Have you seen Hugh Graham?

Opposition lawmaker Hugh Graham attended only one of at least 37 meetings of the House of Representatives in 2024, missing major debates affecting his constituents while collecting more than $13.76 million in basic salary for the calendar year.

In fact, over the past two years, Graham attended only 14 of 93 meetings – a 15 per cent attendance rate – with basic salary of about $25.9 million.

Graham, CEO of lubricant and chemicals producer Paramount Trading Jamaica Limited, represents St Catherine North Western for the People’s National Party (PNP). He resigned as a party spokesman in 2023, and later that year, the PNP named a new representative for the next general election due by September 3 this year.

The businessman escaped being booted from Gordon House because, although he missed more than six consecutive meetings in 2024, they did not occur within 21 days, the trigger for an ouster.

The official attendance records, which The Sunday Gleaner obtained from Gordon House, span 37 sittings of the 63-member House of Representatives between January 16 and December 3, 2024. The data was provided before a final sitting in 2024, which does not form part of the analysis for this story. Comparison is also limited as Gordon House said it was unable to provide data older than 2023. All 56 sittings in 2023 are accounted for.

Graham’s 2024 attendance continued a trend from 2023, when he attended 13 of 56 sittings, missing 34. He had four absences with an apology and five due to illness.

He was absent for 30 consecutive meetings from March 14 to December 3, 2024. During this time, the House passed new budgets, held sectoral and constituency debates, and enacted several laws. He was absent with an apology once. The single meeting he attended during the review period was the opening of the Budget Debate on March 12.

For most of 2024, Graham was paid about $1.2 million monthly, slightly up from just over the $1 million monthly in 2023 – compensation above the average public servant, though likely well below earnings from his private ventures.

UNACCEPTABLE

“Whether he earns billions more from his company does not matter. He chose to be a parliamentarian and many public servants would want to be able to earn over $1 million a month,” said a fellow opposition legislator who did not want to be named. “The least he can do is turn up for the people’s business. Would he accept that from an employee of his company?”

The average attendance for House members in 2024 was 76 per cent, slightly higher than the 73 per cent in 2023.

The House usually meets once weekly on Tuesdays, with Thursdays often set aside for constituency work.

Several telephone calls and messages sent to Graham by The Sunday Gleaner went unanswered. A WhatsApp message notification indicated that a message with questions sent on January 8 was “read” that day. His office said Friday that he was unavailable.

Phillip Paulwell, leader of opposition business in the House, avoided commenting on whether Graham’s attendance record – the worst during the review period – was acceptable.

“I am in dialogue with Graham and I expect that for this year, the attendance will improve tremendously. That is the assurance that I have been given,” Paulwell said.

Pressed further, he added, “This is something that Graham will reflect on. My own view is that we have to move on.”

Paulwell, who attended 31 of the 37 sittings last year, noted, “Attendance at House meetings is important because that’s why we’re there and that’s why we’re paid to be there.”

Some residents of St Catherine North Western have expressed disappointment with the quality of representation Graham has given the constituency.

“That cannot be proper. In my organisation, we come together and that person has to step down – not a maybe, must step down,” a resident, who gave his name only as Stanley, said in reaction to the data.

“You should be representing the people and not only representing the people in Parliament, but in the constituency where you are, that the people can see you and talk to you,” he said.

Stanley added, “The only person we can turn to is Garriques,” referring to Herbert Garriques, the PNP councillor for the Linstead division. He also welcomed Damion Crawford as the PNP’s next candidate, saying Crawford is being embraced “with open arms”.

Another resident, Dennis Brown, said: “It nuh mek no sense. I don’t even know him. I glimpsed him one time during the elections and I haven’t seen him since.”

Garriques, a former member of Graham’s constituency executive, noted dissatisfaction with Graham’s representation.

“Politically, there is no representation on his part. From the standpoint of taxpayers’ money, you can see things happening around the constituency. I can’t personally say to you that ‘yes, he was right here or right there’,” Garriques said, while acknowledging constituency projects like road patching and back-to-school events.

LACK OF REGARD FOR DUTY

Danielle Archer, principal director of National Integrity Action, an anti-corruption group, said Graham’s case “would indicate that the MP has no regard for his duty and has failed to handle his responsibility as required”.

“The parliamentarians rewarded themselves corporate salaries. In the corporate world, if you do not show up for the job and perform, you lose the job. Parliamentarians should be treated no differently from a corporate employee. They should lose their seat or be recalled if they fail to perform and or don’t show up in Parliament,” she said.

Archer also argued that based on the frequency of meetings, it will be difficult to punish missing legislators.

“Given the abuse of this rule and the current reality, it should be changed. Parliament meeting once weekly is insufficient to complete the nation’s legislative business,” she said.

Jamaica does not have a law to allow constituents to recall non-performing members of parliament (MPs).

The Parliament said last week that it needed more time to respond to questions sent by The Sunday Gleaner.

Other MPs also recorded poor attendance in 2024, the parliamentary records show.

Dr Andrew Wheatley attended 16 sittings of the 37 meetings, missing 21; James Robertson was absent 18 times and present for 19; Lisa Hanna attended 17 sittings and missed 18, including five due to illness; Natalie Garvey recorded 18 absences and 18 attendances, with nine during the period of her daughter’s death. An absence due to illness was noted for Garvey.

Former Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips attended three sittings, while Mike Henry, the joint-longest serving MP in Jamaica’s history, attended six. In 2023, Phillips attended only four of the 56 meetings while Henry recorded 27. Both have documented health challenges.

“I have been getting treatment regularly and oftentimes the House sitting has coincided with the time of my treatment,” said Phillips, who represents St Andrew East Central, but will not be seeking re-election. “I try to ensure that all my constituency activities are taken care of.”

He argued that attendance is only one aspect of an MP’s role, stating, “In some sense, ... it is the other functions of the House with the standing committees and the other things where the most important work [takes place] … . The legislative functions are, in substantive terms, minimal for the average member.”

“I wish I could get better quickly,” Henry, the Clarendon Central MP, said, noting that reparations for enslavement fuels his continued interest in legislative work.

“I’m still fighting and waiting on a parliamentary answer on reparation. [I have a] private member’s motion. And it’s been my life to fight for that recognition,” said the 89-year-old.

Robert Miller of the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and Anthony Hylton of the PNP attended all 37 sittings under review in 2024.

“It’s my job. I have to be present,” said Miller, the St Catherine South Eastern MP. “That’s what the people elected me to do – to enact laws to benefit [them]. I can’t be absent.”

Miller urged colleagues to “pull up our socks”.

“Persons have elected us for a particular reason. The purse pays us to represent them and we have to ensure we treat it as a job, … that we speak on behalf of the people that elected us to be there,” he said.

For Hylton, the work of Parliament is “critical”.

“You’re talking about legislation. If you miss some legislative activities, you’re really missing the interest, not only of the constituent but of the broader Jamaica,” he argued.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness was recorded present at 37 of the 56 meetings in 2023, with most of his absences linked to official duties. In 2024, he went to 25 of Gordon House’s 37 meetings. Opposition Leader Mark Golding attended 41 sittings in 2023 and 32 in 2024.

Graham’s case highlights increased scrutiny of lawmakers since May 2023, following a controversial salary hike for the political directorate. The 2023 salary increases – ranging from 210% to 232% – drew significant public backlash, prompting protests and calls for greater accountability.

MPs’ basic salaries jumped 230 per cent from $4.3 million annually in 2021 to $14.3 million in 2024. Cabinet ministers saw a 231 per cent increase to $22.9 million, and the finance minister’s salary rose 232 per cent to $24.6 million.

The prime minister’s salary increased 210 per cent to $28.6 million, but Dr Holness reversed the hike for his office after public backlash. Opposition Leader Mark Golding, whose salary rose 221 per cent to $25.7 million, pledged to donate his increase to charity.

The Government resisted calls from unions and the Opposition, which flip-flopped on the matter, to roll back the raises. Holness, who said he would personally take an increase amid the backlash, defended the top ups as necessary to attract talent and create an efficient public sector but emphasised the importance of “accountability for performance” as he tabled long-promised proposed job descriptions for parliamentarians in June 2023.

– Ruddy Mathison contributed to this story.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com