Holness’ US-dollar assets up fivefold
Published:Sunday | December 6, 2020 | 12:16 AMRomario Scott - Sunday Gleaner Writer
Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ United States-dollar assets have grown nearly fivefold year on year, his latest statutory declaration has revealed.
At the end of 2018, Holness had declared to the Integrity Commission that he and his family held US$28,272.11.
But according to his latest declaration covering January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, which was gazetted on November 27 and a copy of which The Sunday Gleaner has obtained, Holness had US$109,633.43.
A US$94,000 held in securities accounted for the bulk of his US-denominated assets.
The prime minister reported to the Integrity Commission that he had US$13,557.43 in savings accounts and another US$2,076 in current accounts.
The prime minister and his family had US$11,121 in foreign-currency debt at the end of last year, according to his latest declaration. He had reported in his previous declaration that he had zero US-denominated liabilities.
Under the law, all parliamentarians are required to submit statutory declarations annually to the Integrity Commission, which is mandated to publish in the Jamaica Gazette the summary of the declarations of the prime minister and the leader of the Opposition.
The summary of the declaration made covering last year by then Opposition Leader Dr Peter Phillips was gazetted earlier this year.
According to Holness’ summary, the prime minister owes $15.8 million in Jamaican dollars at the close of 2019, down from J$22.1 million which he declared to have been his liabilities in his previous declaration.
According to the declaration, which was reviewed by the Integrity Commission, at the end of last year, Holness owed approximately $1.32 million on a mortgage.
Another $14.52 million was listed under the subheading ‘Other Accounts Payable’.
In 2016, Holness disclosed that he received a J$10-million home improvement loan from Scotiabank and had a J$3-million mortgage from Jamaica National, which was used to construct his Beverly Hills home in St Andrew, which has a market value of J$20 million, according to the report.
Holness had J$4.39 million in savings accounts and J$3.9 million in current accounts, the report further revealed.
J$11.78m in SECURITIES
The prime minister declared to the Integrity Commission, too, that he had J$11.78 million held in securities. That is approximately J$1 million more than the $10.6 million he previously declared under the same category.
Holness reported J$130.86 million to have been held in business investment, making for a total of J$157.94 million in assets denominated in Jamaican dollars.
His previous declaration showed the prime minister and his family had J$161.25 million in assets.
In February 2016, Holness released data showing he had assets which totalled $99 million and US$415,000, mainly made up of the value of his newly constructed house, including the US$300,000 cost of the property.
The Holness family has also seen an increase in income by just over J$2.5 million, moving from J$15.56 million in their previous declaration to $18.09 million last year.
The family is now earning J$2.14 million per year from real estate.
In 2016 when Holness became prime minister, he was receiving a basic salary of J$7.3 million.
He was entitled to J$1.2 million in travel allowance, although he drives in a fully maintained Land Rover vehicle for official duties.
The Sunday Gleaner could not verify whether he still collected the travel allowance.
His wife, Juliet Holness, the member of parliament for St Andrew East Rural, is paid nearly $4 million per year.
She is also a real estate developer.