Calls mount for Cabinet minister Dr. Holiness to step aside amid integrity probe

Pressure is building for Dr. Holiness to step down from the Cabinet while serious questions tied to his statutory declarations and parallel anti-corruption processes remain open.

A detailed report on his declarations has left him operating under a cloud of scrutiny, according to those raising the issue. Findings from that exercise were sent to the Financial Investigations Division more than a year ago so investigators could take the matter further. The referral followed the Integrity Commission’s position that it had not received information required to complete its own review, and that work is said to remain in abeyance.

Dr. Holiness has also taken the Integrity Commission to court, seeking to challenge the constitutionality of the Integrity Commission Act — legislation passed under the administration he now serves. He is likewise contesting the offence of illicit enrichment under the Corruption Prevention Act, a key pillar of Jamaica’s anti-corruption framework.

Those making the call argue that standards of public governance cannot be allowed to slip further while someone facing the weight of pending criminal allegations in matters of this gravity remains inside the Cabinet, the body that runs the executive arm of government.

They say the appeal has already been made publicly and hope well-thinking Jamaicans, along with organisations concerned with national development and good governance, will press the government to do what is right. They stressed they are not prejudging any prosecution, noting that the outcome of any trial is for the courts to decide, not for political commentary.