Young Jamaica says Golding must remove Vaz as caretaker for Westmoreland Central

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Young Jamaica, the youth arm of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), wants the People’s National Party (PNP) to replace the party’s caretaker/candidate for Westmoreland Central, Dwayne Vaz.

The call for PNP President Mark Golding to remove Vaz follows the publication of an investigation report from the Integrity Commission on Tuesday which accused Vaz of failing to comply with the lawful requests of the commission in relation to his statutory declarations filed in 2019. The report was tabled in the House of Representatives.

READ:PNP’s Dwayne Vaz facing corruption charge

Vaz has been referred to the IC’s Director of Corruption Prosecution for possible action and, in a subsequent news release Tuesday declared that he has fully complied with the commission.

In a news release Tuesday evening, Young Jamaica said Vaz’s reported breach of the Integrity Commission Act “cannot be ignored”.

“It is imperative for the integrity of our political system that swift and decisive action is taken,” the JLP affiliate added.

Young Jamaica argues that “as caretaker for Central Westmoreland, Vaz’s alleged misconduct undermines the trust between the electorate and their representatives”.

However, Vaz has since made attempts to clear the air in relation to the allegations.

READ:Dwayne Vaz seeks to clear the air in IC corruption probe

Young Jamaica also took a swipe at Opposition Leader Mark Golding, accusing him of attempting to “divert attention from this serious issue by perpetuating false narratives about the so-called illicit 6”.

“It is disappointing to see the President of the PNP resorting to such tactics to deflect attention from a member of his inner circle facing serious allegations. This manipulation of the truth is a disservice to the Jamaican people and tarnishes the reputation of our democratic process,” Young Jamaica declared.

Its president, Rohan Walsh, accused Golding of perpetuating a “misleading narrative”.

Of note is that the IC’s investigation into Vaz was concluded in October last year. The commission had separately indicated in its annual report last year that it was investigating six parliamentarians for illicit enrichment. It has not named the politicians and has not said whether its probe is complete. Its report on Vaz accuses the former Member of Parliament of non-compliance with its lawful request for additional information after he had filed his statutory declarations.

Golding has repeatedly stated that none of the PNP parliamentarians either in the House of Representatives or the Senate are under probe for illicit enrichment.