Opposition: Concerns over Meade pick as Cabinet secretary

The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) says it is seeking legal advice on the appointment of Lieutenant General Rocky Meade as Cabinet secretary, arguing that the Holness administration has several questions to answer on the matter.

Concerns have been raised about the legality of the retired Jamaica Defence Force chief of defence staff’s appointment and whether it breaches Section 92 (1) of the Jamaican Constitution, which says that the Cabinet secretary must be selected from a list of public officers.

Opposition Leader Mark Golding said that Prime Minister Andrew Holness must tell the country if Meade was publicly appointed to any office between the time he retired in January and the announcement of his selection on Tuesday.

“I’m not making any definitive comment at this point in time, because we might not have all the information, but on the face of it, somebody who was a military officer and retired would not be a public officer under the Constitution and, therefore, would not be eligible for consideration for the position of Cabinet secretary,” Golding said on Wednesday during a Gleaner Editors’ Forum.

He said that a constitutional issue has emerged and that Holness must indicate whether an error was made and if the appointment needs to be reconsidered.

Golding said if Meade is eligible, the Opposition would not stand against it, but noted that there are further concerns about the “optics” of the militarisation of key institutions of State.

An ex-military head of the civil service would add to former army men being in charge of the police force, the correctional services, and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency.

Golding said that though Meade was an honourable man towards whom he had no personal hostility, the Constitution is clear in stipulating that the head of the civil service must come from the public service.

“To the extent that he even passes muster because something happened which we are not aware of, if that is indeed the case, that doesn’t really mean that he comes from the civil service.

“So, he’s somebody from outside. He’s been in the public sector in a very broad sense, but he hasn’t been a part of the public service, because the military is not part of the public service. That’s my understanding based on the legal advice I’ve taken,” said Golding.

Meanwhile, Donna Scott-Mottley, the opposition spokesperson on information and justice, said that Meade’s appointment could breed low morale among public-sector workers.

She said that the position requires “a certain amount of knowledge” of how the civil service functions, its regulations and structures.

“I would have preferred if the appointment had come from the public service. I think it would have given them greater confidence … ,” said the opposition senator.

“I don’t know Lieutenant General Rocky Meade well, so I’m not casting any aspersions on him or questioning his competence. I’m simply expressing my disappointment with the fact that somebody from the ranks of the public service could not have been promoted.”