Apr 2009 Financial News

Wehby to leave Cabinet this year?

Apr 02, 2009

MINISTER without portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Senator Don Wehby could be heading back to the private sector, reliable Observer sources say.

Following the Jamaica Labour Party's victory in the 2007 general election, Wehby, a chartered accountant, resigned his senior executive position at GraceKennedy to serve in the new Cabinet.

Our sources said Wehby could be heading back to GraceKennedy when his two-year commitment with the Government ends.

Wehby would not admit or deny that he would be leaving his job as a Cabinet minister when the Observer asked him if he had plans to return to the private sector shortly.

"I am not going to comment on that just now. The relevant heads will make the necessary statement at the appropriate time," Wehby said.

He said that he did not have a two-year contract with the Government but rather a two-year commitment which is "coming up soon".

Wehby joined GraceKennedy in 1995 and became group chief financial officer in 1999, before being promoted to head of GraceKennedy's financial division. The year prior to joining the Cabinet, he was promoted to group deputy chief executive officer.

In 2007, Wehby told the Observer that the transition from private sector to public sector happened very fast.

"I got the call from the prime minister on Monday and on Friday I was being sworn in," he said.
Wehby, whose appointment was dogged by controversy because of his ties with GraceKennedy, also told the Observer then that he accepted the job because he wanted a better Jamaica for his children.

His appointment to the Cabinet was widely praised by private sector leaders who described it as 'futuristic', 'forward thinking' and 'unprecedented'.
Audley Shaw, the minister of finance and the public service, at the time, applauded Wehby for his patriotism after he severed all his links to GraceKennedy to steer away from any conflict of interest.

Wehby was given the responsibility of divesting Air Jamaica by March 31. However, on Tuesday he announced that the deadline had been pushed back to June.


Source:
Ingrid Brown
Jamaica Observer
Thursday April 02, 2009

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20090402T030000-0500_148666_OBS_WEHBY_TO_LEAVE_CABINET_THIS_YEAR_.asp