by Ainsworth Morris (Jamaica Gleaner) With less than 24 hours before the collapse of of states of emergency (SOEs) in seven parishes, Prime Minister Andrew Holness has warned that if there is heightened threat to public safety, the Government will not shy away from declaring a new security crackdown.
Deputy Prime Minister Dr Horace Chang suggested that the administration was not eager to reimpose the measure unilaterally – though constitutionally legal to do so – because that action might contravene good governance in seeking consensus from the Opposition, which has refused to give the single Senate vote for its extension.
Opposition Senator Lambert Brown appeared, in his Upper House presentation last Friday, to goad the Government to go it alone, emphasising that the Opposition could only block extensions but not the declaration of a new round of emergency measures.
