JAMP hoping for full disclosure of settlement to Ruel Reid

 

The Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP) has said it expects full disclosure regarding any payments to former Education Minister Ruel Reid as part of the agreement for him to resign from the post of principal of Jamaica College.

 

Mr. Reid resigned on Saturday, the same day his special leave which had been granted to him from 2019 expired.

 

Jamaica College has rejected reports about a multi-million dollar settlement with Mr. Reid, but gave no information on the terms of the separation.

 

However, Jeanette Calder, Executive Director of JAMP, has said if it cost taxpayers for Mr. Reid to resign, this must be revealed. 

 

"There has to be full disclosure as long as the people of Jamaica will be compensating. If there is any compensation package, any financial implications on the budget, public funds, then it is a right of the people of Jamaica to know. That is what underpins a democracy, that is a right given to us in our constitution, and that is also consistent with just the principles of transparency and good governance, which this current administration has promised and continues to maintain that it is working on," she insisted. 

 

Mrs Calder said she does not expect there to be a non-disclosure agreement in the matter since the government had committed to not using such an arrangement in these circumstances. 

 

"The last time we heard of it, this was something I believe a promise was made to the people of Jamaica that we would not find ourselves in that situation again. So, I think there is no reason to believe that there will not be full disclosure and that the Minister of Education and the Minister of Finance will not let us know in due course if there is such a package that will cost the people of Jamaica," she maintained. 

 

There had been concerns about the possibility of Mr. Reid continuing as principal of Jamaica College when his special leave expired. The Board of Jamaica College had recommended an extension of his special leave with full benefits, however, the Ministry of Education did not approve the recommendation. 

 

The former Minister of Education was charged in 2019 in relation to corruption allegations concerning his ministry and the Caribbean Maritime University (CMU). 

 

Mr. Reid, his wife Sharon, their daughter Sharelle, CMU President Professor Fritz Pinnock and Councillor for the Brown's Town Division Kim Brown Lawrence are all facing fraud and corruption charges.

 

Speaking on Sunday's news review programme That's a Rap, social commentator Latoya West Blackwood agreed that transparency is needed in relation to Mr. Reid's severance package. 

 

"None of the statements that are being made seem to be aiming to give any clarity at even a minimal level. It's just layers of confusion and all I'm saying is that it does nothing to, I think, help the process to go along the way it should and to most importantly deal with the whole matter of public trust, which I think has been severely damaged as we see with several cases involving different public officials, certainly over this year," she said. 

 

She noted that a statement from Jamaica College following reports of the settlement with Mr. Reid, stated that an article published in relation to the matter was grossly inaccurate. "So, what is accurate?" West Blackwood questioned.   

 

However, Development Economist Chris Stokes, who was also a guest on That's a Rap, said there could be privacy issues and legal constraints in making a disclosure. He suggested that this might be the case if Mr. Reid's settlement does not involve public funds.  

 

 

Michael Bernard, Chairman of the Board of Jamaica College, has said the board will decide how it will proceed regarding the appointment of a new principal when it next meets. 

 

"We do have in place an active principal which will allow for continuity. So, it's almost as if nothing has stopped. However, the process of filling the role of principal requires certain steps, and as soon as our board meets and look at the way forward, we'll determine when we start that and how we proceed to get it to a conclusion, so to speak," he told Radio Jamaica News.      

 

Wayne Robinson has been acting in the position of principal of the school since 2016 when Mr. Reid proceeded on secondment from his job to take up the appointment as Minister of Education.