KINGSTON, Jamaica—Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Fayval Williams, says recruitment will be done to fill the post of national security advisor (NSA).

She made the disclosure during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee at Gordon House on Thursday, March 5.

She explained that someone was previously acting in the post but has since gone off on a one-year scholarship.

“There is activity around filling that post. I would imagine that, in short order, someone will occupy that post. The person who was acting was seconded from another part of government… There will be a recruitment drive to fill that position,” she said.

In 2016, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the creation of the Office of National Security Advisor as a critical move in supporting and coordinating Jamaica’s national security superstructure.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Major General Antony Anderson, was the first person appointed to the office.

The national security advisor is charged with advising the prime minister and the Minister of National Security and Peace, through the National Security Council (NSC), on matters of internal and external security affairs, which broadly include defence, crime and security and public safety-related policy and strategy, inter-agency cooperation, partner nation engagement and regional and international security.

-JIS