Holness to meet Wheatley after Cabinet about troubling IC report
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Analysis
Clear corruption case involving a Jamaican government official. The Integrity Commission has formally investigated and recommended charges against Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley for illicit enrichment, false declarations, and failure to provide information, with findings of approximately $164 million in unexplained assets. This is substantive government accountability reporting.
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KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness says he will be meeting with embattled Minister of Science, Technology and Special Projects Dr Andrew Wheatley after Monday’s cabinet meeting to discuss the troubling investigation report from the Integrity Commission (IC) which found that Wheatley illicitly enriched himself.
There have been calls for the prime minister to boot Wheatley from the Cabinet since the report went public after it was tabled in the Parliament last Wednesday.
The IC recommended that the Member of Parliament for St Catherine South Central be charged with illicit enrichment, false declarations and failure to provide information. According to the IC, Wheatley possessed assets disproportionate to his lawful earnings, amounting to approximately $164 million, and failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for the discrepancy.
READ:IC: Charge Wheatley with illicit enrichment
However, Wheatley has rejected the findings as baseless and insists that every dollar and asset he owns was lawfully acquired. He has accused investigators of ignoring evidence that he said would have significantly changed the outcome of the probe.
READ:Wheatley rejects IC report as ‘false’, points to ‘ignored’ real estate earnings
Holness addressed the issue publicly Monday morning during an interview with Cliff Hughes on Cliff Hughes Online on Nationwide Radio where he acknowledged that the charges recommended by the IC are serious.
“The challenge of course is that no charge has yet been proffered on him so until that point we will observe the situation.
“Today I’m going to leave here, (the interview) run back to Cabinet, I expect to see Minister Wheatley there and we will have a fulsome discussion with him directly on the report and what to expect in the future,” said Holness.
READ:Golding calls for removal of Wheatley from Cabinet amid IC report
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