“Diaspora Jamaicans: Wheatley’s Cabinet Seat Is an International Embarrassment Holness Must End”

Members of the People’s National Party’s Diaspora Region call upon Prime Minister Andrew Holness to restore credibility to Jamaica’s Parliament and Jamaica’s international stature by immediately removing Dr. Andrew Wheatley from the Cabinet and his position as Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister.

The Director of Corruption Prosecution (DCP) has determined that Minister Wheatley be charged with illicit enrichment because, for several years in his statutory declarations, his assets have outweighed his stated income by hundreds of millions of dollars. While we know that the process by which the mandatory statutory declarations that public sector workers, including Members of Parliament, are required to provide is an arduous process, the IC has outlined several years of opportunities for Dr Wheatley to explain the disparity in his income and his wealth. He could not, and the DCP has concluded that he should be charged.

We who live overseas are Jamaicans first, and we move in spaces of respect in every sphere of our adopted homes. The tarnish of having a member of Jamaica’s Cabinet charged with illicit enrichment and still carrying out duties in the name of the Jamaican government is a stain upon the reputation of Jamaica and an international embarrassment.

While accepting that every person is innocent until proven guilty, the allegations are serious enough to prevent Dr. Wheatley from credibly continuing in his position on behalf of the Jamaican people.  His continuation in this role in Cabinet is an abomination and would leave an indelible stain on the government and people of Jamaica.

We call on the Prime Minister to protect Jamaica’s global image and to immediately remove Dr. Wheatley so that Jamaica can salvage respectability on the international stage.