Anthony Anderson rejects political favour claims over NaRRA chief executive post

Retired Major General Anthony Anderson is pushing back against criticism of his appointment as chief executive officer of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, saying the agency’s reconstruction mandate is too important to be derailed by controversy.

Anderson, a former police commissioner, took up the post on June 1. In his first interview since assuming the role, he rejected claims that he was specially selected for the job, after questions were raised by the parliamentary opposition, civil society groups and members of the public.

Asked whether there had been any special arrangement behind his appointment, Anderson responded: “Why would there be?” He said public criticism is not new to him, particularly after years in senior public service roles, and argued that the work ahead requires focus rather than distraction.

He also dismissed social media claims linking him by family ties to Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, describing the speculation as background noise. Anderson said he applied after seeing the vacancy advertised in the newspaper and online, then went through an interview that lasted about an hour and 45 minutes.

The new CEO said his professional record equips him for the assignment. He pointed to his leadership of the Jamaica Defence Force’s engineer regiment during the 2000s, including responses to hurricanes Ivan and Gustav, as well as experience managing construction projects of different sizes.

Anderson said he had overseen as many as 250 small and large projects at the same time, worked with the National Housing Trust on inner-city housing developments, and helped build military bases.

For his first 100 days, Anderson said the immediate task is to build out the authority itself. He noted that the legislation currently provides for a CEO, but the organisation must still be staffed and equipped with systems to manage its programme of projects efficiently and in an automated way.