Prime Minister Andrew Holness - file photo
.png)
Damion Gordon, Assistant Lecturer of Public Policy in the Department of Government at UWI
Prime Minister Andrew Holness is being called upon to break his silence on the controversial Holland Estate deal which has cast a shadow over another of his cabinet ministers.
Four days after the revelation of the deal, facilitated by J.C. Hutchinson, Minister without portfolio in the Agriculture Ministry, Mr. Holness is yet to comment on the matter.
Damion Gordon, Assistant Lecturer of Public Policy in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, says it is imperative Mr. Holness address the issue in light of the commitment he gave to tackle corruption.
"He was elected on a platform of accountability and he had pledged that he was going to be serious about corruption, and we have had several instances where ministers have been implicated in acts of corruption and certainly the public has been having conversations about these issues and are concerned," he asserted in an interview with Radio Jamaica News.
Mr. Gordon contended that it is time for Mr. Holness to display leadership and "to say something to reassure the people that he understands the concerns and he intends to act upon these concerns and these issues."
The current controversy relates to the decision by SCJ Holdings to allow a company, Holland Producers Limited, to take control of more than 2,000 acres of land in St. Elizabeth based on a recommendation from Mr. Hutchinson.
Mr. Hutchinson's partner and the mother of his child, Lola Marshall-Williams, was a director in the company, up to Tuesday.
It has also been revealed that the company has been subletting the land to small farmers despite not having a lease arrangement with SCJ Holdings.
comments powered by Disqus
All feeds
