If Antony Anderson is PM Holness’ cousin, does it prove problematic for NaRRA?

Last week Ambassador Major-General Antony Anderson was announced as the CEO of the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority (NaRRA).

The NaRRA Act is a Jamaican law passed earlier this month to coordinate the country’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa. It functions as a special-purpose body designed to fast-track long-term infrastructure rebuilding and major private sector investments while enforcing climate-resilient engineering standards.

It places unprecedented authority in the Prime Minister’s hands and has been the subject of much public debate surrounding transparency, accountability and governance.

The NaRRA Act is designed to bypass bureaucracy and get resources to people and projects that need it immediately in the aftermath of Category 5 Hurricane Melissa.

Ambassador Antony  Anderson’s appointment comes less than a year after being announced as Jamaica’s Ambassador to the U.S.. He was also appointed by Holness as Commissioner of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) in 2018.

For this new CEO position at NaRRA he was selected from 85 candidates and was among the seven shortlisted.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness said: “ I was only informed of the end result. I kept a distance from this appointment for good reason. “ 

The interview process was led by a panel including the Chairman of the Public Service Commission and the Cabinet Secretary.

The appointment is effective from June 1, 2026.

It has come under the spotlight and Ambassador Anderson’s suitability has been widely discussed and aired.

He is a man with a proven track record and conducts himself with decorum, never raising eyebrows or making untoward statements.

However, it is widely circulating that he is the cousin of the Prime Minister and this presents a problem given the scrutiny NaRRA has come under.

The Prime Minister must remain above the fray and cannot be expected to comment on all and sundry. But given the nature of NaRRA and the widespread reservations about it, the Prime Minister would be advised to come out and say whether this is so.

It is common knowledge he favours senior military professionals and trusts them wholeheartedly. Familial ties are another matter, and what immediately comes to mind are the concerns raised about how NaRRA comes to decisions and the use of unchecked powers.

His wife is Speaker of the House, and now his cousin is the new NaRRA boss. This has  Trump overtones of absolute authority, and how this looks is of little consequence. Trump has appointed both his daughter and son -in-law to major positions and didn’t give a damn about what anybody had to say about it,” said  Executive Director  Joseph Myrie of Washington think -tank Semaphore Flag. 

Local commentators have leapt on the appointment, denouncing it as nepotism and cronyism at work, Jamaica style. This is why NaRRA has to be constantly watched and public funds guarded. 

The Prime Minister says detractors are just bad-minded and are political operatives with an agenda.

He declared: “There is a set of Jamaicans who don’t want to see NaRRA succeed. It’s not in their political interest for NaRRA to succeed, and we must call them out. They hide under all kinds of names, claiming to be parts of civil society when they are not. They are political activists, and we must call them by their name, and I stand here frankly and say that.

“It’s not just Jamaica that is suffering from this. It is a global thing. Technology and bureaucracy are real. They have political interests. They are self-interested and vested. They get funding to do this. That’s the hidden part of this that the country doesn’t see. Nobody writes an article about that. And somehow everybody is so self-righteous to be defenders when nobody is trying to defend the people who are in need of their homes quickly, and the country needs growth.

“These things have to be said, and I say them unapologetically, and I’m prepared to tackle all of them who are going to come out of the woodwork to deal with my statement. I’m prepared to deal with you,” fulminated the Prime Minister earlier this week.

According to a recent Auditor General report, only 1.8 per cent of the J$1.4 billion in cash donations for Hurricane Melissa relief has been spent. The Government has been woefully slow and inefficient here, and this has sparked widespread condemnation.

The Government retorts that this is due to bureaucracy and is precisely why NaRRA was created.

Make no mistake, Jamaica is flush, getting US$6.7 billion in international support over three years to rebuild the country after the impact of Hurricane Melissa.

The Government has been slow out of the blocks, and many communities remain utterly devastated with no time line as to rehabilitation. Jamaica must call on its best and brightest to get the aid working for the betterment of its people. The Government is fiddling while Rome burns. It’s been seven months since Melissa slammed into Jamaica, and very little has been accomplished. Why? 

“Holness and his Cabinet are employing a strategy to solve this, but it doesn’t help with the likes of Trevor Munroe, Peter Bunting, Jeanette Calder and Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie constantly criticising and making the Government look bad. Antony Anderson can do a good job here and should be supported to do so. It matters not if he is some kind of distant relative of the Prime Minister. He is trusted and is a safe pair of hands. The aim is to get help to the people, and that is exactly what Holness is doing,” said architect Thomas Mackie, who resides in Morant Bay.

The Prime Minister will have to make a number of announcements when it comes to NaRRA and must ensure there is no hint of any impropriety or anything untoward. That is why he must come out and set the record straight on any family ties with Antony Anderson. If there are no family connections, say so and move on. 

By not addressing issues, it only generates suspicion and undermines NaRRA.