JA's PM in waiting: Not me and any Dons

Jamaica’s “Prime Minister-in-waiting” Andrew Holness on Monday issued a strong rejection of donmanship 

and garrison politics, saying he has never embraced either, and will not veer from that position regardless of which constituency he will seek to represent in the next general election.

Holness said while no decision has been made on whether he will take up the West Kingston seat, if it is left vacant by outgoing prime minister Bruce Golding, he does not want to be cast as a garrison politician.

“Anywhere I decide to go I will be strong against garrison politics as I was strong against it in that (West Central St Andrew) constituency,” Holness said during a meeting with reporters and editors at the Observer newspaper in Kingston.

The education minister, who is expected to take the reins of Jamaica Labour Party leader and prime minister when Golding demits office next month, said it is not fair that he has been accused of being a garrison politician because he represents West Central St Andrew, which is labeled a garrison constituency.

Holness said he has also never used public resources to support donmanship and that has made him unpopular with some of his constituents.

Although he built four basic schools, a community centre, cleaned gullies, corrected the water problem and is about to construct a police station in his constituency, Holness said he has never got credit for that.

“I don’t get credit for that because what people want is for me to use public resources to pay for funerals and to give them and I never did that, and so my own personal ratings [fell] because of this personal thing,” Holness said.

He said he has taken unilateral steps to eliminate the garrison-like features in the constituency which he has represented for three terms.

According to Holness, garrison politics is not in his nature and neither is it a part of his political culture.

As The Camera reported last week, Holness has been given the support of the executive and MPs of the JLP to succeed Golding when he steps aside next month.

Golding shocked the nation two weeks ago when he announced he would not stay on as JLP leader and Prime Minister, and later said that the fall-out from the Christopher “Dudus” Coke affair had hurt him badly.

Dudus was a don in Tivoli Gardens in the West Kingston constituency represented by Golding in parliament, who was wanted by the USA on drug charges. However, the government resisted efforts to have him extradited, which led to Golding being accused of protecting the Don.

When efforts were finally made to arrest Dudus, it led to widespread violence and bloodshed, with more than 70 people dead.

Dudus has pleaded guilty in a New York court to drug trafficking charges and will be sentenced in December.