'Publish the MOU now': Opposition again demands details on TCN deal

 

 

Opposition Spokesperson on National Security Fitz Jackson is again demanding that the government release the Memorandum of Understanding governing Jamaica's Third Country Nationals agreement with the United States. 

 

His renewed call follows remarks by Minister Audrey Marks at a Jamaica Labour Party meeting, where she defended the agreement, citing safeguards, while also referring to her proposal to import undocumented workers from the United States. 

 

Mr. Jackson said the minister's comments have raised fresh questions about whether the government's TCN agreement and her proposal are effectively one and the same.

 

"Her defence of the TCN agreement tracked so closely with the language of her own proposal that I must ask her directly, are the two in substance, one and the same? Minister Marks cannot argue that safeguards exist while keeping the very document that would prove it locked away," he contended.

 

Mr. Jackson further argued that the government's insistence that safeguards are in place only deepens public concern, as Jamaicans have not been given access to the agreement to verify those protections.

 

He said the Memorandum of Understanding remains unpublished months after it was signed, leaving the public without critical information.

 

"If there is truly no overlap between her proposal and the TCN deal, the simplest way to prove it is to publish the Memorandum of Understanding in full. Months after it was signed, that document remains hidden from the people it affects most. Which government denies its citizen information that is in their own best interest? The Jamaican people deserve honesty from their government. Prime Minister Holness must publish the MOU now," Mr. Jackson demanded.