GOING OFF THE RAILS

The instalment of a board member of the Jamaica Railway Corporation (JRC) as human resource (HR) manager of the public entity is stirring disquiet at the agency with the reality that the post was being advertised weeks after the board official took over and months after the vacancy was created among the concerns.

The issue has upset staff, several of whom are accusing the non-executive board of being “too involved” in the management of the organisation.

The official, whose name is being withheld at this time, worked in administration at the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) up to this summer before resigning.

In November 2020, the person was appointed to the JRC board and continued serving at that level up to at least August 30, according to the latest Cabinet Office board list released last month.

The member reportedly took up the HR position on September 1 at the JRC, an agency that falls under the Robert Montague-headed Transport and Mining Ministry.

That the post was only advertised almost three weeks after the board official took over, and months after the vacancy was created has fuelled concerns.

Questions sent to JRC head Donald Hanson to indicate, among other things, whether the appointment is temporary or permanent, have gone unanswered and so, too, have telephone calls to the board chairman, Dennis Wright.

Efforts to reach the board member, who reportedly headed the HR subcommittee, have also been futile.

Asked to confirm the status of the board member at the FLA, that agency’s CEO, Shane Dalling, indicated on Friday that he would make checks with the human resource department and provide an answer.

However, telephone calls and messages for a response have also been unanswered.

A customer service representative later said the official was “no longer employed here” when the agency was contacted through its main line.

The human resource and industrial relations manager position at JRC became vacant in March. Another employee was put in charge until the latest changes.

The press advertisement published on September 25 said that, along with overseeing all HR-related matters, the successful candidate would be an adviser to the general manager.

The minimum qualifications are a bachelor’s degree in business, public administration, behavioural or social sciences and three years’ working experience at the managerial level. Applications are due by October 4.

The basic salary ranges from $2.4 million to $2.9 million per year, in addition to allowances such as motor vehicle upkeep which is at least $894,000 annually.

Against established guidelines

Government policy on hiring requires, among other things, the advertisement of positions followed by shortlisting and interviews, confirmed most recently in reports by the Auditor General’s Department, which has repeatedly flagged agencies for going against established guidelines.

The board member worked, up to 2014, with Sunbird Tours & Car Rental, a 37-year-old St Andrew-based company for which the JRC chairman, Dennis Wright, is the sole director, and one of two shareholders, records show.

The official later joined the Ministry of National Security in 2016 before moving over to the FLA some time in 2019, documents revealed.

Wright chaired the FLA board for a year up to August 2017 before he and then members resigned amid the controversy over the issuance of firearm permits to people of questionable character.

The FLA falls under the Ministry of National Security, which was then led by Montague, who was transferred to his current portfolio in 2018.

Wright is a former parliamentary election candidate for the ruling Jamaica Labour Party, of which Montague is the chairman.

It is the second time in almost three months that the JRC’s practices are coming under scrutiny.

In July, The Sunday Gleaner reported on a memo from a consultant that instructed the acting human resource manager on who to hire and how much to pay for a multimillion-dollar school-train project.

“Kindly arrange to issue letters of employment,” ordered Anthony Allen, a consultant engineer, in the April document sent to Sandra Myers.

The memo named the four persons to be employed, their positions and their salaries.

The JRC said “not applicable”, when asked how and who determined the salaries as well as whether HR played a role in the hiring.

It added that as a “general principle”, the corporation employed personnel “in accordance” with the requirements without specifically responding to the matter queried.

‘Not best practice’

Regarding the current issue involving the board member, a senior official in the public service said it is “not best practice” for a board member to take up a management position.

“There was someone acting in the position for months and it was never advertised. What has suddenly happened so that the person is removed, a board member takes over and the advertisement done after?” the official said.

Some JRC staff argued that the leadership at the entity has been “unstable” since Fitzroy Williams’ stint ended in March.

They claim that the independence of the acting general manager, Hanson, has been “compromised”, alleging that he has to seek permission from the board for basic decisions.

“I just don’t like what is happening. They were very upset with the last Gleaner article and questioning how the memo was leaked. They are focusing on the wrong thing. The place is not being run properly. There’s just too much interference,” one employee said, before pointing to the situation involving a chauffeur being assigned to the board chairman.

The Gleaner submitted questions on July 19 to the JRC for an explanation regarding the chauffeur issue, but there was no response for weeks.

Almost a month later, on August 17, Hanson said the corporation assigned a driver to Wright because he was “extremely busy” with the school passenger train project.

“When he’s driving, he’s working, and we just gave him that gentleman just for a couple of months just to drive him around so that he can do the work,” Hanson explained, adding that he could not confirm the cost to JRC.

Hanson said the temporary arrangement was scheduled to be terminated at the end of August.

The JRC issues are emerging as public concerns grow over board governance arising from questionable actions of the boards of the Airports Authority of Jamaica and its subsidiary NMIAL Airports Limited as well as Nutrition Products Limited, a government agency tasked with providing food for schoolchildren.

Noting its “great concern” with recent disclosures of “seeming impropriety” on public boards, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica has said it is “disappointed” with the lack of urgency displayed by the Holness administration to get approved, proposed regulations to govern board appointments.

Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, who is pushing the changes, has faced pushback from some of his own parliamentary colleagues, including Cabinet ministers, who fear reduced influence and scope to reward donors and party loyalists with high-profile public roles.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com

Jamaica Railway Corporation board (November 30, 2020 to November 29, 2023)

Dennis Wright – Chairman

Kellie Molyneaux – Vice chair

Wesley Nelson

Winston Ennis

Tuere Davis

Ann Marie Chin

Dawn Heron

Warren Clarke

Kemesha Harrison