Headlines:
| Kern holds firm |
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| Friday, 07 March 2008 | |
The RJR
News Centre has been informed that former Junior Minister for Energy Kern
Spencer has indicated that he will not resign as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East St. Elizabeth.It is reported that Mr. Spencer made the announcement before senior officers of the People's National Party (PNP) during a meeting in his constituency Thursday night. The meeting which was held at the Santa Cruz Primary School was attended by PNP General Secretary Peter Bunting, Region Chairman Michael Peart and Acting Deputy General Secretary Luther Buchanan. Members of Mr. Spencer's constituency committee were also present during the two hour meeting. Sources said Mr. Spencer declared that he had the full backing of his constituency and would continue to hold on to his seat in Parliament. PNP officials refused to speak with our news team when the talks ended. The meeting was called to discuss the way forward for the constituency in the wake of Mr. Spencer's arrest last week in connection with the Cuban Light Bulb Project. It was also arranged to assess whether there was any fallout in the constituency since the scandal erupted. Earlier this week a PNP insider said the Party would be trying to convince Mr. Spencer to resign. There had also been calls in the public arena for the former State Minister to leave representational politics. The North East St. Elizabeth MP is on leave from Parliament until the end of the month. Mr. Spencer and co-accused Colleen Wright and Rodney Chin are scheduled to appear in court on March 26th. A high level of support for Mr. Spencer was evident outside the Santa Cruz Primary School Thursday night. Scores of supporters gathered to greet the MP when the meeting ended. |