Cronyism concerns over senior appointment at NLA

A former advisor to a Cabinet minister benefited from the National Land Agency’s (NLA) decision to remove, without permission, a globally recognised minimum requirement for a job in a senior position, prompting questions of favouritism and procedural integrity.

Christopher McPherson, who assumed the role of head of the estate management division on September 1, 2023, immediately following his tenure as advisor, was reassigned to another role in March 2024 for reasons yet to be disclosed.

The reassignment came almost five months after the finance ministry ruled that Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) certification should remain a basic requirement for the role.

“The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is considered one of the highest forms of professionalisation and certification in the area of estate and land management and is an easily recognisable stamp of approval as subject experts with the highest level of integrity and professionalism. These characteristics are necessary for the contentious field of land and estate management in Jamaica,” the ministry said in a letter dated October 24, 2023, and obtained by The Sunday Gleaner.

McPherson served as senior advisor to Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Aubyn Hill, from January 11, 2022 to August 31, 2023, the ministry confirmed on Friday.

Hill was in charge of the NLA before taking up his current portfolio in January 2022, and during that period, McPherson also served on NLA’s advisory board.

‘THE AGENCY WILL NOT BE RESPONDING’

The NLA, which falls under the Prime Minister Andrew Holness-led Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, deals with government lands and is the sole authority that issues titles in the country.

It has not answered Sunday Gleaner enquiries on the matter.

“The agency will not be responding to the questions,” was the terse April 24 response from the NLA to Sunday Gleaner queries submitted the day before. The NLA is led by attorney Cheriese Walcott.

NLA did not explain its stance when pushed for a reason, though it made the general point that requests on hiring practices in the civil service may be submitted to the Office of the Services Commissions, with whom the questions were subsequently shared.

On Tuesday, The Sunday Gleaner submitted additional questions asking the NLA about its role in wanting the RICS compulsory requirement waived, its justification, permissions received, the level of consultation undertaken, and claims of victimisation by staff. The questions have not been acknowledged.

WHISTLEBLOWER COMPLAINTS

Over the last two weeks, more than a dozen NLA workers have shared concerns about the leadership of the NLA. The Sunday Gleaner has obtained whistleblower complaints sent to the prime minister, the Integrity Commission, and the Auditor General calling for an urgent investigation into the operations of the NLA.

“The climate of the NLA is one now riddled with dictatorship, disregard, victimisation … As a result, the staff is now far less productive, experiencing increased stress, anxiety and fear with regard to job security and unjust treatment,” the whistleblower said in a six-page document dated August 14, 2023.

Current and former staff members have complained about losing acting positions, being demoted or having their contracts not being renewed because of their criticism of certain actions.

Holness’ ministry acknowledged receiving questions from The Sunday Gleaner on Thursday but a response was not available at press time.

‘FULL EXEMPTION’

In an advertisement on February 8, 2023, the NLA sought applications to fill the role of senior director for the estate management division. It became vacant in June 2022.

A senior director is one of the highest positions in the public service. The estate management division manages over 40,000 parcels of government lands and oversees the divestment of state lands, among other things.

A long-standing minimum requirement for the post is certification with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, a 156-year-old globally recognised professional body that sets standards and qualifications for professionals in land, real estate, and construction. It has over 130,000 members and its standards are used in over 140 countries, including Jamaica.

However, the NLA’s February 2023 advertisement told potential applicants that there was “full exemption” from the RICS certification though having it “would be an asset”. Other requirements included a first degree in estate management or a diploma in surveying.

The move shocked many staff members, many of whom were either chartered surveyors or at various stages of meeting the requirements for the designation.

All the senior and technical positions in the division require experience in land administration but the job description in the advertisement was also changed to just having “related work experience”.

Interviews were subsequently held and McPherson was ultimately selected for the role of senior director of estate management, above at least one person with the RICS certification.

NLA’s Chief Executive Officer Walcott announced his appointment to staff, stating that he was taking over as of September 1, 2023.

In a notice to staff, she said McPherson had “19 years of progressive experience in strategic, land operations management” and listed his educational qualifications as a master of business administration degree and a first degree in geographical sciences. There was no RICS qualification.

MEMBER OF OTHER BOARDS

McPherson is a member of the board for the Jamaica Promotions Corporation, according to the agency’s website and the latest Cabinet Office board appointment report dated January 29, 2024.

The Cannabis Licensing Authority, which regulates the ganja industry, confirmed Friday that McPherson is chairman of its board.

Both entities fall under Senator Hill’s ministry.

Before going to the industry ministry, Hill served, from September 2020, as minister without portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, with responsibility for water, land and special economic zones.

Under his stewardship, McPherson was named a member of the National Land Agency’s Advisory Board.

McPherson is also listed as chairman of the Central Wastewater Company, a subsidiary of the National Water Commission. Companies Office of Jamaica records show he was added as a director in February 2021.

The Cabinet Office’s January 2024 board appointment report maintains McPherson in those positions.

McPherson has not answered any emailed questions, telephone calls or messages from The Sunday Gleaner.

CONTENDER APPEALED SELECTION

McPherson took up the NLA senior management post in September 2023 but by March 2024, he was reassigned as senior director for the business services division.

Another NLA staffer, Shaun Davis, whose leadership has also raised concerns, was appointed to act as head of the estate management division. His second such stint in less than a year. Davis does not possess the RICS certification but held previous posts in the division and the CEO’s office. His rise in the agency has also raised questions.

An email of the announcement to staff did not state a reason.

The NLA ran into problems after a contender for the estate management position appealed the selection made between March and April 2023 by NLA’s management. One of the grounds for the appeal related to the procedure used to remove the RICS designation, given that there was no prior approval from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service.

There was also pushback from the senior technical staff.

The NLA reportedly tried unsuccessfully to get at least one senior official to sign off on a job description that did not include the mandatory RICS certification.

Correspondence was later sent to the finance ministry seeking permission for the RICS certification to be removed for the senior director of estate management division, and other management/technical positions.

The finance ministry acknowledged questions from The Sunday Gleaner on the matter but there was no response up to press time.

However, The Sunday Gleaner obtained a letter dated October 24, 2023, that the ministry wrote to the NLA CEO telling her that following a review, the ministry “will retain RICS membership and certification as mandatory” for five positions in the land valuation division and three positions, including senior director, in the estate management division.

The ministry’s conclusion was arrived at following a desk and post-audit exercise conducted by its Corporate Management and Establishment Branch. It involved eight selected positions, likely covering the ones for which the NLA sought the waiver of the RICS designation. It advised of the review from August 29.

The finance ministry argued that given the work of the NLA, its operations face “considerable risks”. It itemised them as fraud and forgeries, data security and privacy, land disputes, natural disasters, operational efficiency, legal and regulatory changes, public perception and resource constraints.

“The vast mandate and risk universe of the NLA require its staff, especially portfolio managers and directors, to hold the highest level of integrity, professionalism, and competences to function effectively as an ‘Authority’ in the legal and natural sense,” the letter said.

The review included interviews with directors, managers and senior technical officers from the various divisions at the NLA. It also involved comparative research locally and internationally and an assessment of best practice guidelines for estate management and land valuation.

There was also a “thorough evaluation” of the process involved in acquiring the RICS certification.

“Membership and designation in the RICS have the capacity to bring professionalisation to a wide range of jobs within the NLA and can be listed as an asset to other jobs in the NLA. … The NLA should ensure that a robust internal staff development system exists that will afford incumbents the necessary support needed to acquire the RICS designation,” the finance ministry said.

‘SHAME ON THE NLA’

A senior official in Government expressed surprise that the NLA would take “any step to lobby for the removal of the RICS designation”, noting the technical field of estate management and land valuation.

“I just cannot believe anybody interested in ensuring Jamaica is on par with the best in the world in land and estate management would want to get rid of the requirement,” said the experienced official, who spoke on the condition of not being named.

“It is one of the highest levels of certification in the world. Why should Jamaica move to the back of the line? Who benefits from this? Because it would not be the people of Jamaica. Shame on the NLA.”

The NLA is an executive agency whose CEO, under the law, reports directly to the portfolio minister. Its advisory board does not have the same fiduciary and governance authority as boards for non-executive agencies do.

According to the law, the primary function of an advisory board for an executive agency is to advise the CEO in the strategic and business planning responsibilities of the entity.

jovan.johnson@gleanerjm.com