MOE awaiting legal advice on Ruel Reid, Fritz Pinnock salary payments

Education Minister Fayval Williams says the ministry has sought legal advice on whether scandal-scarred former Education Minister Ruel Reid and Professor Fritz Pinnock should still be receiving multimillion-dollar salaries at the expense of taxpayers. 

Williams told The Gleaner during today's post-Cabinet press briefing that the ministry is still awaiting a response. 

“So of course considering the sensitive nature of those issues we would have sought legal advice as to exactly what is the direction; what should we do? At this moment we still await the conclusion of that and so we would not have anything additional to report this morning,” said Williams.

The Gleaner reported that Reid and Pinnock, the putative heads of Jamaica College and Caribbean Maritime University respectively, who have gone on leave since 2019, are being paid more than $11 million annually.

READ: Reid, Pinnock still pulling down $11m annually

The two were criminally charged in 2019.

Reid is being paid a monthly salary of $388,277.67 for a total of $4.6 million per annum, and Pinnock $564,000 or $6.8 million annually.

Interim leaders at both institutions are also receiving salaries.

- Kimone Francis

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