PNP breaks silence on leaked NAR voice notes as critics demand stronger rebuke

A week after a leaked voice recording sparked a political storm, People's National Party president Mark Golding said the discussion involving two PNP members was not official party business and does not reflect PNP policy.

The audio appeared to capture talk about challenging the government's National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NAR) and discrediting its chief executive officer, Major General Anthony Anderson. Golding addressed the matter before the party's National Executive Council meeting, saying a review found the conversation did not occur in any official party forum, that no party officer took part, and that the PNP has no official NEC or executive WhatsApp group where policy is set. He said the chat was formed by individuals within the party and that the views expressed were personal.

A planned post-NEC media briefing did not go ahead. Government Senator Marlon Morgan rejected Golding's framing as inadequate, arguing the speakers are key party operatives — among them, he said, a sitting councillor and a September 2025 PNP general election candidate — and that Golding offered no condemnation, rebuke, apology or clear statement that the remarks clash with PNP values. Morgan called the episode a moral scandal tied to Hurricane Melissa recovery.

Jamaicans for Justice executive director Mikael Jackson labelled the affair a shameful political game and warned that tactics undermining NAR could harm Jamaicans still awaiting homes, roads, schools and other services. Jackson called Golding's reply "woefully inadequate," said those heard on the recording should be named, and argued they have "disqualified themselves from representational politics," while urging citizens to keep independent civil-society scrutiny of NAR separate from party combat.

Political commentator Jermaine Barrett said Golding's response was insufficient and that those caught on tape making what he called putrid and insensitive remarks ought to be dismissed. Barrett backed the view that they are unfit for representational politics and said the episode damages the PNP's anti-corruption credibility, while stressing similar problems exist across Jamaica's politics.

Separately, St. James police reported higher murders year on year. Jamaica Constabulary Force figures for 1 January to 25 July 2026 showed 40 killings against 33 in the same 2025 period — a rise of seven, or about 21 per cent. Senior Superintendent Aaron Samuel, commanding officer for the St. James division, said updated anniversary counting put the gap at six, or roughly 17 per cent. He linked more interpersonal killings to post-Hurricane Melissa strain, noting that of 40 murders, 17 were classed interpersonal, 10 gang-related, 10 criminal and three unclassified. Break-ins in the parish rose from 21 in 2025 to 47 in 2026, which he tied partly to dark, damaged areas and delayed reporting when overseas owners returned.