Delroy Chuck

The PNP wants Jamaicans to forget about Trafigura's illicit donation of $31 million to the party. But, how can any decent Jamaican forget about this squalid affair when the party and government have failed to come clean, explain and apologise to the nation?

How can any thinking, morally upright and god-fearing Jamaican ignore the quality of leadership and the direction our country is taking? Surely, we must have trust and confidence in our leaders and the integrity of their utterances.

When the Trafigura issue emerged, the PNP leadership informed Jamaica that the donation was for campaign financing and gave the distinct impression that the money, particularly $30 million, was intact and in the SW Services (Team Jamaica's) account. Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller reinforced that impression when she instructed the party to return the money. Well, how can the money be returned if it has been spent? If the money was intact, it would have been returned, which, by wire transfer, is instantaneous.

In truth, the PNP has used the money. The money was probably spent on the 'mother of all conferences' less than two months ago. In fact, during the past week, the PNP Deputy Campaign Manager, Paul Burke, said the money will be recovered even if it means soliciting donations from fund-raising or contributions to the party - from which utterances, we easily conclude that Trafigura's money is not intact. How then can we trust the word of the PM when she tells us that the money will be returned? Did she not check to ascertain if it was spent? In law, after the money is spent, it cannot be returned. It can only be recovered and, then, a whole new transaction emerges. No wonder when the PM was asked if the money was returned, she responded indignantly and inappropriately that the questioner should ask the PNP.

Answers needed

The recent revelation from Paul Burke has put Trafigura Beheer in a most invidious position with the Dutch authorities. Was the money obtained and spent under a commercial arrangement, as Trafigura alleged, or was it a straightforward political donation, as Bobby Pickersgill admitted and confirmed?

If the money was sent in pursuance of a contract, what is the nature of that contract and who did the work? We need not even go that route, as we know the PNP spent the money, which is the reason it is now trying to recover the $31 million from solicitation, fund-raising and contributions. But, even if this money is raised, where is the PNP going to send the money? Certainly not to the FCIB's account of CCOC Associates, which we were told was closed!?! Neither can the PNP send the money directly to Trafigura, which, on Trafigura's books, would appear to be a political donation, or the repayment of a political donation and, thus, a clear violation of Dutch laws.

The Trafigura donation has definitely put the PNP leadership into a tailspin and entangles it in a political maze, which reminds us of what a tangled web we weave when we first practice to deceive. The Trafigura issue is a symbol and testimony to political corruption and deception. Nothing is wrong with political donations, which is how parties obtain money to operate. But, when false invoices are used or illicit routes traversed, the donations contribute to political corruption and transgression. If politicians have to sell their soul, practice deception or engage in illicit deals to get elected or to remain in office, they cannot serve their country well. If state financing is the answer, let's get on with it.

Yet, if the PNP cannot think its way out of the Trafigura maze, how can it ever hope to lead Jamaica out of its present precarious state? Jamaica deserves better. Jamaica deserves leadership it can trust and in which it can have confidence. Without trust and confidence, human relationship amounts to nothing.

Delroy Chuck is an attorney-at-law and Member of Parliament. He can be contacted by email at delchuck@hotmail.com