As Robert Montague and Peter Bunting continue to be lambasted for their handling of the granting of firearm licences when they were ministers of national security, the current holder of the office is seeking to assure the nation that he does not get involved in deciding on any such matters.

In a statement today, National Security Minister Dr Horace Change noted that the Integrity Commission’s recent special report on the Firearm Licensing Authority (FLA) has resulted in a series of comments and suggestions that he believed require a response from his ministry.

“First, it is to be noted that the report covers the period 2012 to 2018. Since 2017, there have been significant policy changes, aimed at correcting the irregularities and deficiencies highlighted in the Report,” Chang said.

“Also of note, is that many of these corrective measures will be codified in the new Firearms (Prohibition, Restriction and Regulation) Act, 2022.”

He said that, following the change of the Board of the FLA in 2017, several policy changes have been implemented and that there have been “significant ministerial shifts” in that the Minister of National Security no longer reviews the recommendation of the Review Board.

“We found it inappropriate that a policy unit within the Ministry should be asked to review the work of a panel, headed by no lesser person than a former president of the Court of Appeal, supported by a former senior deputy director of public prosecutions and a retired senior police officer,” Chang said.

“We find the character of the chairman of this panel to be unimpeachable and beyond reproach. As a result, the findings and recommendations of the Board are accepted as recommended.” ‘

In addition to that, he said, where the 90-day period (for the Review Board to consider an application) has passed, “I do not intervene but may seek to recommend (where there is a genuine case) through the chief executive officer of the Authority, for the Review Board to take an early look at such appeal. I do not exercise my discretion to examine appeals delayed beyond ninety (90) days”.

Chang’s comments were coming just days after Montague resigned as a minister without portfolio in the Andrew Holness Cabinet, in the wake of the release of Integrity Commission’s special report which accused him of knowingly granting gun licences to persons with a criminal history while he was Jamaica’s national security minister.

Bunting, a senator and opposition spokesman on national security who was also named in the report as having granted licences under questionable circumstances when he was minister, has so far resisted calls for his own resignation.

He and the People’s National Party, of which he is a member, have argued that the Integrity Commission got it wrong in suggesting that he acted improperly in the two cases for which he was flagged.

In his statement today, Chang noted that administrative processes have been put in place at the FLA to prevent the kind of errors and deficiencies outlined in the Integrity Commission’s report.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESSES IMPLEMENTED TO PREVENT ERRORS, DEFICIENCIES OUTLINED BY INTEGRITY COMMISSION

• In 2017, Major General Antony Anderson, former chairman of the board of the FLA, introduced a system where only Board members who attend the meeting are allowed to sign off on applications and reports should be signed by all Board members attending;
• Greater relationship with the National Intelligence Bureau (NIB) and other intelligence agencies established, as the FLA move towards a more system check for the security clearance of applicants;
• The Board no longer reverses its own decisions or those of previous Boards;
• The Board no longer considers applications unless all security clearances are attached to the files;
• The Morph RapID machine is installed, which provides electronic reports on the criminal background, if any, of all holders or applicants, within seconds;
• Discontinuation of the practice were staff members of the FLA or other third parties sign for or collect packages on behalf of applicants or holders;
• Third-party renewals have been discontinued;
• Online tracking system for applications established;
• The Authority’s website has been renovated;
• There has been upward of 70 per cent turnover of staff at the Authority since 2017;
• All staff members that are brought in are fully vetted and undergo integrity testing;
• All board members must pass a fit and proper criteria.