After the release of an Integrity Commission report that connected him to a housing project found to be in breach of its building permit, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness sought to distance himself from the project.
In a statement on Dec. 10, the prime minister said: “I am not a director of the Company which is the subject of the report, and I am not a shareholder in the company, nor do I own the property in question.
“Therefore, it is a puzzle to me why I am a subject of this report.” But in his statement, the prime minister didn’t deny being “connected” to the development, which is what the IC had stated.
Without specifically implicating him in any wrongdoing related to the permit breaches, the IC said the prime minister “is connected” to the development based on the fact that his now defunct St. Lucian offshore company, Admat Incorporated, initially owned the Weycliffe Close land being developed. It was also by virtue of the fact that the prime minister is the sole director, shareholder and beneficial owner of Imperium Investments Holdings Limited, which had shares in Estatebridge, the company doing the development, at the time that the planning and/or building permit was issued on July 12, 2021.
As a result of PM Holness’ statement, previous investigations and publications has been combed through, to examine just how connected he is to the Weycliffe Close development as the IC claims.