NLA says it got permission to remove int'l qualification for senior post

The National Land Agency (NLA) now says it received permission to remove a mandatory international certification for a senior post to which a former advisor to a Cabinet minister was appointed. 

The NLA's response today came two weeks after it flatly refused to answer questions on the issue.

The removal of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) certification was challenged in an appeal brought by a contender for the post who holds the RICS qualification.

The Sunday Gleaner reported on May 5 that the agency, without permission, removed the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RCIS) qualification for eight positions, including senior director, estate management division.

READ: Cronyism concerns over senior appointment at NLA

It also emerged that in an October 2023 letter, the finance ministry told the NLA that it "will retain RICS membership and certification as mandatory” for the eight posts. 

This newspaper submitted questions to the NLA on April 23 and a day later it said: "please be advised that the agency will not be responding to the questions".

Additional questions pressing for further details on permissions it sought and a justification for removal of the RICS, were submitted on April 30. 

The NLA did not acknowledge them.

A follow-up email sent on May 3 was also unacknowledged. 

Questions sent to the finance ministry on April 30 remain unanswered. 

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.

The ministry acknowledged receiving questions from The Sunday Gleaner on May 2 but there has been no response to the issues raised.

In its statement today, the NLA said it received permission from the finance ministry in a letter dated December 15, 2022 for the RICS certification to be removed.

The letter was not released.

The NLA said it was on that basis that its advertisement for the position of senior director, estate management was done with full exemption for the RICS qualification.

Christopher McPherson, a former NLA board member who served as advisor to Cabinet minister Aubyn Hill from January 2022 to August 31, 2023, took up the position on a one-year contract effective September 1, 2023. 

Questions sent to McPherson have also been unanswered. 

The NLA said because of contractual issues McPherson remained in the post until he was reassigned in March 2024. 

The finance ministry, in its letter dated October 24, 2023, advised NLA that it "will retain" the RICS certification. 

“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 finance ministry said.

The RICS is 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. Its certification has been a longstanding minimum requirement for key positions in land valuation and estate management.

The estate management division oversees over 40,000 parcels of government lands and oversees the divestment of state lands, among other things.

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

Following a review, the finance ministry concluded that RICS was necessary given the “considerable risks” faced by the NLA through fraud and forgeries, data security and privacy, land disputes, among others. 

“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, adding that: “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."

- Jovan Johnson

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly 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.