(Jamaica Observer) – Newly sworn-in Opposition Leader Mark Golding says under his leadership, the People’s National Party (PNP) will embrace bipartisanship cooperation with the Government when necessary.
In a statement — which he later repeated in the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon — Golding indicated to a limited audience, including his family, presidential election team and several Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) and former MPs, attending his swearing-in at King’s House, that the Opposition is not unaware of the 220 lives lost to the novel coronavirus pandemic, mostly over the past two months.
“Jamaica is now in a deep recession and unemployment has spiked by over 50 per cent this year. In the face of this national crisis we must embrace bipartisanship, wherever it is in the best interest of the Jamaican people to do so,” he said.
He called for swift assistance for those most in need, in the wake of the recent floods, and urged the Government to move quickly to clear blocked roads and the many breakaway access routes that have cut off residents from their communities.
He appealed to people who own heavy-duty equipment to demonstrate “the true Jamaican spirit of love and care for each other”.
Golding, however, insisted that now, more than ever, the country needs a strong and responsible Opposition, and cautioned that while the Opposition party’s number in the House of Representatives is relatively small, “wi little but wi tallawah”.
Noting that an Opposition provides a critical check and balance to the use of State power by the Government, Golding said: “Nevertheless, we need not oppose for oppose sake, but always with the objective of strengthening good governance and accountability in the affairs of the nation.”
He said the Opposition will seek to be constructive in “words and deeds”, and be fearless and unrelenting in the face of corruption or maladministration, wherever it arises.
The swearing-in ceremony lasted less than 20 minutes, as the only other speaker was Governor General Sir Patrick Allen, who welcomed Golding to King’s House, noting that the leader of the Opposition exercises significant influence, and must remain conscious of the “inescapable obligations to ensure that the laws and regulations which are introduced and passed in Parliament are in the best interest of the people”.
“Leading by example, the Opposition leader has a unique opportunity to demonstrate that national interest is represented not only through responsible, reasoned and defensible criticism in the course of debating, but also through statesmanship,” he added.
He also urged Jamaicans to display their true potential, “because, when we focus on our strength, our resilience and our capacity to care for each other, we demonstrate to the world that we are truly out of many one people under God”.
Golding, who is the Opposition’s spokesman on finance and MP for St Andrew Southern, was elected as the sixth leader of the PNP in a poll conducted on Saturday. He is expected to name his shadow cabinet as well as members of the Senate very shortly.
Fellow Opposition MP, Lisa Hanna, who lost the presidential election on Saturday, was not present at the King’s House event, nor did she attended yesterday’s sitting of the House of Representatives. In a press release yesterday, Hanna’s office explained that she has been suffering from a severe chest cold and sinusitis, and that she had already informed Golding of her inability to attend the swearing-in or the meeting of the House.
