PNP Presses Government on US TCN Programme and Wheatley Cabinet Position

The People's National Party (PNP) has told the Government to take its concerns straight to the United States Embassy as Jamaica waits for fuller details on a proposed arrangement involving third country nationals (TCNs) from the United States.

Opposition figures raised that issue and other national matters during a divisional meeting in Admiral Town, St. Andrew.

Since the Jamaica Gleaner first reported on the TCN programme between Jamaica and the United States, public questions have mounted. Under a memorandum of understanding already signed by the Government, TCNs from the US would travel through Jamaica on their way to a final destination. Authorities say participants cannot hold criminal records, but the full terms of the arrangement remain outstanding.

The Gleaner also reported that a diplomatic note from the US Embassy identified Cabinet Minister Audrey Marks as having proposed that Jamaica accept up to 10,000 third country nationals from the United States. Senator Marks has pushed back, saying the TCN matter is being conflated with a separate proposal to recruit skilled foreign workers.

PNP Senator Cleveland Tomlinson questioned how officials communicate on the issue, particularly where the public is steered away from direct engagement with the US Embassy even as media outlets report on diplomatic correspondence.

On skilled worker recruitment, Tomlinson said he could not see how qualified professionals would leave higher-paying jobs in the United States for work in Jamaica, where wages are lower. He added that if foreign recruits were paid more than local workers, Jamaicans deserved an explanation.

Separately, PNP President Mark Golding criticised Prime Minister Andrew Holness for keeping Dr Andrew Wheatley in Cabinet after the Integrity Commission issued a damning report. The commission recommended that Dr Wheatley face charges over several breaches, including illicit enrichment.

Golding said that under Westminster convention, a minister in that position should step aside immediately. "You can't be there bringing a cloud over the government and the country," he said, adding that Mr Holness was violating that principle.

He suggested the Prime Minister may be hesitating because Dr Wheatley's case could set a precedent for other findings still to come, noting that Mr Holness himself is the subject of a separate Integrity Commission investigation involving alleged financial irregularities referred to the Financial Investigation Division.

The Integrity Commission has indicated that eight parliamentarians are under investigation for illicit enrichment — cases where public officials cannot account for assets that exceed their lawful earnings.