WATCH: Golding accuses Holness of breaching Westminster principles by failing to remove Wheatley
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Analysis
Article discusses substantive corruption allegations against a sitting Cabinet minister (Andrew Wheatley) with an Integrity Commission report recommending charges for illicit enrichment, and raises accountability questions about PM's failure to remove him. Involves government accountability and official misconduct, which are core corruption/accountability topics.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Leader Mark Golding has accused Prime Minister Andrew Holness of violating the principles of Westminster government by allowing Andrew Wheatley to remain a Cabinet minister despite an Integrity Commission of Jamaica report recommending that he be charged with alleged illicit enrichment and other corruption-related offences.
Golding, who was addressing party supporters at Sunday’s Admiral Town Divisional Conference, said the long-standing convention in Westminster-style democracies is that public officials facing serious corruption allegations or recommendations for prosecution should step aside while their cases are resolved.
“Andrew Holness is violating that principle. And why is he violating that principle? He’s being a hypocrite in doing so because there are several instances in the past where he was quite categorical when he was in opposition that if the situation ever arose, he would do the right thing and the person would have to step back. But he’s not doing it. He’s trying to tough it out,” Golding said.
Golding argued that the prime minister is refusing to remove Wheatley from the Cabinet because the case could set a precedent for other Integrity Commission matters involving government officials.
“He himself is the subject of a very serious investigative report with allegations of all kinds of irregular financial dealings, which the Integrity Commission said should be referred to the FID, the Financial Investigation Division, which investigates financial crimes because there was certain information that they were seeking from Andrew Holness and he was not willing to provide them and so they couldn’t take the matter to its conclusion. And that matter is now in abeyance. What we see is the Labourites, their tactic is to try and tie the matters up in court,” Golding argued.
An Integrity Commission report tabled in Parliament concluded that Wheatley possessed assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings, amounting to approximately $164 million, and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancy.
READ:WHEATLEY’S WOES
Several churches, civil society groups and the Opposition have called for Wheatley to resign following the commission’s findings.
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