Hill accuses Opposition of indulging in ‘rampant, shameful hypocrisy’

Government Senator Aubyn Hill used the final minutes of his State of the Nation presentation to highlight more than a dozen scandals he said the People’s National Party (PNP) was embroiled in, calling his opposition counterparts “hypocrites”.

Hill on Friday accused the Opposition of indulging in “rampant and shameful hypocrisy”, noting that they have been unrelenting in accusing the Andrew Holness administration of being corrupt and lacking in integrity.

Listing the Iran sugar deal, Shell waiver, zinc fence, furniture, motor vehicle importation, foreign exchange, National Water Commission, Operation PRIDE, Montego Bay street people, fat-cat salary, and NetServ scandals, Hill said they represented just some of the corruption previous PNP administrations were involved in.

Not done, he went on to make note of the National Solid Waste Management Authority, Whitehouse, Trafigura, bad gas, dead baby, church money, National Heroes Park, FINSAC, and Outameni scandals.

“When you look at all those things and they dare to talk about ‘you must practise integrity’ … I was passing a television set on the date of the recent conference of the PNP and [I] looked on the platform. I go up to the television and squeeze up and look. I looked until I tired. I couldn’t find one drop of integrity,” said Hill.

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“Not a drop of integrity on the platform. What I did see were convicted criminals who later on, I understand, are being proposed [as] members of parliament. In other words, criminals not convicted for shoplifting or egregious traffic offence, convicted for getting involved, processing and doing criminal stuff with schedule one drugs,” he said, evoking pushback from opposition senators.

Hill’s criticism comes as Holness, the prime minister, faces continued scrutiny over his uncertified statutory declarations, and his rejection of an investigative report into illicit enrichment from anti-corruption watchdog, the Integrity Commission.

The report, which is now the subject of a court matter, has triggered of accusations against the leader of government.

Holness has indicated that he has done nothing wrong.

Hill said he was not excusing any ills committed or that might have been committed by government members, but said the Opposition was in no position to criticise.

Without identifying the PNP candidate, he said it was wrong of the party and its president, Mark Golding, to allow a criminal, convicted in two jurisdictions, to contest a seat for member of parliament and, if successful, make laws.

He insisted that Jamaicans must reject this as unacceptable.

Conversely, he said Holness has exercised sound judgement in the people he has selected for leadership roles and for his Cabinet.

He said that because of the “sure and blessed and steady hands” of Holness, Jamaica is thriving, declaring, at the same time, that the prime minister is, “by any standard”, better than the opposition leader “any day”.

Opposition senators countered the closing statement, urging that Holness announce an early date for the general election, due by September 2025, to test Hill’s declaration.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com