In referring to his political opponents as “DUTTY LABORITES”, Junior Minister Damion Crawford exposed himself as one totally unsuitable to be a minister in any self-respecting Government. At the time he took the oath of office, Mr. Crawford took an oath to serve the people of Jamaica. That oath, which includes: “I will conscientiously and impartially discharge my responsibilities to the people of Jamaica . So help me God” imposes on Junior Minister Crawford a responsibility to give loyal dedicated, honest and trustworthy service to all the people of Jamaica, be they labourites, comrades or not connected to any of the parties. It is therefore rude and inelegant for Mr. Crawford to use expressions insulting to his political opponents. Our system of democracy can only survive if those holding opposing views, or belonging to opposing parties, are prepared to tolerate one another. The policies and doctrine of the PNP are different from those of the JLP. Each party should respect the views of the other and should not seek to humiliate, embarrass or belittle the other side just because they do not share similar views. The behaviour of Mr. Crawford is not only insulting, divisive and arrogant. It also exposes him as one unsuitable to hold the office of a Minister of Government. Mr.Crawford has violated the sacred oath of office he took His continuing as a minister is therefore untenable and he should go. The failure of Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to dismiss Mr. Crawford from his ministerial post has exposed the Prime Minister as a weakling, incapable of, or not prepared to take decisions in the best interest of unifying the nation. The Prime Minister should have acted to discipline Mr Crawford immediately after it became known that he referred to some Jamaicans as “DUTTY LABOPURITES”. The Prime Minister as leader of the Cabinet and of the Government, has the ultimate responsibility to ensure that her Ministers perform their duties and conduct their affairs at a standard that will ensure that her Government gains and continue to enjoy the respect of the citizens they are voted in to govern. Mr. Crawford’s conduct is unacceptable. His disdain and disrespect for labourites, means that he cannot be relied on to be objective, impartial and fair in the execution of his duty as a Minister. That being the case, Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller has no choice but to relieve him of his ministerial appointment. Should Mrs. Simpson Miller fail to do so, it would be fair for us to conclude that she sees nothing wrong with the conduct of Mr.Damion Crawford. And this would be just sad.
