Christina York | Mark Golding, was a piece of your written speech missing?

Over the last week, the viral voice notes by members of the PNP have been front and centre in Jamaican politics.

Let us start at the beginning – the Recording

There has been no challenge to the authenticity of the voice note.

No one has claimed the voice note is a fabrication.

No one has claimed the voice note was cut up so as to be taken out of context.  

No one has claimed the voices in the note cannot be identified as members of the PNP.

The PNP members whose voices are in the voice note have not denied that they made the recordings.

So one can only assume/conclude that the voice notes are authentic, at least for the purpose of this commentary

That being said, consider the content of the voice note

With Jamaica coming out of one of the most impactful natural disasters it has ever seen, members of the PNP have decided to (and I am summarising):

1.        Do everything to derail the recovery effort, i.e. NaRRa.

Whether you like NaRRA or not, it is law, and one has to hope beyond hope that it works and is administered honestly with quick results to help hurricane victims most affected.

Yes, NaRRA has governance concerns. Yes, it is most certainly not perfect. But to act in a way that would derail it means you are tacitly fine with hurricane victims not getting the relief they need so as to advance party politics.

2.        Discredit Anthony Anderson

Anthony Anderson, like any adult who takes their job seriously, has performed a body of work upon which he can and should be judged. Whether you like him personally or not is irrelevant. The question is what has he accomplished and what grade should be affixed to his accomplishments.

The concept that you plan to tarnish this man’s reputation by ‘packaging’ what he does in a light so that the Jamaican people don’t judge him on his actions but rather judge him on your discreditation message is just low. I don’t pretend to understand politics, but this lacks basic decency.

Then there is Mark Golding’s response.

On July 26, 2026, Mark Golding gave, among other things, a response to the voice note saying:

1.        The voice note did not occur in any official party forum.

2.        No officer of the party participated in the voice note discussion

3.        The PNP has no official NEC WhatsApp Group, certainly not where party policy is made.

Golding continued that (i) these were the personal views of members of the party (ii) the recordings do not represent the official position of the PNP or any policy of the PNP and (iii) the PNP takes responsibility for its official positions set by its Constitutional organs and communicated by its authorised representatives through its official channels.

Wait a minute – that’s it. That’s all you have to say. Is a piece of your written speech missing?

How about disavowing the content of the statement? How about saying we find the content of the voice note abhorrent and the PNP will challenge NaRRA and Anthony Anderson on the administration and execution of his duties. How about standing up for principle and condemning the wrong?

One of the things Mark Golding always had going for him is that he is known to be a man of integrity. Yet, he won’t condemn the soiling effort to another man’s character. Mark Golding’s character has been attacked by the JLP (remember the birth certificate fiasco), so he knows what character assassination feels like, and more so, how wrong and void of integrity it is. Yet he cannot say it is wrong when the shoe is on the other foot.

Come on Mark Golding – do better.