THE EDITOR, Sir:

THE ARTICLE in The Sunday Gleaner of November 15, under the name of Dr Omar Davies, admitted that when he (Dr Davies) left the Government in 2007, the former governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) was receiving a salary of $11 million plus $2.5 million for rental allowance per annum.

Former Prime Minister P.J. Patterson announced during the last 'Fat-cat pay scandal' in 1999 that all contracts above $6 million would require Cabinet approval. That announcement would immediately become a policy decision and binding on all subsequent Cabinets.

A report in The Gleaner of October 11, 2000 - 'Fat cat' scandal deepens; Solicitor General's Dept denies advice was sought' written by Vernon Daley, staff reporter said: "At the height of the public-sector wage scandal last December, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson asked former BOJ governor, Ambassador Herbert Walker, to examine areas where wage guidelines might have been breached in the public sector and to suggest ways of plugging loopholes. One of the recommendations in Ambassador Walker's report, which was tabled in Parliament in January, is that 'where increases exceeded guidelines, they should be rolled back without exception'."

In The Gleaner of October 20, 2000 - 'Dealing decisively with the 'fat-cat' pay scandal' - Raymond Forrest wrote: "Prime Minister P.J. Patterson and his finance minister engaged in a song-and-dance act about correcting the excesses. A committee was established, headed by the Cabinet secretary, to implement these freezes, rollbacks and establish clear guidelines or reinstitute guidelines."

If the current prime minister was accurate that the contract signed by Dr Davies in 2006 for former Governor Derick Latibeaudiere was not sent to Cabinet and never got Cabinet approval, then that would make the contract unapproved and invalid. It stands to reason that any amount above $6 million collected by Latibeaudiere would also be unapproved and invalid.

Return all the cash

Latibeaudiere should be requested to return all the money he collected above $6 million. The former governor should also have known that his contract required Cabinet approval and should not have collected moneys above $6 million. The former governor acted in a selfish and unconscionable manner.

Dr Davies demonstrated disrespect to his former Cabinet colleagues and a reckless disregard to a policy position of a prime minister.

Davies should be censured by Parliament for his actions and he should be relieved of all parliamentary duties and activities. Mrs Portia Simpson Miller must do the right thing and relieve Dr Davies of all his parliamentary duties.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL WILLIAMS

ndmjamaica@yahoo.com

General Secretary

National Democratic Movement