Press Release From The PNP - November 1, 2026
Kingston, Jamaica:. November 2, 2026 The People’s National Party demands transparency over Darlene Morrison’s reassignment from Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance to the newly created Ministry of Mining and Geology, effective November 2, 2026, as Lorris Jarrett is named to the post.
The Financial Secretary is the most senior civil servant below the Cabinet Secretary and leads budget preparation. This move comes during Budget Call, when stability and continuity are essential. The Cabinet Secretary and Financial Secretary sit at EMG 6; Permanent Secretaries sit at EMG 5. This is a demotion without charge or hearing.
The timing is troubling. It follows the Prime Minister’s recent claim that unnamed civil servants were sabotaging the Government, an allegation made without evidence. The removal risks suggesting a senior career officer is being punished or that the claim justifies a predetermined decision. The PNP demands that the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance say whether Ms Morrison was accused, whether any investigation occurred, and what evidence supports her reassignment.
Opposition Spokesperson on Finance Julian Robinson said: “Ms Morrison has served over 37 years at the Ministry of Finance, including 8 years as Financial Secretary, under successive administrations. She was at the Ministry’s head during the touted economic and fiscal improvements, so what then explains this reassignment? What are the real reasons for this demotion? Was there a breakdown with the Minister of Finance? Did she raise concerns about NARRA’s powers and a conflict with the Financial Administration and Audit Act? Was the new Ministry created to facilitate her transfer and avoid legal action like that brought by a former Permanent Secretary? Jamaicans deserve clarity, not concealment.” Why would the Government create a new Ministry with attendant costs while claiming to minimise expenditure?
The PNP says any move affecting the highest ranks of the public service requires public justification.
Editor's Note
The governing party should not victimize government workers, but it must have the right to work with senior civil servants who it feels comfortable working with. The government must maintain the right to move senior civil servants to areas where it feels these civil servants are better able to serve the state.
Civil servants can frustrate the government if they want to. If the government feels that its workers are sabotaging it, then that is a serious matter, and this should attract serious sanctions after investigations.
The opposition party must be careful not to come across as defending senior civil servants, because Jamaicans might see them as protecting their party persons in the public sector.
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Are we on the Verge of creating a Holness Commission(HC) for the J L P
ReplyDeletetantamount to tha Pickersgill Commission (PC)made functional.in the 1970s.
Ask PJ to explain the role and function of the PC of the 1970s then help you with setting up a Holness Commission .