PEOPLE'S NATIONAL Party (PNP) presidential candidate Portia Simpson Miller yesterday denied that she did not attend yesterday's Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) event because she was dodging questions from business leaders.
The PSOJ Job Creation Awards, set for the Terra Nova Hotel, was cancelled after Mrs. Simpson Miller's office informed the private sector group she could not attend. She said she had a diary clash.
The minister's special adviser, Anne Shirley, told The Gleaner that the event had been arranged three months ago. She added that she was "not at liberty" to reveal what the appointment was.
Despite expressing disappointment, PSOJ president Beverley Lopez played down the
controversy over the minister's cancellation as nothing more than "a storm in a teacup". Mrs. Simpson Miller maintained she was being treated unfairly over what she described as a 'misfortunate understanding'.
"I don't know why there is no question on other people about their ability to speak or respond," she said. "Is it because I am poor, is it because I came from the working class, or is it because I'm (a) woman? I don't know. All I say, I'm one confident Jamaican woman and I know I can handle anything, including leading this country."
