PSOJ to meet with political leaders about divisive rhetoric

By Kimone Witter   

 

President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), Metry Seaga, says he will seek audience with the leaders of the two major political parties regarding divisive rhetoric as campaigning for the local and general elections heats up.

 

Mr. Seaga says the pronouncements from political platforms have become personal attacks and has called for the reinstatement of a Political Ombudsman.

 

Speaking Wednesday on the Morning Agenda on Power 106, the PSOJ president said the organisation was prepared to go further to ensure conformity. 

 

"Metry Seaga, you hear, Lloyd B Smith indicating that you need to take it further, maybe withhold funds from the political parties. Is that something that the PSOJ would consider? Certainly, 

 

"It is our intention to call meetings and try to get meetings with both political parties, their leaders and their key personnel, to let them know that that's the type of approach that we want - a much more clean and robust campaign.... We are probably close to an election and what we want to be hearing about now is issues and not these innuendos and these false statements about people's character," he asserted. 

 

In a statement on Monday, the PSOJ highlighted a comment made by General Secretary of the People's National Party, Dr. Dayton Campbell about Minister Daryl Vaz as among the displays of vulgarity on the political stage.

 

Responded to criticism that the PSOJ has not been as strident about missteps by members of the Jamaica Labour Party, Mr. Seaga dismissed the assertion.

 

"My lens is looking at the entire leadership, not at one side or one colour of the leadership. And anybody who says that is just being partisan and I know...my record speaks for itself." 

 

 

In the meantime, the PSOJ president said PNP president Mark Golding should apologise to "all women and all well-thinking Jamaicans" for the unsavoury comment made by former chair of the party's Human Rights Commission, Isat Buchanan, toward Director of Public Prosecutions Paula Llewellyn.

 

Mr. Buchanan has issued an apology.

 

But Mr. Seaga believes the situation has been poorly handled by Mr. Golding, who he said appears to have divorced himself from the matter. 

 

 

No creativity 

 

Political commentator Lloyd B. Smith, who was also a guest on the Morning Agenda, said the banter from political platforms has lost its creativity.

 

Mr. Smith noted that in the past, the commentary was more subtle.

 

He urged the political leaders to not be afraid to reign in their operatives. 

 

"Now that we are in the silly. One senses the JLP is on the defensive because it sees that it is losing ground in the polls. The PNP is becoming offensive because it feels that it is leading the polls. And so we have this sort of situation which is going to become very volatile, you know," he reasoned. 

 

"It's not going to ease up, so the PSOJ, the various civil groups, and we would love to see the Political Ombudsman's office become more strong and getting some muscle and I would love to see the PSOJ offer to help to finance it so that it can be fully operative," Mr. Smith suggested.