NO PAPER TRAIL

The Government has stated that there is no documentation explaining why the law enforcement requirement was dropped from the job criteria for the top post at the Financial Investigations Division (FID).

Information Minister Dr Dana Morris Dixon revealed Tuesday that the change resulted from conversations within the interview panel.

The Attorney General’s Chambers, responding to a Gleaner Access to Information (ATI) request on June 27, disclosed only three documents and stated that “other official documents that were identified as relating to the request are exempt … [and] will therefore not be disclosed”.

Solicitor General Marlene Aldred did not make any claim that any documents were nonexistent. Instead, she said they were exempt under Sections 17(b)(i) and 22 of the ATI law. Those sections relate to breaches of confidence and unreasonable disclosure of personal information, respectively.

However, at Tuesday’s news conference, Morris Dixon said the decision to drop the requirement was made through discussions, raising questions about the authority of panels to change Government of Jamaica job requirements. There are also questions about why the Office of the Services Commissions (OSC), to whom the ATI request was sent, did not disclose the reason she gave earlier.

The OSC led the recruitment process.

“So what I have said today is conversations that would have taken place as a part of the interview process; that’s not a document, so that cannot be provided under an ATI request.”

Her comment is the first public suggestion from any senior government official that no formal record was created to support the decision to remove the requirement for law enforcement experience.

“There is nothing to hide in relation to that selection process,” Morris Dixon declared, amid mounting questions and pressure from major business and civil society groups.

She disclosed that after retired Deputy Commissioner of Police Fitz Bailey declined the offer to head the FID on January 21, “the panel that had been doing the interviews” decided to re-advertise the post to “broaden the pool of individuals”.

“And sometimes they may change the ad trying to get a broader pool of persons to be interested and that is actually what happened there, and so the ad was changed to get more people,” she said.

The panel’s decision resulted in the removal of the minimum requirement for candidates to have 12 years’ law enforcement experience, including five at a senior level.

“Now, that didn’t seem controversial to the team because the criterion in relation to law enforcement experience was not one that was there from the very beginning and if you look at those who have headed the FID, they have not had law enforcement experience except for one,” Morris Dixon said.

She noted that “the longest serving head did not have specific law enforcement experience,” arguing that the panel believed removing the criterion would allow for more applicants.

That move cleared the path for the appointment of chartered accountant Dennis Chung on June 2 under a two-year contract. He was one of four shortlisted in the second round, with the top score of 87.6 per cent, Morris Dixon confirmed.

The FID, a key financial crimes agency, is central to Jamaica’s anti-corruption and anti-money laundering enforcement. The law enforcement requirement was included in the November 2024 advertisement but was not included in the advertisement of January 23, 2025, two days after Bailey declined the offer.

Morris Dixon did not say whether the Ministry of Finance, under which the FID falls, approved or even knew of the change, nor did she identify who ultimately authorised the final decision.

MORE QUESTIONS TO ANSWER

Despite the Government’s insistence that “there is nothing that’s being hidden,” it remains unclear how an interview panel, normally tasked with assessment and recommendation, had the authority to alter a minimum requirement without documented approval.

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.

In an ATI response in May 2024, the NLA disclosed a letter it sent to the ministry, noting that it was on the basis of a no-objection from the ministry that it had advertised the position without the requirement listed as mandatory.

Among other things, the NLA argued in a 2022 request that while certification with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors was a mandatory requirement and had benefits, “it limits prospective qualified candidates”.

The ministry ultimately blocked the attempt after an audit by its Corporate Management and Establishment Branch. The finance ministry had previously indicated that despite giving the no-objection, the NLA needed to provide other documentation before formal authorisation.

Morris Dixon said on Tuesday that a formal statement will be released by the Ministry of Finance to provide further details on the FID matter, but none had been made up to press time last night.

Chung’s appointment has drawn backlash from civil society groups and the Opposition People’s National Party.

They charge that Chung is conflicted because of public comments he made raising doubts about an Integrity Commission report on its investigation into the prime minister’s finances. That report was referred to the FID last September.