Holness to Meet Wheatley After Integrity Commission Recommends Prosecution

Prime Minister Andrew Holness says he will meet with Dr. Andrew Wheatley before deciding his next move, after describing portions of an Integrity Commission report on the minister as troubling.

The commission tabled its investigation in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 17. The Director of Corruption Prosecution has determined that Dr. Wheatley, minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for science, technology, and special projects, should be charged with four offences, including illicit enrichment.

Jeanette Calder, executive director of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal, said the findings rank among the most serious ever produced under Jamaica's anti-corruption framework. She urged Holness to apply the same accountability standards he enforced in earlier ministerial cases, including Dr. Wheatley's 2018 resignation from a previous post. Calder also questioned appointments to the 2025 Cabinet while long-running Integrity Commission probes remained confidential under rules that bar the body from naming individuals under investigation.

Separately, the Jamaica Civil Service Association has rejected the government's latest wage proposal and warned that industrial action remains possible. President Tisha Clark-Griffiths said negotiations on 2024–2025 salaries have continued since November 2024, past the March 31, 2025 deadline in the collective agreement. Unions sought 15 per cent in year one and 10 per cent in year two; the government countered with 2 per cent in the first year and 2.5 per cent in each of the following three years across a four-year term. Clark-Griffiths said members are pressing instead for funding tied to the fiscal policy paper's $46.2 million provision for retroactive public-sector increases—about 8 per cent—arguing that 2 per cent falls below average inflation of 5.4 per cent. She asked members to hold strain while talks continue and criticised mandatory artificial intelligence training for civil servants announced without union consultation.

Education Minister Dr. Dana Morris Dixon announced 2026 Primary Exit Profile results from Jamaica House. Of 31,565 students who sat the exams, 90 per cent were placed in one of their preferred high schools. The ministry reported no major decline among pupils affected by Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, including 12,860 candidates across 440 schools in seven parishes. Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer Myra Ho Young said grade-six testing was reduced to ability, mathematics, and language arts papers, with grade four and five data used for placement. St. Elizabeth's Park Mountain Primary produced the island's top PEP performer. Sandy Bank Primary principal Opal Smith-Alexander described roof damage from Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa and credited German Embassy support in restoring classrooms.

In brief international developments, Sir Keir Starmer resigned as British prime minister; 17 Haitian nationals were detained after arriving by boat in Pasture Gardens, Portland; and U.S. Southern Command reported two alleged narcotics traffickers killed in a Caribbean strike. At the FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina's 2–0 win over Austria to become the tournament's all-time leading scorer with 18 goals.