JLP calls Dennis Chung FID appointment protest by PNP 'manufactured rage'

The ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has labelled today's protest by the People's National Party (PNP) as “vulgar and inappropriate”, insisting that the Government will not be bullied by the Opposition to rescind the appointment of Dennis Chung as Chief Technical Director of the Financial Investigations Divisions (FID).

The PNP on Monday staged a protest outside the Ministry of Finance in Kingston to oppose Chung's selection to the post, citing his public comments on the Integrity Commission's 2024 report on Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness' income.

The FID, which probes financial crimes, falls under the finance ministry.

“Our view is to the best of our knowledge, Mr. Chung has not made any comments which should compel the administration to acquiesce to calls by the PNP for it to make the unusual and improper invention of interfering with a meritorious process coordinated by the PSC (Public Service Commission),” JLP Senator Abka Fitz-Henley stated at a press conference today.

Fitz-Henley dismissed criticisms that Chung lacks relevant qualifications for the job.

Twelve years' experience in law enforcement, five of them at a senior level, was listed as one of the requirements when the job was first advertised, last year.

However, that enforcement experience was removed from the prerequisite listed in the second advertisement, which was published in The Gleaner in January this year.

“At least five individuals who have served either in a permanent capacity or acting in the top job at the FID act have not had direct law enforcement qualification. In fact, like Mr Chung, two of those individuals have credentials in accounting at the levels of a masters degree, one had qualifications in business administrations and economics, one is an attorney at law with a masters in business administration, and the other had qualifications in ICT (Information and Communication Technologies),” said Fitz-Henley.

He noted, too, that Chung has served on public boards across different administrations.

The requirement that the FID boss has a strong law enforcement background was in keeping with a practice that spans over two decades, dating back to the tenure of Mike Surridge, a former cop from the United Kingdom.

Other past FID chief technical directors include former senior cops Calvin Small, Justin Felice, and Selvin Hay.

Robin Sykes, another former director, is one of Jamaica's leading authorities on money laundering.

Ordinor Tucker served as acting chief technical director of the agency from August 1, 2024, to June 1, following Hay's departure.

Pamella Wade Folkes also served as head of FID, which is a department in the Ministry of Finance.

She was replaced by a senior cop in 2010 when the FID was established under the 2010 FID Act, with more autonomy over its operations.

Audley Shaw, who was Minister of Finance at time, said the move to appoint someone with a law enforcement background to head FID was part of the Government's push to deal with the issue of corruption.

Meanwhile, Senator Marlon Morgan, spokesperson for the JLP's communication taskforce, accused the PNP of “exploiting cynicism and ignorance” of citizens to “undermine the progress being made by the governing party to improving the quality of life of Jamaican people”.

He described the PNP's reaction to Chung's appointment as “manufactured rage” and an attempt to smear Chung's reputation.

“The protest action being staged by the Opposition PNP is aimed at spreading propaganda, besmirching the reputation of someone who has served Jamaica with distinction over the year, whether it is in the private sector or in the public sector,” he said.

According to Morgan, the PNP's protest is an effort to energise its base, at the expense of stability in the country, and people's good name.

“In a most vulgar, desperate and despicable manner, the opposition PNP is using this protest to mislead its base, and deceive other members of the public through reckless and irresponsible engineered, contrite and manufactured rage on the basis of a crisis that does not exist,” he said.

In April 2023, the FID started operating fully as a department of Government, which means that in addition to exercising operational independence and direct control in its investigations of financial crimes it also now has full responsibility for its corporate operations, a ministry document said.

- Sashana Small

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