PNP diaspora bloc presses Holness to remove Wheatley from Cabinet after enrichment probe

A People’s National Party-linked diaspora organisation is urging Prime Minister Andrew Holness to dismiss Dr Andrew Wheatley from the Cabinet at once, after investigators recommended he face prosecution for illicit enrichment.

In a release on Friday, the PNP Diaspora Region said: “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.”

It added: “His continuation in this role in Cabinet is an abomination and would leave an indelible stain on the government and people of Jamaica.”

On Wednesday, lawmakers were presented with an Integrity Commission investigation report. The document concluded that Wheatley held assets that far exceeded his lawful earnings — roughly $164 million — and that he did not offer a satisfactory account for the difference.

Following that report, the director of corruption prosecution ruled that Wheatley should be charged on four counts. Those include illicit enrichment, knowingly making false statements in statutory declarations, and failing to provide information to the director of information and complaints as required by law.

Wheatley sits as Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Central. He currently serves as minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, with responsibility for science, technology and special projects.

The diaspora group warned that leaving him in office would amount to an “international embarrassment.”

“We who live overseas are Jamaicans first, and we move in spaces of respect in every sphere of our adopted homes,” the organisation said. It also stated: “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.”

Wheatley has disputed the report’s findings. In a detailed statement, he said investigators failed to consider evidence that, in his view, would have materially affected the outcome of the inquiry.