Fitz-Henley confident NaRRA will succeed, accuses Opposition of ‘smear campaign’

KINGSTON, Jamaica—State Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Senator Abka Fitz-Henley, says he is confident that the National Reconstruction and Resilience Authority, NaRRA, will deliver results despite what he says is a coordinated smear campaign being pursued by the Opposition and its agents. Fitz-Henley made the comment when he spoke to members of the diaspora media community in New York on Friday, where he was attending the American Friends of Jamaica Gala. Fitz-Henley says that despite recent controversies concerning NaRRA, he is confident the Government’s special-purpose vehicle to rebuild sections of the island devastated by Hurricane Melissa will succeed. “I am confident that NaRRA will be a success. The body, as I understand it, is currently moving aggressively to complete the build-out phase of its organisational structure. Projects have been identified and proposed for approval. Then we’ll move to the execution phase. I have no doubt that NaRRA will leave a legacy in Jamaica through the build-out of major initiatives which contribute significantly to the process of ensuring that Jamaica recovers stronger from Category 5 Hurricane Melissa, which devastated us approximately a year ago,” Fitz-Henley commented. The state minister said the Government stands ready to answer any questions asked about NaRRA. He insisted that scrutiny of NaRRA is important, noting that some reasonable questions have been posed. But, he said the re-emergence in the public domain this week of narratives which were already clearly and transparently addressed is, at best, curious. “That confidence I have expressed in NaRRA’s likely success remains despite what is now clearly a coordinated and organised smear campaign against NaRRA and its principal. We see some individuals have gone back to asking questions about the selection process [for the chief executive officer] when it is very clear that the issue has been addressed. It was said several times in the public domain that there were approximately 80 candidates, seven were shortlisted, including Major General [Antony] Anderson, and he emerged as the leading candidate. Now, many weeks later, the same questions are being asked in some quarters, with headlines stating ‘questions are mounting’ when those very questions were already factually answered,” said Fitz-Henley. The senator said that, given that market rates for the salaries of some heads of key statutory bodies and rental costs across successive administrations are not widely known, it is understandable that some Jamaicans have genuine concerns about NaRRA. However, he asserted that the bevy of negative stories concerning NaRRA is “evidence of the Opposition, whose members were recently caught plotting to undermine the body, executing their plan.” “Concerns which are not genuine are coming from the Opposition PNP, including its leader, who questioned the rental figure. He is aware of market rates. In fact, when he was Justice Minister in 2012, he went into the public domain and defended approximately $120 million being paid in rent for the Justice Ministry building, and $100 million was spent to renovate that building. His comments were quoted widely in the public domain. So it is clear that the concerns from the likes of Mark Golding are hypocritical and disingenuous. But Jamaicans cannot be surprised at this approach by the PNP because those leaked voice notes in which they discussed the smear campaign and the delay tactics concerning NaRRA surfaced not too long ago. We are now seeing those dishonourable plans play out in the public domain,” Fitz-Henley remarked. The State Minister said the Government cannot afford to be distracted, as NaRRA’s mission is too important to the future of Jamaica.