“Having read the report of the Integrity Commission, I am concerned that I am being targeted” was the response from Prime Minister Andrew Holness hours after a report was tabled accusing a company connected to him of deliberate building breaches.
“Firstly, 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,” the PM said in a statement on Tuesday.
“I have been informed that the development has been inspected by the competent authority (KSAMC) which has confirmed that number of rooms approved are the number of rooms constructed. Based upon the report, it is of grave concern that the investigators would ignore the statements given by the KSAMC which is the competent authority that they observed the development to be in structural conformity with the approved plan,” Holness said.
The report suggested that the KSAMC lied about the building permit being complied with.
Holness suggested that the commission deliberately submitted the report mentioning him to Parliament to attack him.
“It seems more than coincidence, that this report was submitted to Parliament a few days before the delivery of judgement of the Supreme Court in a matter in which I am seeking judicial review of another report of the commission. The fact that a statutory entity would exercise its powers in such a manner is troubling. This transparent attempt to attack my reputation will not deter me from serving Jamaica,” he said.
The company has refuted the claims.