Ex-SLB boss readies for legal battle

Gary Spaulding and Livern Barrett, Gleaner Writers

THE LEGAL team for former executive director of the Students' Loan Bureau (SLB), Lenice Barnett, says it is examining its options as it prepares to tackle her dismissal.

Attorney-at-law K.D. Knight, who is representing Barnett, told The Gleaner last night that her dismissal was a clear breach of the principles of natural justice.

He said the legal options being examined include going to court, taking the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security or speaking directly with "the employers" where there could be negotiations, "if they realise that they have committed a wrong".

"I am studying both the report (the audit ordered by the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service) and her responses to each area of concern in the report to see how I go forward," Knight said. "But one thing I can tell you is that she will be going forward because her response has been very credible to each point that has been made in the report."

Additional breaches

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Audley Shaw has announced that between 15 and 20 additional breaches have been unearthed at the organisation.

However, Shaw would not elaborate on the nature of the breaches while speaking with journalists after a session with the new board members and a tour of the SLB offices in St Andrew yesterday.

The minister said auditors from the Public Accountability Inspectorate Division of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service have been sent in to delve into the SLB books.

"I cannot say at this time what the issues are, but we will be making the findings public as soon as they are available," said Shaw.

The members of the former board of the SLB, led by chairman Andrew Cocking, were asked to tender their resignations last Wednesday, a day after Barnett was given the boot by Shaw. The minister had fired her after a range of financial irregularities were uncovered at the board.

Monica Brown, the director of the Credit Unions Department of the Bank of Jamaica, has been seconded to act as SLB executive director until a replacement is appointed.

Yesterday, Shaw was clearly pleased with what he described as the seamless transition of leadership.

He also said focus was being placed on amending aspects of the laws governing the SLB to make life easier for students accessing loan facilities.

"The intention at this stage is that our market, the students, have no distress as a result," Shaw asserted.

He revealed that the board has been instructed to search for a permanent replacement within a three-month period.