Following last week’s op-ed by guest author Dr. J. Lennon, Jamaica’s Integrity Commission has written to 18º North saying it’s weighing whether it has jurisdiction in the Ian Fleming International Airport matter.
Dr. Lennon had called for an investigation by the Auditor General into the multimillion US dollar expansion of Jamaica’s third international airport, saying that the airport wouldn’t be able to make a return on the over US$10 million of taxpayers’ money invested to upgrade the airport since 2018, and that, based on the current and forecasted passenger numbers, the airport was likely to remain unprofitable on an operating basis.
In its letter dated June 18, 2024 under the subject heading ‘Concerns about Potential Misuse of Public Funds in Ian Fleming International Airport Expansion and Development’, the Integrity Commission referred to us as the “Complainant” and Dr. Lennon’s article was the body of the complaint.
The letter stated, “The Integrity Commission will assess your complaint to determine whether it falls within its jurisdiction. Once the matter falls within the jurisdiction of the Integrity Commission, same will be forwarded to the appropriate Director for further and necessary action pursuant to Sectoin 38(1)(c) of the Integrity Commission Act. Please note carefully that Section 53(3) of the Integrity Commission Act prohibits disclosure of any information in relation to an investigation until its findings are tabled in the Houses of Parliament.”
“On the occasion that your complaint has been reviewed and is outside of our jurisdiction, you will be advised accordingly.”