Opposition Leader Andrew Holness is describing Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller's responses to additional questions on the NHT/Outameni affair in Parliament on Tuesday as outrageous and unacceptable.  He said the people of Jamaica deserve more than the evasiveness, lack of knowledge and lack of appreciation of good governance exhibited to date.

According to Mr. Holness, the public will ultimately have the last word on this sordid affair, as her failure to come clean and take action are clear for the entire Jamaica to see.  "The Prime Minister's failure to hold the NHT board to account has demonstrated her support for the Outameni purchase, while her weak promise to have a letter written to the Board regarding their several breaches of the Public Bodies Act on top of their actions on Outameni and her unhelpful responses to questions in Parliament, further demonstrated her disrespect for contributors and the sanctity of the Trust." Holness stated

He continued "The Opposition finds it outrageous that the Prime Minister appears to have no concerns about the millions of dollars being expended by the Board on Outameni since its $180 million dollar purchase of we do not know what.  Furthermore, just a few weeks ago the Prime Minister led the nation to believe that she only became aware of the NHT/Outameni affair through media reports on October 30, but on Tuesday she revealed that in 2012 she instructed her Tourism Minister to explore how the Government could assist, and claims to have received no response or update from the Minister or any other Minister despite the many actions listed as taken by the Minister of Tourism and other members of the Government pursuant to her request"

The Opposition Leader continued: "The Prime Minister's refusal to explain or even acknowledge any of the inconsistencies between her statements and the Board show the level of her disrespect for Jamaican's intelligence, and this continued with her noticeable evasive responses on Mr. Lennie Little-White's political work on behalf of the PNP."

Mr. Holness said that on Tuesday the people of Jamaica were looking for full disclosure, clear answers and strong action from the Prime Minister regarding the NHT/Outameni affair and on Tuesday she again failed them by revealing more inconsistencies, being otherwise evasive and expressing no discomfort with her failure to act against the Board.  The Opposition Leader charged that the Prime Minister seemed quite content with her failure to clarify the issues for Jamaica.  Mr. Holness said “the Prime Minister's performance has again done the people of Jamaica a grave injustice and underscores her government's lack of respect for the people's interests, public accountability and good governance.”