NHT bill not an admission of being wrong - AG

Attorney General Patrick Atkinson says the Government cannot sit back and allow the country to go bankrupt while it pursues the National Housing Trust (NHT) matter in court.

Atkinson says without the money the deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will fall through, which will leave Jamaica in a disastrous position.

He says a Bill filed by the finance minister in Parliament is no way an attempt to circumvent the court.

The attorney general says the amendment to the legislation should not be viewed as an admission that the Government was wrong from the outset.

Jamaica has already reached a staff level agreement with the IMF, but must complete certain actions before receiving the board's approval.

The IMF board is expected to review Jamaica’s Letter of Intent next month.

In the meantime, the Opposition Spokesperson on Housing, Dr. Horace Chang, says the Government's decision to withdraw the $45 billion from the NHT was based on faulty legal advice from the Attorney General, Patrick Atkinson.

Dr. Chang notes that the former Jamaica Labour Party Administration had received advice from the previous attorney general, which stated that such a withdrawal would have been illegal.

Dr. Chang is now questioning the quality of the legal advice being given by Atkinson.

He says the Government’s latest move to amend the NHT Act shows the administration did not initially recognise it was acting illegally.

Dr. Chang says if the government cannot depend on the Attorney General for proper legal advice then Jamaica as a nation has a very serious problem.

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