.

“One reporter suggested a possible ‘marriage’, which has not been proposed as a considered approach for the party as it was never discussed internally by the PNP parliamentary group or leadership of the party,” he said.

Jackson said that the Banking Services Bill is extremely important to bringing relief to Jamaicans from high banking fees and that he would continue to pursue its passage in Parliament, for which some government members have expressed support in private.

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