PNPYO demands apology over Mark Golding declaration claims

The People’s National Party Youth Organisation is pressing Young Jamaica and the Jamaica Labour Party’s communications team to apologise over public claims about Opposition Leader Mark Golding’s 2024 statutory declarations.

PNPYO general secretary Petergaye Ferguson said the statements were irresponsible because the Integrity Commission’s certification of Golding’s declarations had already been published in the Jamaica Gazette on May 26, more than a week before Young Jamaica’s June 4 release.

Ferguson said the information was publicly available and argued that the matter raised wider concerns about accuracy in political messaging. She said party groups should check official records before making allegations, especially where reputations and public trust are involved.

Asked whether she had contacted anyone in Young Jamaica privately, Ferguson said she had reached across the aisle and was told that not every Young Jamaica member supported every release issued by the organisation. She rejected that as insufficient, saying the statement still came from the group and should be withdrawn or corrected.

She also criticised Young Jamaica and Generation 2000 for, in her view, focusing on partisan attacks while youth issues such as housing, education, health care and corruption require attention. Ferguson further accused the governing party’s affiliates of hypocrisy, noting that questions remain around statutory declarations involving Prime Minister Andrew Holness and other government members.

Ferguson said the apology should already have been issued, adding that a written statement or video would be enough if the group wished to act honourably. She said the PNPYO would continue pursuing the matter if no apology is forthcoming.

The programme also featured Jamaican-descended attorney Caseia Early, who said she is seeking the Democratic nomination in Florida’s redrawn 22nd Congressional District on a platform of faith, family and future. Early said the district covers parts of Broward, Palm Beach, Hendry and Collier counties, and named immigration, public safety, education, economic opportunity and trust in government among her priorities.

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