PM Holness Demanded to Justify US$143,000 Transaction From SSL to His NCB Account

Deputy Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate and Opposition Spokesperson for Justice and Gender Affairs Donna Scott-Mottley is demanding that Prime Minister Andrew Holness justify a hefty one-time transaction that occurred from Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) into his NCB account in late 2021.

Scott- Mottley was speaking during the latest hosting of the People’s Parliament which aired on Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

“It was opened with no money in it, and I didn’t know you could open an account with no money in it. A couple of days later, there was a deposit of a little over US$143,000 which came from SSL and in the context of the conversations we’ve been having about SSL, I believe that the prime minister needs to address this and explain how and why that money came into his account from SSL.”

“It was deeply concerning to me, and I’m sure it was deeply concerning to all the people who not only lost money, and you know the number one concern is what happened to Bolt’s money,” she reasoned with PNP leader Mark Golding, Opposition Senator Peter Bunting, as well as Shadow Minister of Finance, Planning and the Public Service Julian Robinson who were also present.

SSL has been under continuous scrutiny since early last year when it was discovered that the trusted institution was steeped in a fraud scheme that was later revealed to surpass USD$30M with over 200 client accounts affected by the fraud. Retired sprinting superstar Usain Bolt was among the lot and has, to this day, yet to be repaid $12 billion.

Meanwhile, Scott-Mottley was quick to declare that she is not insinuating any similarities between the huge fraud bust, and the prime minister’s ‘shady’ transaction, but insisted that Jamaicans at home and in the diaspora deserve transparency.

She further said that the opposition is reviewing the legislation associated with the IC Act, in response to Holness’ declaration that he too is doing reviews to see if there are possibilities to make amendments.

“We have a joint selection committee which is reviewing the Integrity Commissions Act.. we are contemplating what sort of laws we would want to see in legislation, Scott-Mottley said, adding that she agrees that the statutory declaration process is “invasive” and “uncomfortable”. However, she believes that despite the discomfort, transparency and accountability should always prevail.

She also called upon citizens to press for continued clarity on matters of governance so that the country can improve.

“This country needs to be aware that they are the ones who determine what kind of Jamaica we have… if we don’t hold our leaders to a higher standard of accountability, all we will have is a declining sense of morality. The public needs to get involved in refining this country in the way that it needs to be done…”

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