PNP denies executive link to leaked voice notes on NARA

The People's National Party has distanced itself from leaked voice notes that have fuelled political controversy, insisting the recordings did not come from its executive and that party policy is never set on WhatsApp.

The clips feature a man and a woman said to be members of the PNP's national executive. In the recordings, they discuss NARA, which one speaker called the Jamaica Labour Party's "glory and savior for a fourth term," arguing that the government would push ahead by bypassing parish councils expected to use delay tactics. On NARA head Major General Anthony Anderson, the speaker said his strong public standing would make corruption allegations hard to sell, and that attention should instead fall on wider concerns tied to the decision.

The Jamaica Labour Party branded the voice notes scandalous. It said any readiness by the PNP to slow or block major national projects planned under NARA through delay tactics was disgraceful, though not unexpected.

PNP President Mark Golding addressed the issue at Sunday's National Executive Council meeting. He said he first wanted to establish the facts before commenting in public. After that review, he told the council the discussion captured in the leaks did not take place in any official party setting, that no party officer took part, and that the PNP has no official NEC or executive WhatsApp group.

Golding added that the chat was created by individuals within the party and that the opinions voiced were personal. He stressed that the recordings do not speak for the PNP or its policies. Official positions, he said, are set by the party's constitutional bodies — including the National Executive Council and the executive committee — and are conveyed by authorised representatives through public action and the party's media channels.