Leave Those Keys! – Holness – PM-Designate Bans Sale Of Government Vehicles To Outgoing Ministers
Lisa Hanna: “I have already returned my vehicle, phone and passport.”
Outgoing Minister of Youth and Culture Lisa Hanna has returned the vehicle, phone and diplomatic passports given to her when she was appointed to head the ministry in 2012.
Hanna’s handover came hours before Prime Minister-designate Andrew Holness announced that his administration will discontinue the policy of allowing former Cabinet ministers to purchase vehicles which were being used by them while in office.
In a post on his page on the social-media site Facebook yesterday, Holness said the policy was one of the issues he discussed when he met with the Cabinet secretary and the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister last Friday.
According to Holness, the move to discontinue the policy was part of the Jamaica Labour Party’s commitment to change how government works.
He said he had also discussed with the government functionaries the earliest route to inauguration and he arranged a briefing on the important activities of the previous Government.
Holness’ decree was accepted by Hanna, who told The Sunday Gleaner that she had done the handover last Friday.
NO PROBLEM
Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Junior Minister Julian Robinson also told our news team he had no problem with Holness’ decree.
“I don’t have an issue with that position,” said Robinson. “From Friday, I went into my office and told my staff goodbye. I also met with the permanent secretary and indicated that I would return my vehicle, phone and passport [on Monday],” said Robinson.
For Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Arnold ‘A.J.’ Nicholson the vehicle is not an issue, as he drove his personal vehicle while in office.
“I have handed in my passport and that of my wife. I will be handing over the phone tomorrow, but I need to do some transfers and that is the only reason it was not handed in yet,” said Nicholson.
Another member of the outgoing administration, who asked that her name be withheld, also indicated that she plans to return the Government’s items today. She said she had applied to purchase the vehicle that was assigned to her, but would now return the keys based on the directive from Holness.
In 2012, the Portia Simpson Miller-led administration was forced to defend itself after it bought 20 high-end vehicles for some Cabinet ministers for approximately $60 million.
At that time, the Government explained that the Cabinet ministers provided with the new vehicles had been driving their own as the vehicles driven by the previous ministers had been sold to them.
The Government provided a list which showed that 30 SUVs were sold to former ministers and permanent secretaries who worked under the Bruce Golding and Andrew Holness administrations.
well based on the recount she might get them back
I find it distasteful that they feel the need to make such matters public. Petty to the end.
Now we know $60million dollars of our assets can be accounted for outright and we know where exactly. 😀
PP, those properties belong to the jcan taxpayers and so we should know who has it and when. It should be public, worse if you have nothing to hide.
That is not how administration do things; everything as a process. They are just being damn petty and attention seeking.
Me don’t need to know anything from the individuals…me want to hear it from the administration heads.
Petty, puh…next*
Since a my money a help keep the country a float. From now on, I want to know down to the very brand toilette paper these politicians using. Transparency to the fullest.
What Andrew did was stupid and uncalled for.He is not even PM yet.
It was the JLP government that sold the first set of cars to the ministers and I have/had no problem with that.
Politics should be attractive,it should be a career that attracts the best,after all they are in charge of the whole country.
What I noticed is that people think politicians should suffer or maybe only rich people should enter politics.
Let the people dem purchase the cars at market value and buy new ones as you will be buying new ones in few years and selling these for much less.
I think the biggest reason why he stopped the sales is because they wanted to purchase the vehicles way below market price. The fact that it was the JLP that first started selling the cars in the first place has nothing to do with Holness i my opinion. That’s like saying just because your ancestors were corrupt then you should continue the tradition of corruption. In reality, was he being spiteful? yes he was, but your argument was invalid
Oh, so him fi wait until the current party done pillage before him sound out?
Don’t bother wid the tribal hurt feelings bout who sell what last time! It a gwan fi decades now and is f**king time fi somebody say No more!
A mind mature from PAST wrongs, not by repeating the wrongs of yesterday.
Onu chat bout Jamaica in the worst wau every striking day and when change from old tek place onu bringgle same way. No him cannot spend another half million plus US on official fleet vehicles. Other things need that money. ” a fool and his money shall soon depart” and “penny wise pound foolish” is what you a exhibit.
Yes Lisa, hand over the keys, passport and phone mi love,because, you have your own vehicle,along with Richard Lake’s vehicles to drive. Andrew publicly made a statement where the vehicles are concerned, so what is so petty with what Lisa said? Bias much!
Petty is having to make a public commentary about how they exited. The comment directed atn Hanna, Buchannan and Nicholson and any more who feel like talking.
It is petty behavior for high ranking professionals- sketts behavior…is like flinging out a cotcha out a yu house and dem feel like say dem chat de ago mek dem being ejected look any betta 😀 😀 😀
Good, and Sir, there should be no transferring of any data from a govt issue phones. All information transmitted on govt phones belong to the Jamaican people. If he wanted his privacy protected maybe he should have paid for it, like everyone else does. Go to the store, purchase a phone and have a bill in his name every month. Him bold face and bright.
What exactly did she do or achieve?
De others dem fe tek heed and hand ova de rest a de vehicles dem to. Who nuh have dem owna private vehicle mus tek de JUTC bus to rass. Even more betta, dem must walk it to wherever dem going. A nuh our fault if dem was big politician fe x amount a years and nuh have dem owna personal vehicle!
:hammer _________________ now dem we regret not fixing the damn potholes and sidewalks cause shoes heel dem get the same batta batta like shocks and tires 😀