Hutchinson shifted - Concerns raised about shuffling ministers around after breaches

Carol Narcisse, civil society advocate, has rejected the notion of shuffling around ministers of government who are no longer worthy of carrying out their responsibilities in one ministry to another.

Her comments come in the wake of the latest action by Prime Minister Andrew Holness who has shifted embattled de facto agriculture minister J.C. Hutchinson from the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries (MICAF) to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) amid conflict-of-interest claims involved in the Holland Estate land deal.

While stating that stripping Hutchinson of his duties was needed, Narcisse questioned the move to transfer the minister to OPM.

The civil society advocate raised a number of questions in relation to the prime minister’s action. “What is he going to the OPM to do? What entitles him to retention in the Cabinet? The notion that the solution to our problems is to shuffle people around and retain them in the Cabinet, I think we need to reject that as an approach to solving our problems because so far we haven’t seen that it actually does work,” Narcisse asserted.

Keith Duncan, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), lauded the prime minister for stripping Hutchinson of his duties in the agriculture ministry.

Son also occupying land

Documents revealed that Hutchinson was instrumental in helping an entity in which his partner, Lola Marshall-Williams, was a director and shareholder, to get the approval to manage the 2,400 acres of state-owned lands located in Holland, St Elizabeth. It was also revealed that their son is also operating a company, Holland Farm and Garden Supplies, on the property.

“The PSOJ, like all well-thinking Jamaicans, continues to be very concerned at the number of incidents and allegations of corruption that continue to plague us as a country. Instances like this continue to undermine the trust and confidence in our leaders and institutions which are in place to support and protect the people of Jamaica,” Duncan declared.

“We have seen too many instances over the years where possible conflicts of interest arise which are not declared and we believe this demonstrates a lack of judgement and due care by our elected leaders and custodians of Jamaica’s assets. We must, as a people, take collective responsibility in raising the bar for transparency and accountability in all spheres of Jamaican life, public or private sector,” he emphasised.

The developments follow a Sunday Gleaner report that revealed contradictions in accounts from Hutchinson and the Sugar Company of Jamaica (SCJ) Holdings, the state company that administers sugar lands, about the selection of the Holland Producers Limited in 2019 to manage the lands.

Holland Producers was incorporated in May 2019 and almost two months later, it was given possession of the lands.

Managing Director of SCJ, Joseph Shoucair, said the agency got a recommendation from the agriculture ministry to give possession of the lands to Holland Producers.

However, Hutchinson had insisted that MICAF did not recommend the company, contrary to statements by Shoucair.

But in his statement on Tuesday, Hutchinson gave a new version of events, revealing that he wrote to Shoucair in April 2019 “introducing” the Holland Estate Management Company and “asking for his attention and guidance” on the matter.

Although he denied involvement, in a letter obtained by The Gleaner, his demands on the SCJ went beyond his request for “guidance” from the SCJ, which falls under his ministry.

“It is, therefore, important that these participants, who have been selected, start occupying the land IMMEDIATELY upon the relinquishing of Appleton’s lease,” read a copy of the April 30, 2019, letter.

However, announcing his effective removal from the agriculture ministry, the prime minister said he is committed to ensuring the highest standards of accountability, probity, transparency and integrity in the administration of public affairs.

He noted that as a result, the Holland Estate lands should be immediately turned over to the Agricultural Investment Corporation without prejudice to the small farmers. Holness said that steps should be made to terminate any arrangements that allow for non-farm commercial operations on the lands and that the SCJ is to immediately cease all land transactions that may be in progress including divestments and leases, pending a review by the Cabinet Office to ensure that the procedures followed for proposed transactions are in accordance with Government’s policies.

Additionally, the prime minister said that the SCJ is to provide a historical listing of all land transactions over the last decade.

In a statement yesterday, General Secretary of the People’s National Party, Julian Robinson, said it was the second time within a month that the prime minister had given new portfolios after he has determined that the ministers are guilty of breaching policy at the level of the Government and Cabinet.