There seems to be a troubling sense of partisan blindness among JLP parliamentarians, echoing the behavior of Republicans in the U.S. Congress. One might wonder, if Donald J. Trump could shoot an unarmed person in Central Park, would the Republican party simply look the other way? It seems a similar dynamic is playing out with the JLP in the Jamaican Parliament.
Take Jamaica’s Integrity Commission, for instance—a supposedly key institution designed to tackle corruption among public servants. Yet, it now finds itself under siege. The IC operates as a Commission of Parliament, supposedly accountable to it. However, the very individuals who empowered it to investigate corruption allegations, including those involving illicit enrichment, are now turning against it. The reason? The IC has made some unfavorable rulings about Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
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Pearnel Charles Jr., a government member from the Parliament’s Integrity Commission Oversight Committee (ICOC), has even gone so far as to suggest that Parliament should force the Integrity Commission (IC) to certify Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s statutory declarations. This eyebrow-raising proposal was made during a session where government members of the eight-member committee blocked a motion put fort by the two opposition members, in a blatant show of partisanship.
Opposition members Phillip Paulwell and Julian Robinson brought forth the motion, only to see it stifled by a six-member coalition of government representatives, including Edmund Bartlett as chairman, Juliet Holness, Everald Warmington, Charles Jr., Delroy Chuck, and Marlene Malahoo Forte. The motion, which Robinson moved and Paulwell seconded, was promptly squashed. One can’t help but wonder who is really watching over the integrity of integrity in such a scenario.