Transparency demanded

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) says it’s “more than reasonable” for Jamaicans to know why the law enforcement requirement for the Financial Investigations Division’s (FID) top job was dropped, after a government body claimed the information is private.

At the same time, there is also a call for Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness and his Cabinet to intervene to support the release of the information and ensure that public bodies respect Jamaicans’ constitutional right to information and the need for scrutiny of official decisions.

While acknowledging the need to protect personal information, PSOJ President Metry Seaga agreed that the public has a right to understand why the requirements for a critical state job were changed. Chartered accountant Dennis Chung, who was appointed earlier this month as boss of the financial crimes investigation agency, does not have law enforcement experience.

“If a minimum requirement was changed for a position ... would it be reasonable, you think, that the country know what led to that change, at the very least?” Seaga was asked.

“Yeah, I do think so, yeah. That’s more than reasonable,” replied Seaga, who also disclosed that the lobby group, which represents close to 300 of the country’s corporate firms and individuals, has written to the Office of the Services Commissions (OSC) seeking clarity on the appointment process to “remove the mystery” around it.

Seaga said he continues to support Chung’s appointment, but emphasised that the PSOJ “just want to make sure that the process was handled completely as it should have been”.

“I think it’s important that we take away the mystery around it. I don’t think there’s any mystery around it. I think there are good reasons, [but] sometimes people are afraid to speak to the press. ... I think that they should be as transparent as possible without disrupting anybody’s privacy,” he told The Gleaner yesterday.

The Sunday Gleaner reported that the OSC, the secretariat for the commissions that hire certain public servants, denied the newspaper’s Access to Information (ATI) requests for records explaining the removal of the minimum requirement for 12 years’ law enforcement experience, including five at a senior level.

The original post, advertised in November 2024, included that experience requirement.

Retired Deputy Police Commissioner Fitz Bailey, who had been selected in the first round, declined the offer on January 21, 2025. Two days later, the OSC re-advertised the post, but this time without the law enforcement requirement.

Chung was later appointed on June 2 under a two-year, $13.9-million annual contract. His appointment has faced strong resistance from the parliamentary Opposition and civil society groups.

They charge that he is conflicted because of public comments he made about a report by the Integrity Commission following its investigation into the prime minister’s finances. That report was referred to the FID.

Concerns have now heightened, particularly due to the secrecy surrounding the change in criteria. The refusal to disclose who authorised the change, or why, has also sparked outrage and fresh warnings of a deepening crisis of trust in Jamaica’s democratic and governance institutions.

“It’s a call to the Cabinet,” argued businessman Howard Mitchell, a former PSOJ president and founding chairman of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal. “Theoretically, we are supposed to be governed by a Cabinet. But it’s the prime minister and the Cabinet to say that transparency is essential to effective management.”

He added, “The conclusion you have to come to is to say that people have something to conceal, or people are playing games with the truth.

“The political directorate of the State needs to look at this thing and say, ‘Even if it is the bureaucrats that are withholding information in an overly zealous fashion, we need to step in and encourage them to release it in our own interests, and in the interests of the wider society’.”

Pointing to low voter turnout in national elections, Mitchell said the OSC’s actions threaten to further erode trust.

“If your constituents don’t understand what you’re doing, don’t buy into what you’re doing, or have a low level of trust in what you’re doing, what you’re doing will not be as effective.”

In a similar rejection of the OSC’s actions, Danielle Archer, principal director of National Integrity Action, declared that “access to information is not a luxury; it is a democratic right”.

“Efforts to suppress it, particularly in matters of public interest, are not isolated missteps; they are symptoms of creeping authoritarianism,” she asserted.

“How me fi trust you and me no certain weh you a do behind curtain?” Archer asked, quoting recording artiste Chronixx. “This is the question now echoing across the public sphere. Without openness, confidence collapses – not just in individuals, but in the systems meant to protect the public good.

“When both government and oversight bodies conceal information on appointments linked to ongoing investigations, it marks a dangerous erosion of accountability.”

Solicitor General Marlene Aldred, from the Attorney General’s Chambers, responded to the ATI requests on the OSC’s behalf on Friday. She disclosed that public access to nearly all the requested documents that could explain the actions of public officials involved in the process has been denied.

She cited legal exemptions under Sections 17(b)(i) and 22 of the ATI Act, which refer to breaches of confidence and disclosures of personal information, respectively.

However, the PSOJ head and Mitchell expressed concern that failure to explain the change could erode public trust in Chung and the FID.

Seaga said, “Yes, absolutely”, when asked whether the non-disclosure could affect public confidence in the FID head.

“I think it’s going to make the job of the Financial Investigations Division more difficult,” said Mitchell. “It’s going to make Chung’s leadership of that division more difficult.”

The FID, a department of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, is charged with investigating major financial crimes, including fraud, money laundering, and asset forfeiture. Its leadership is seen as critical to public confidence in financial governance.

In a May 30 statement, Finance Minister Fayval Williams insisted the recruitment process was “transparent”. She did not address the changes to the job requirement.

While the process for changing job requirements remains unclear, it emerged in a recent case that the National Land Agency had to seek permission from the Ministry of Finance before removing a mandatory requirement for a senior post. The ministry ultimately blocked the attempt after an audit by its Corporate Management and Establishment Branch.

The June 3 ATI request sought official correspondence, directives and/or records of communication related to the decision to remove the law enforcement requirement from the second advertisement.

It also requested the name of the individual or office that authorised or recommended the change; minutes, memos or other records of discussion where the change was discussed; the current job description for the post; Chung’s contract; and any assessment or evaluation reports generated during the selection process.

The only documents released were a redacted contract signed by Chung and a redacted score sheet dated March 12, 2025, reflecting four shortlisted candidates under the revised criteria. Bailey’s offer and rejection were also confirmed in partially disclosed emails.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com