The recent announcement by Jamaica’s Prime Minister Bruce Golding that he intends to step aside is unlikely to have a noticeable impact on business and investment in the country.
This is the view of Robert Hamaty, noted local businessman and former honorary Jamaican Consul in the Cayman Islands.
The announcement Mr. Golding would be stepping aside as leader of Jamaica’s ruling Jamaica Labour Party, is likely to be effective once a new leader is elected at the party’s annual general meeting in November. The leader of the party will automatically become prime minister.
With general elections in Jamaica scheduled for next year, Mr. Hamaty said he could not see the announcement having a major impact on investment in Jamaica or on Jamaicans in Cayman.
“Personally, I don’t think this will affect the investment climate, as people don’t make their decisions based on just one person,” said Mr. Hamaty.
He said even though Mr. Golding has announced he will be stepping aside, it is not a done deal.
“If you look at the history of the party, one cannot be 100 per cent sure that Mr. Golding is gone permanently. It is the party’s decision who they are going to appoint and whether they ask him to stay on,” Mr. Hamaty said.
He said the former leader of the party, Edward Seaga, announced he would be stepping aside a number of times, but had been asked to stay on each time. However, whether the same will happen with Mr. Golding remains to be seen.
“We’ll see what happens. If he does step down who will step up to fill his place in the party? It is actually a very important decision as they are going to the poll next year,” Mr. Hamaty said.
Mr. Hamaty said he has been keeping a close eye on the political career of Mr. Golding.
“I went to school with Bruce Golding. He was the head boy at my school so I have been following his political career closely through the years,” Mr. Hamaty said.
Mr. Golding’s image suffered greatly in the wake of his handling of the extradition of drug kingpin Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke in 2009. In the wake of the eventual extradition of Mr. Coke to the United States, Mr. Golding offered his resignation in 2010, but his party rejected his offer.
However, the continuing fallout of the Coke saga, as well as the inability of Mr. Golding’s government to fix a foundering economy is seen as driving his announcement.
The opposition People’s National Party has renewed its call for general elections to be brought forward to resolve what it has described as a “crisis of governance” in the country.
The call for a quick resolution to the situation has been echoed by Jamaicans elsewhere in the world.
Irwine Clare, a radio talk-show host and head of the New York-based Caribbean Immigration Service, said with Jamaica actively courting investors overseas, the quandary over Mr. Golding’s tenure could not have come at a worst time.
Mr. Clare said a speedy leadership change is needed to send a strong signal to investors that Jamaica remains open for business.
In expressing his personal views, senior member of the Jamaican Canadian Association, Philip Mascoll, said the uncertainty surrounding Mr. Golding’s resignation highlights bad governance.
Mr. Mascoll said Mr. Golding must urgently move to tell the country in clear terms about his future as prime minister and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party.
In the meantime, Patrick Beckford, chairman of the Jamaican Diaspora US North East Region, said Mr. Golding now has a window of opportunity to call national elections and give his successor a chance to get his own mandate.
Mr. Beckford said this is the best course of action to get the country back on course.
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