Opposition PNP seeks clarity on NaRRA CEO selection process

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) has raised concerns over the appointment of Ambassador Antony Anderson as Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA), saying it wants to know whether Anderson applied during the initial recruitment drive. 

The party said it expects Anderson to carry out his duties with “transparency, integrity, and accountability,” but argued that the appointment raises “serious questions” that must be addressed by the Government.

The PNP said it wants to know whether Anderson applied during the initial recruitment exercise, and if not, why that process “failed to produce a suitable candidate.”

“It is a signal that something is fundamentally wrong with the framework governing this institution,” the party said in a statement Tuesday, referring to reports that the initial round of recruitment did not yield an appointable candidate.

The opposition argued that the appointment “reinforces” its longstanding concerns about governance arrangements under the NaRRA legislation, which it says lacks sufficient safeguards and accountability mechanisms.

Anderson, who has been serving as ambassador to the United States since in May 2025, previously served as Commissioner of Police from March 2018 to March 2024, National Security Adviser, from December 2016 to March 2018 and Chief of Defence Staff of the Jamaica Defence Force, from 2010-2016.  

The PNP questioned the decision to appoint a serving ambassador, describing it as “instructive” and suggesting it indicates challenges in attracting candidates from the relevant professional pool.

“Appointing a loyal military/policing technocrat to lead this civilian authority, in circumstances where the recruitment process appears not to have run its proper course, is not a solution to the governance problems within NaRRA. It is a symptom of them,” the statement said.

The PNP also urged the Government to bring amendments to the NaRRA legislation to strengthen oversight and rebuild public confidence in the authority.

It added that it remains committed to holding the Government accountable in the interest of Jamaicans.

Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness had earlier Wednesday announced the appointment of Major General Anderson, as NaRRA’s first CEO, effective June 1.

Holness said Anderson emerged from what he described as a “very extensive” recruitment process involving 120 applications for various NaRRA posts, including 85 for the CEO position.

He said seven candidates were shortlisted, including three Jamaicans and four overseas applicants from countries such as Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Holness said he he kept his distance from the process. “I was only informed of the end results. So just in case anybody thought that I was I kept a distance for good reason,” he told a post-Cabinet news conference. 

A former UK diplomat was reportedly among those considered. It's also understood that a senior United Nations official, who is Jamaican, was among the top contenders following an initial assessment. 

Holness said the recruitment panel included Public Service Commission Chairman Patricia Sinclair McCalla, Cabinet Secretary Audrey Sewell, Maria Thompson Walters who heads the Transformation Implementation Unit, Port Authority Chairman Gordon Shirleym, and Stephen Edwards who leads the National Road Operating and Constructing Company. 

The NaRRA legislation, which establishes the authority to fast-track reconstruction and infrastructure projects, has now officially come into effect after receiving the Governor General’s assent.

The Opposition and dozens of civil society groups and individuals argued that the legislation grants sweeping powers to the authority’s leadership and the responsible minister, including the ability to override regulatory bodies, while insufficient safeguards existed for oversight and accountability.

On Tuesday, Holness dismissed some of the critics as being driven by political interests, adding that some get funding to carryout their activities. 

“There are also a set of Jamaicans who don't want to see NaRRA succeed. It's not in their political interest for NaRRA to succeed and we must call them out," he said. "They hide under all kinds of names, claim to be parts of civil society when they're not. They are political activists, and we must call them by the name and I stand here frankly and say that.”

He defended the controversial NaRRA legislation, saying existing laws and institutions already provide the necessary safeguards to monitor the authority’s operations.

Full PNP Statement (May 27, 2026)

 The People's National Party notes the appointment of Major-General Anthony Anderson as Chief Executive Officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA). We expect that Major Anderson will execute the responsibilities of this office with the transparency, integrity, and accountability that the post demands and that the Jamaican people are entitled to receive.

However, this appointment raises serious questions that the Government must answer openly and without delay. In particular, the Party wishes to know whether Major-General Anderson applied for this position in the ordinary course of the initial recruitment exercise. 

If he did not, the public deserves a full and candid explanation as to why that process failed to produce a suitable candidate. A recruitment exercise that yields no appointable candidate is not merely an administrative inconvenience; it is a signal that something is fundamentally wrong with the framework governing this institution. 

The People's National Party has consistently raised concerns about the governance deficiencies embedded in the NaRRA legislation. This appointment does nothing to allay those concerns. On the contrary, it reinforces them. That the Government appears to have found it necessary to draw upon a serving Ambassador to Jamaica's most important international partner (who has only been in that post for 12 months) to fill this role, is itself instructive. It suggests strongly that credible candidates from within the relevant professional pool were deterred by the structural and governance arrangements that this Party has repeatedly flagged as inadequate.

Appointing a loyal military/policing technocrat to lead this civilian authority, in circumstances where the recruitment process appears not to have run its proper course, is not a solution to the governance problems within NaRRA. It is a symptom of them, and we call on the Government to be transparent with the Jamaican people about the full circumstances of this appointment. 

We further call on the Government to bring amending legislation to address the salient governance deficiencies that continue to undermine public confidence in NaRRA, and to ensure that the institution is placed on a sound and accountable footing without further delay.

The People's National Party remains committed to holding the Government accountable in the interest of all Jamaicans.

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