DIVIDED WE STAND: Chung’s appointment could harm Ja’s economic standing, warns Phillips
Published:Tuesday | June 3, 2025 | 12:09 AMCorey Robinson/Senior Staff Reporter
Former Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips on Monday added his voice to a chorus against Dennis Chung’s appointment as the chief technical director of the Financial Investigations Division (FID).
Addressing objectors at a People’s National Party (PNP)-led protest outside the Ministry of Finance’s offices in downtown Kingston, Phillips said he had to take a stand against a move he believes could have grave international implications for Jamaica’s financial standing.
He said Jamaicans must remain resolute against Chung’s appointment, regardless of how long it takes the Government to retract it.
“I thought I had given up all my days of demonstration and protest, but when I see the levels to which the actions of this JLP (Jamaica Labour Party) administration are bringing Jamaica, I said every well-thinking Jamaican, every Comrade, every person of goodwill has to step up and defend and rescue Jamaica now,” charged Phillips, the former leader of the Opposition who represents St Andrew East Central in Parliament.
“We don’t have any personal feelings against Dennis Chung, [but] he is not qualified to do the job, plain and simple! More than that, he has compromised himself,” he continued, citing the prime minister’s stand-off with the Integrity Commission over unverified financial accounts.
“They have referred it to the FID, and even before the referral took place, he (Chung) himself proceeded to defend and clear the prime minister of Jamaica. He has freedom of speech, but he does not have the right to be the technical director of the FID,” charged Phillips.
“Jamaica has been trying for a long time to develop as an international financial centre. If you appoint Dennis Chung, you can kiss that goodbye. It is dead, and it is going to make economic growth in Jamaica even harder to come by,” he warned.
Chung, a certified public accountant, began his tenure at the FID on Monday amid heavy public criticisms.
Last Friday, The Gleaner revealed that an initial job advertisement criteria calling for candidates to have 12 years’ experience in law enforcement, five of them at the senior level, was scrapped and the post was readvertised – a move the PNP believes was aimed at facilitating Chung’s appointment.
The FID falls under the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and is tasked with combating financial crimes and the recovery of assets derived from criminal conduct, using the Proceeds of Crime Act. Dating more than two decades, the FID boss is usually one with a strong law-enforcement background. Chung’s appointment follows the departure of senior police officer Selvin Hay, who demitted office in July 2024.
PNP President Mark Golding said Monday’s protest was about defending principle and good governance of Jamaica in a way consistent with the country’s Constitution.
“The prime minister has problems. The Integrity Commission has investigated him and they are not satisfied with their findings ... . They have referred the matter for further investigation to the FID, a critical law-enforcement investigative agency. There are a whole lot of issues at stake,” charged Golding.
“You cannot have a man who is defending the person under investigation being put in charge of the agency that is tasked with doing the investigation. There is a clear conflict of interest,” he added.