Douglas Saunders to remain until Cabinet Secretary replacement found
Published:Wednesday | September 28, 2022 | 11:55 AM
Minister without portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister, Robert Morgan, has indicated that Cabinet Secretary Ambassador Douglas Saunders is to remain in the post until there is a decision on his replacement.
Saunders was expected to retire from the post by the end of this month, however, the unconstitutional appointment of Lieutenant General Rocky Meade has halted that decision.
Meade was to assume the position on October 1.
“Selection of a Cabinet secretary comes through the Office of the Services Commission (OSC). That is the authority that manages the entire process. I would have to wait on them to make a decision as to who the next Cabinet secretary is,” Morgan, the de facto information minister, told journalists during this morning’s post-Cabinet media briefing at Jamaica House in St Andrew.
He said an announcement will come once there is approval.
But there continue to be questions about the botched appointment of Meade, who, after concerns were raised about his eligibility for the post, declined the offer.
READ: ROCKY MOVE: Questions raised over legality of Meade’s pick as Cabinet secretary
Leading constitutional lawyers had indicated that his appointment breached section 92 (1) of the Jamaican Constitution which stipulates that the person appointed Cabinet secretary must come from the public service.
Meade is a retired former chief of defence staff of the military.
The secretary to the Cabinet is appointed by the governor general, acting on the recommendation of the prime minister, and must be selected from a list of public officers submitted by the Public Service Commission, which falls under the authority of the OSC.
Morgan, during last week’s briefing, insisted that “no constituted authority” had declared the appointment unconstitutional but at the same time could not say if Attorney General Dr Derrick McKoy was consulted prior to the decision and subsequent announcement.
Morgan argued that since Meade declined the offer, the “issue is a settled matter” and that there was nothing outstanding to be dealt with.
But public commentator and noted Attorney-at-law Gordon Robinson has said that the Holness administration has several questions to answer.
He said that the prime minister must tell the country if he sought legal advice before announcing the appointment and if so from whom.
“If not, why not? Is this, as many allege, another example of Government’s contempt for the Constitution? Or arrogance cultivated by a lop-sided Parliament? Or recklessness? Or negligence? Or incompetence? We the people are entitled to and demand an explanation for this glaringly gauche governance,” he wrote in a Gleaner column on Tuesday.
Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.