Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle confirms the recent statement issued by the Office of the National Authorising Officer (ONAO) regarding its efforts to convene a meeting between a visiting CARICOM delegation and the United Progressive Party (UPP) in February.

The Party regrets that a well-intentioned WhatsApp message from one of the participants – which was read on Observer Radio on March 31 – has created confusion about this matter.

As the ONAO explains, at the time of contact, Opposition Leader Pringle was off island and his Deputy was asked to make the arrangements, which, admittedly, took some time to coordinate. Because of the “multiple time and date change requests” this involved, some members of the UPP delegation were confirmed only the night before the meeting took place on February 6.

As explained before, the persons accompanying the Leader were selected on the basis of their areas of interest, expertise, and experience in matters related to this specific meeting and included the Deputy Political Leader, two Senators, and the Party’s Labour Relations Officer.

This manner of selecting a delegation is not new. The Opposition Leader employed the same criteria in designating a colleague MP to participate in two overseas missions related to agriculture and the General Secretary, the former Senate Minority Leader, for meetings related to Foreign Affairs. Neither questions nor objections were raised in those instances.

I take this opportunity to thank the ONAO for the good work it continues to do and the Deputy Political Leader for his efforts, and hope that this communication clears up any and all misunderstandings.