Warmington brands Golding a failure

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding has been branded a failed leader by a senior parliamentarian who was a member of the executive that he led.

Golding, who resigned as prime minister after the Manatt-Dudus affair in 2011, incurred the wrath of Everald Warmington for comments he made about the Andrew Holness-led government.

Warmington, the de facto works minister, branded Golding as "a guy who has lost his relevance".

"You [Bruce Golding] have failed, you have a failed government, you are a failed leader. Walk away and leave the young man to lead," Warmington said while touring roads in St Elizabeth.

Golding, in his role as a talk-show host, suggested that the Government should take some of the blame for the multi-billion fraud at Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) as it failed to protect investors.

"The government has a responsibility," Golding said. "They are the ones that issue licences to these investment houses. And the issuing of the licences, what they are saying to the public is that 'I am satisfied that these are good people to do business with, so you can go do business with them'. Well that is what Usain Bolt did and look what happened to him," said Golding.

Some 40 clients were reportedly defrauded of approximately J$3 billion, going back 13 years. He had given SSL 10 days from January 16 to pay over approximately $2 billion that he said was in his account up to October 2022.

On Wednesday, Warmington, who served as a junior minister in Golding's executive between 2007 and 2011, said Golding has been "sniping" at Holness, the man who succeeded him as Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) leader and prime minister. He said he was prepared to defend his leader and party from any attacks. He said it is time that Golding is called out.

"I want to say Bruce, you need to stop it and stop it now. Back off! Stop it now! He has failed, Andrew [Holness] hasn't! He is doing everything to bring down Andrew and the government and I would have expected someone who claimed to have been a former leader, who claimed to be prime minister of the labour party to protect and defend the party and government [but] that's not what Bruce Golding is doing," Warmington said.

The seeming bad blood between Golding and Warmington dates back to the 1980s. The firebrand member of parliament, having won St Catherine South West for the JLP in the 1980 election, was according to him, sent into "involuntary retirement" after the party decided not to use him as the candidate in the 1983 snap election. Golding was the general secretary of the JLP at the time.

Warmington returned to representational politics after he won the seat for the party in 2002, and has held the seat since.

As prime minister, Golding had declined to reappoint Warmington as state minister for water and housing after he was forced to give up his United States citizenship. Warmington was in breach of the Constitution, having been elected to Parliament in 2007 while under the acknowledgement of allegiance to a foreign power. He renounced his citizenship and returned to parliament following a by-election.