JLP criticises Golding over response to leaked PNP recording
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The governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has suggested that Opposition Leader Mark Golding failed to condemn statements allegedly made by two senior People's National Party (PNP) figures in a leaked audio recording, describing his response as "shameful and a disgrace".
The voices in the recording discussed possible ways to discredit Major General Antony Anderson in his role as head of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), while acknowledging his excellent track record in the various public offices he has held.
Golding, in an address to the PNP's National Executive Council (NEC) on Sunday, said the conversations in the leaked recordings did not take place in any official PNP forum and that no officer of the party participated in the discussions.
Additionally, he said the PNP has no official NEC or executive WhatsApp group.
"This was a WhatsApp group formed by individuals within the party and the views expressed were their personal views. So those recordings do not represent the official recordings of the PNP, or any policy of the PNP," he said.
However, in a statement on Monday, JLP Communication Chairman Senator Abka Fitz-Henley noted that the PNP president spent two minutes addressing the leaked recording but failed to condemn the comments allegedly made by members of the PNP executive committee.
"Golding's comments show that he is not suited for leadership," he said.
"What Golding cannot deny is that the statements were made in a PNP WhatsApp group called 'Executive Members'. He cannot deny that the group has a PNP logo as its display photo and that the vast majority of his executive committee, including co-opted individuals, are members of the group," he added.
As a result, Fitz-Henley said Golding's comments on Sunday were "misleading and a disgrace".
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