Mark J. Golding

President of the PNP, Leader of the Opposition, MP for St. Andrew South, Proud Jamaican 🇯🇲, husband and father

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

An economy that works for the future and for the people!

Senator Cleveland Tomlinson, Deputy Opposition Spokesperson on Productivity, Efficiency and Competitiveness, will make his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate in the Senate on Friday, October 23, 2026.

Tune in as he outlines his vision for a more productive, competitive and inclusive Jamaican economy that delivers opportunities for all.
#stateofthenation #scenesfromthesenate @CTomlinsonJA

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

This morning, on National Heroes’ Day, I had the honour of laying a wreath at the memorial of the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley, ONH, MM, QC, National Hero of Jamaica.

Rhodes Scholar. Decorated soldier. One of the finest legal minds this region has ever produced. Yet Norman Manley chose to give his brilliance to the cause of his people.

In 1938, out of the struggles of the working class, he joined with fellow patriots to found the People’s National Party, a movement that would carry Jamaica toward universal adult suffrage, self-government, and nationhood. As Chief Minister and later Premier, he helped lay the foundations of the Jamaica we know today.

He stands among the fathers of this nation, and among the founding fathers of our noble movement.

Today we honour all our National Heroes, whose courage and sacrifice shaped who we are. Their work is not finished. It lives on in every Jamaican still striving for justice, opportunity, and dignity.

We stand on their shoulders. We carry the torch forward. 🇯🇲

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Our National Heroes did more than challenge the injustices of their time. They laid the foundation for the freedoms we enjoy and showed us what courage, sacrifice and determination can achieve. As we honour their legacy, we must also ask ourselves: What kind of Jamaica are we building for the next generation?

This National Heroes Day, let us recommit to building a Jamaica where every citizen has a fair opportunity to live with dignity, fulfil their potential and contribute to our nation's progress. Our heroes did their part. Now, it is our responsibility to carry their work forward.

Happy National Heroes Day, Jamaica! 🇯🇲

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

It was an honour to read the Scripture at this morning's National Heritage Week Church Service.

As we celebrate our heritage and honour our National Heroes, let us give thanks for the faith, courage and sacrifice that built this nation.

We also keep in prayer all those still trying to rebuild their lives and homes a year after Hurricane Melissa.

May God continue to guide and bless Jamaica, land we love.

#HeritageWeek #NationalHeroesDay #Jamaica #OneJamaica

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Why Is NaRRA About Legacy Projects And Not Hurricane Melissa Recovery?

Opposition Leader Mark Golding asked the question in Parliament on April 21, 2026 that Jamaica is asking today.

We recognize the need for special efforts to rebuild Jamaica after the terrible damage inflicted by Hurricane Melissa. Jamaicans continue to suffer from inadequate shelter, damaged housing, and small businesses that have lost everything.

The Government's ROOF program with its $10 billion allocation is inadequate in scope and depth, and many who need help cannot even access it.

But NARRA is not about providing solutions to the present needs of those people who are suffering.

NARRA is really a revamped attempt to inject higher levels of growth into the economy after a decade of failure to do so.

Look at the Bill itself. Other than the preamble, there is no reference in the Bill to Melissa or to any hurricane.

If NARA was truly about hurricane recovery, why are its projects the 4 new hospitals and other legacy projects that have nothing to do with rebuilding what Melissa destroyed?

Why is NARRA about legacy projects and not Hurricane Melissa recovery?

#HurricaneMelissa #NARRA #MarkGolding

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

WATCH: Senator Cleveland Tomlinson exposes the NaRRA bait and switch on CVM Lead Story*

Last night on CVM, Senator Tomlinson put it plain and simple.

A year after Hurricane Melissa, recovery has been slow, lethargic, disjointed and fragmented. Homes in Westmoreland, South St James, Hanover and Trelawny have not been rebuilt. Critical infrastructure is still waiting.

Yet NaRRA, which was sold to Jamaicans as a special purpose entity to coordinate hurricane recovery, is now being loaded with legacy projects that have nothing to do with the hurricane.

Four new hospitals. Projects that this Government failed to deliver in 10 years, now being pushed through NaRRA to avoid the normal system.

And who is paying the price? 🚨

The NaRRA CEO is being paid more than the Prime Minister who runs the country, while Jamaicans still do not know the staff complement of NaRRA, what has been built, or what recovery has actually taken place since the CEO took office on June 1.

The Bill was rushed through Parliament in May with a defective governance structure, and five months later, nothing substantial has been done.

NaRRA was supposed to rebuild Jamaica after the hurricane. Instead, it is being used to rebuild this Government's legacy.

#NaRRAExposed #HurricaneRecovery #Accountability @CTomlinsonJA

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

WATCH: WHO IS REALLY RUNNING NaRRA? - Mark Golding Exposed Clause 13

Remember the controversial NaRRA office lease for 2 floors that the Government had to revise?

How is the public to know if there was a ministerial directive behind it or not?

This is exactly what Opposition Leader Mark Golding warned about in Parliament on April 21
during the NaRRA Bill debate.

Clause 13 of the Bill says “the minister may give directions to the authority.”

This is not the normal clause where a minister gives general policy direction. These are
operating directions.
The Minister can direct NaRRA to take or refrain from taking certain actions.

To pursue or not pursue a particular course.
The Minister is put in a position to directly interfere in how this statutory body performs its
functions. The CEO may be there, but the Minister is the one who can really direct how it works.
And the worst part?

Nothing in the Bill requires those directions to be in writing. Nothing requires
them to be gazetted. Nothing requires them to be disclosed to the public.

We called for transparency. All directions should be in writing and reported semi-annually to
Parliament so the public knows what is going on.
The Government ignored it.

So today we must ask. Who directed the 2 floor lease? Who is directing what projects NaRRA
takes? Who is directing how billions in public money is spent?
With no written orders and no reporting, Jamaica will never know.
This is not transparency. This is political interference by design.

#Clause13 #NARAlease #MinisterialDirective

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

FLASHBACK: We Tried To Warn Jamaica - Mark Golding on the NaRRA Bill - April 21, 2026

Long before the controversy over salary, leases and stalled recovery, the Opposition tried to warn Jamaica.

During the NaRRA Bill debate, Opposition Leader Mark Golding told Parliament exactly what would go wrong.

This is like a massive conglomerate being operated by a single officer, a CEO with no board and no proper oversight. It's wrong.

We said the Bill must establish a proper Board, along the lines of JAMROC, with clear lines of oversight and accountability. A Board to which the CEO reports. Not a one man show.

We warned that JAMROC has no legal powers and is not a legal construct. It cannot effectively provide oversight or ensure accountability within NARRA. It has no legal authority and it doesn't exist in law. To suggest otherwise is very misleading to the public.

We also demanded clarity on funding. The Bill says NARRA's funds will come from monies placed at its disposition by Parliament. But what about the billions in disaster risk financing? The Disaster Fund, the National Disaster Fund, the CRIF insurance, the catastrophe bonds? What is the mechanism? Will it be automatic or ad hoc?

The Government ignored every warning. They rushed the Bill through with no board, no proper governance, and no clear funding rules.

And today, Jamaica is seeing the results. A NaRRA with a CEO paid more than the Prime Minister, no board to answer to, and no recovery to show.

#WeToldYouSo #NARRAbill #MarkGolding

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Welcome to our Party, Tanyalee. I enjoyed our meeting last week. We Put People First, and your courage and commitment are appreciated.

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Sunday Reasoning with Mark is back so join this Sunday for an open, engaging conversation with Mark J. Golding, hosted by Peta-Gay Ferguson.

📅 Sunday, October 11, 2026
⏰ 2:00 PM
📲 LIVE on TikTok, YouTube & Instagram

Come with your questions, your views and your voice. This is your chance to join the reasoning.

#SundayReasoning #MarkJGolding #JoinTheConversation #PNP #LiveDiscussion

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

This NaRRA lease scandal is exactly what we warned about.

Had NaRRA been established as a proper statutory body with a Board, that Board would have had to review the commercial terms, get legal advice, and ensure public assets were used first, as required by law.

But with no Board and with JAMROCC having no legal status, there was no oversight and no accountability.

The structure is flawed. It is an aberration that should never have been allowed to become law. And the Minister with oversight for NaRRA is the Prime Minister himself.

He is accountable for this, and now we see him backpedaling after the public outcry.

We were right all along.

#NaRRA #Accountability #GoodGovernance

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

One floor. But what about the questions?

Dr. Dayton Campbell MP says while he welcomes the Government’s decision to scale back the proposed NaRRA headquarters lease, the bigger issues remain unanswered.

Who is governing NaRRA? What exactly will it be doing? Which projects will get priority? And why isn’t housing for Jamaicans still living in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa at the centre of its mandate?

And then there’s the cost.

Dr. Campbell is questioning the reported $1.44 billion allocation for 268 modular homes, which he says works out to almost $4 million per house, excluding the cost of the containers.

For communities still waiting on homes, schools and essential infrastructure, he says the focus must be on rebuilding Jamaica not simply building an institution.

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Opposition mounts pressure on the Government over NaRRA rental space

📹 : tvjnews

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

The Government needs to come clean on the decision to lease office space from the private sector to house NaRRA

The legislation establishing NARA is clear. Section 4(4) says the Authority shall, where lawful and practicable, utilise existing capacity, resources and facilities in Government for its operations.

So the questions are straightforward:

What government-owned or already-leased facilities were considered? What efforts were made to find suitable public premises?

And why is the Government now committing public funds to lease property at market rates from the private sector?

This is particularly troubling at a time when so many Jamaicans are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Melissa with damaged homes, businesses and livelihoods still awaiting meaningful assistance.

The Prime Minister’s suggestion that the arrangement may now be reviewed comes only after public outrage. But the issue goes beyond whether one floor or two floors will be leased.

It is about accountability, responsible stewardship of public resources, and following the law.

The Jamaican people deserve a full explanation.

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

Opposition Leader Mark Golding questioned why the Ministry of Justice has not assessed how the 2022 Firearms Act’s mandatory minimum sentencing provisions affect guilty pleas and the backlog of cases before the Gun Court.

Golding argued that understanding how the legislation is affecting the flow of cases through the justice system should be a critical responsibility of the Ministry. He also pressed the Minister for information on the application of mandatory minimum sentences, including cases involving imitation firearms and persons with no previous convictions.

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

A short clip of my contribution in Parliament on the Pedro Plains Irrigation Project is being shared by @floydgreenja without the context of what I actually said.

For the record: I told the House that this is a very important project and that we welcome the expansion of irrigation for the farmers of St Elizabeth.

My objection was to the order attached to it. This is a project of approximately $26 billion in public money, now exempted from the Public Procurement Act. The only condition offered to assure value for money is an engineering review. There is no requirement for competitive bidding and no safeguard against overpricing.

When the normal procurement rules are set aside, there must be a proper substitute to protect taxpayers. This order does not provide one.

The farmers deserve their water. The people of Jamaica deserve accountability for how their money is spent. We will continue to insist on both, no distractions or distortions will stop us!

[PNP Jamaica @JamaicaPNP]

ICYMI: SENATOR TOMLINSON SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT! 📻🔥

If you missed it, Deputy Spokesperson on Productivity, Efficiency & Competitiveness, Senator Cleveland Tomlinson was on point on Beyond the Headlines with Dionne Jackson Miller!

He spoke openly and presented the facts around the costs, who's footing the bill for NaRRA office rental

This is the clear, credible discussions Jamaica needs!

🎧 Tap to listen to the full clip and tell us your favourite part in the comments!

Share it for a friend who needs to hear this!

#BeyondTheHeadlines #ClevelandTomlinson #PNP #Productivity #TimeCome

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

I fully support Jamaica becoming a republic. However, constitutional reform must also address the question of our final court. After the last General Election, I wrote to Prime Minister Holness requesting a meeting to discuss the way forward, particularly given previous indications that the JLP’s position on the CCJ was evolving. That meeting has not happened.

This is an important national issue that requires dialogue between the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition to determine whether we can find common ground and agree on a pathway forward. I am ready to meet. The ball is in the Prime Minister’s court.

[Mark J. Golding @MarkJGolding]

Last week at our NEC meeting in St. Ann, I asked a simple question: Is this Government failing on the economy?

In the Budget Debate they taxed manufacturing and tourism, one of which was just hammered by Melissa. We warned that Jamaica needed counter-cyclical support to fight the contraction.

The law only allows the fiscal rules to be suspended for 2 fiscal years, this year and next year ending March 2027. That window closes in 6 months. Only now the Government is waking up and talking about stimulus. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but it's too late for it to work before they have to go back to an even tighter fiscal policy to meet the debt target.

That is the exact opposite of what Jamaica needs.

How are you managing at the gas pumps? At the market / supermarket? With your rent and utilities?