THE WEEKLY GLEANER | DECEMBER 11, 2023 - DECEMBER 17, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | 8 The Gleaner [ EDITORIAL ] Read the full columns at our special diaspora site at www.jamaica-gleaner.com. Is the war in Gaza a preamble to what could occur in Guyana? THE Editor, Madam: The long-standing border controversy between the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela arose as a result of the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899 about the frontier between British Guiana and Venezuela is null and void. Within the framework of the 1966 Geneva Agreement between the two countries, the secretary-general conducted good offices from 1990 to 2017 to find a solution to their border controversy. During this time, four personal representatives of the secretary-general, with the support of DPA, worked closely with the parties towards this end. Most recently, Venezuela reported overwhelming support from the voters in the recent elections – by referendum – as a move forward with reclaiming rights to the disputed Essequibo territory. Venezuela has claimed the disputed border area between Guyana and Venezuela, as well as oil-rich territories in the Caribbean, since its year of independence, 1821. Guyana will not allow factors extraneous to the controversy to influence its referral to the court, but it will continue the advancement of peaceful relations with Venezuela, whose people are the brothers and sisters of Guyanese. In this context, Guyana acknowledges the secretary general’s suggestions for the immediate future. Venezuelan social movements, organised under the banner of the Palestine Solidarity Platform, defended the Palestinian people’s right to resist colonialism and occupation following an offensive action that was carried out against Israel by Hamas and other armed elements of the Palestinian resistance movement. “From the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the members of different social organisations that are joined together in the Palestine Solidarity Platform, raise our voice in support of the resistance of its brave, noble, and native people who today, as always, fight for their liberation.” Will Jamaica continue to remain silent, as they have elected to abstain from comment or vote from their seat at the United Nations? Jamaica has been the beneficiary of the leverage and resources of the Venezuelan government over the years. PATRICK BROWN Pembroke Pines, Florida Popularity contest will not help win general election THE EDITOR, Madam: Mark Golding has shown that if you unite and build your party you don’t need popularity to win. The next general election will be decided by the party and personalities. In the 2020 general election it was clear that Andrew Holness’ popularity carried some candidates over the line. It was also clear that the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) attacks on Peter Phillips worked well, which led to a bitter leadership race in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic assisted with the defeat of Dr Peter Phillips. Image-wise, Mark Golding is not excellent but clearly the people right now are not focused on image nor colour, what they care about is which party is better for them to choose to form the government in the next general election. Golding may not be as popular as Andrew Holness, but according to the polls his party is leading, and that is the most important factor now. Currently, Golding and the People’s National Party (PNP) have decided candidates for the next general election. It will be difficult for the PNP to win 18 seats but nothing is impossible. In my opinion, the 2024 general election will be about the Cs: candidates, crime, corruption and cost of living. The JLP campaigned in 2016 with a prosperity message, in 2020 the party was given a second term. I hope 2024 is not third term loading because of whatever is being posted on social media. Winning a third consecutive general election was only done by P.J. Patterson in 1993, 1997 and 2002, and that was possible when the Edward Seaga-led JLP was in an internal conflict. The current conflict in the PNP seems to be basically over and they seem to be united now. The Jamaica Labour Party need to focus on taking on the People’s National Party by highlighting their accomplishments in two terms they have been in power and compare their performance to all governments post-1962. The JLP can stop the PNP momentum by winning the upcoming local government elections, renew the JLP by having by-elections in South Trelawny, North East St Ann and South West St Catherine. The Jamaica Labour Party MPs need to be aware that this time incumbency and the leaders coat-tails may not be enough to carry them over the line. The JLP proposing to raise the income tax threshold to over $2.5 million will be an ammunition for the party. I hope they don’t wait for long to implement this, as it might be seen as a move to gain popularity before the general election. TEDDYLEE GRAY Ocho Rios, St Ann teddylee.gray@gmail.com THE REPORTED break-in and theft of laptops at the collapsed, fraud-riddled investment house, Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL), clearly demands robust investigation. THE REFLEX assumption will be that this was no random act of thievery, but an orchestrated effort by someone who either wishes to contaminate evidence, or to know what information investigators may have unearthed about the real state of the finances of the company. Either way, it is important to get to the truth. But the latest developments at SSL – and not only the theft of the computers – demand that the fraud investigators, in particular the Financial Investigations Division (FID), the agency of the finance ministry that probes certain financial crimes, communicate with greater clarity to the public. So far, FID’s public statements have been largely confusing and obfuscatory. Which, we are sure, is not its intention. The agency must therefore provide background and context in its declarations. It is now widely known that SSL was an undercapitalised, badly managed business which regulators appear to have, over several years, afforded special privilege and forbearance as its owners breached numerous undertakings to right their company. SSL also benefited from apparently inattentive finance ministers, who, at least in one case, were unaware of documents intended for their perusal, highlighting the company’s insolvency and other failings. Things finally fell apart in January when Jean-Ann Panton, a senior account manager at the company, admitted to stealing around J$250 million in US and Jamaican dollars from clients’ accounts. Ms Panton is so far the only person to have been arrested and charged for fraud. But she has, in response to a civil suit by one client, claimed she was induced by her bosses to admit to the theft. ADDITIONAL ARRESTS In August when FID offered an update on the case, it promised that additional arrests would soon be made. At the time, the agency reported that it had thus far accounted for fraud “amounting to over US$10 million”, affecting 70 client accounts, against the approximately 40 from whom Ms Panton said she stole. The US$10 million, in Jamaican currency, would be more than six times what Ms Panton admitted to stealing. Last week, FID tripled the value of the fraud. The agency said in a statement, “Evidence now shows that there are over 200 affected accounts and a staggering amount exceeding US$30 million attributed to fraud and other irregularities related to clients’ funds. Despite numerous appeals and direct means of communication, the Financial Investigations Division has only received 23 official statements from affected individuals and entities.” It is not particularly surprising that numbers change during the course of investigations, especially one where the probe goes back, as FID said of this case, 17 years. “The meticulous inquiry requires a thorough analysis of the entire time period, scrutinising the flow of investor funds,” the agency said. However, this situation requires additional particulars, especially with respect to the amount of money SSL’s clients can expect to get back from their investments, in the face of earlier signals from the authorities, and the recent indication by the finance minister, Nigel Clarke, that people would soon have access to their accounts. IMPORTANT FID did not say how it accounted for the US$30 million (approximately J$4.68 billion) and if this represented solely off-balance sheet funds held for clients. That is important. In court documents in March seeking to wind up SSL, the regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC), reported that the company had off-balance sheet liabilities of J$29.4 billion, of which its temporary manager, Ken Tomlinson, could account for J$29.2 billion. That represents 99 per cent of the amount. At the time, it was clearly suggested that Mr Tomlinson had “verified” 98 per cent of the assets. This reporting was contradicted neither by the FSC nor Mr Tomlinson. Further, more recently, Dr Clarke, the finance minister, has alluded to a J$30-billion portfolio being managed by the SSL temporary manager. In other words, except that there was a recent deterioration of the portfolio or any management fees to be covered by clients, SSL clients with off-balance sheet portfolios could reasonably expect to get back up to the 98 per cent of their portfolio. The shortfall, based on the March accounting, was J$200 million. That, however, may not have been the whole story. More information might have emerged about the off-balance sheet transactions since Mr Tomlinson produced that report and the subsequent statements by Minister Clarke. Which is why FID should better explain the basis of its US$30-million calculation, including whether far more off-balance funds than previously thought fell into the cirques and crevasses at SSL. Clarity, please! SSL clarity, please
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