Edmond Campbell and Dionne Rose, Staff Reporters

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding, who led yesterday's no-confidence motion against the Government on the Trafigura affair, which led to the resignation of Colin Campbell as Minister of Information and Development. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller yesterday dismissed the no-confidence motion moved by Opposition Leader Bruce Golding against the Government as misconceived.

Making her contribution to the debate on the motion late last evening, the Prime Minister charged that the resolution was an attempt to divert attention from a censure motion moved by newly-appointed Information and Development Minister, Donald Buchanan against Opposition MP Karl Samuda.

Opposition Leader Bruce Golding said that the Portia Simpson Miller-led administration has betrayed public trust in its dealings with the Dutch oil trading company Trafigura Beheer and as such has no moral authority to govern.

"A government cannot function without that trust. It is necessary to refer the matter to the ultimate arbiters! It is time to go back to the people! I call upon this Parliament to declare its lack of confidence in the Government," he said.

Golding, whose revelation of the two-week old saga has triggered national debate, charged that the Trafigura affair in which senior members of the Cabinet have been implicated, has severely compromised the integrity of the Government.

$31-Million gift

Trafigura Beheer is said to have given a 'gift' amounting to $31 million to the People's National Party through CCOC Associates, an account linked to the party's former general secretary and Information Minister, Colin Campbell.

Piloting a motion of no confidence against the Government in Gordon House yesterday, the Opposition Leader gave a detailed account of the Government's relationship with Trafigura, which led to the resignation of Mr. Campbell.

Campbell, in his resignation letter to the Prime Minister said that having regard to the size of the contribution, he regretted that he had not shared the full details with the party president, the chairman, Robert Pickersgill and the party's legal advisor, A.J. Nicholson.

Meanwhile, Golding said an investigation by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) into the leakage of documents in the Trafigura Beheer affair can stand up to scrutiny.

However, he invited the DPP to also probe the Trafigura transaction with CCOC Associates.

Member of Parliament for East Central St. Catherine, K.D. Knight in his remarks said Golding's presentation was "attractive but lacked merit".

Mr. Knight challenged the Opposition to deny that donors occasionally asked for invoices. He said if any member dared to reject this claim "let him stand up and be counted".

The Government backbencher was making reference to the invoice, which was reportedly exchanged between Trafigura and CCOC Associates in the $31 million transaction.

Inviting his colleagues to pass legislation quickly to deal with funding of political parties, Mr. Knight said if this was not done the country would continue to grapple with this problem.

Mr. Knight's call was echoed by almost every Government member who participated in the debate.

In his presentation, Leader of Government Business in the House, Dr. Peter Phillips accused the Opposition of introducing a motion to score political points. "At the heart of this issue has been that we have collectively lived a lie about how political funds are raised," he said.

Minister of Water, Housing, Transport and Works and Chairman of the PNP, Robert Pickersgill said he was standing by his earlier statements that the $31 million was a donation from Trafigura.

The debate on the motion had not concluded up to press time last night.