Jamaica’s Opposition Leader and President of the People’s National Party (PNP) Mark Golding has announced that Dennis Gordon, head of private medical firm JACDEN Limited and a sitting PNP Member of Parliament, will step down immediately from his roles on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Shadow Cabinet, pending the outcome of ongoing investigations into a controversial tax exemption scheme tied to the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).
In an official statement released Sunday, Golding clarified that based on all evidence currently provided to him, no concrete evidence has emerged to prove that JACDEN or Gordon violated any existing Jamaican laws. He also acknowledged that JACDEN’s dialysis equipment currently delivers critical, life-sustaining care to Jamaican patients dealing with renal disease at price points below the current market average. Even so, Golding emphasized that the unfolding controversy comes on the heels of a damning Auditor General’s Department (AGD) report that uncovered widespread maladministration at UHWI, making a proactive stance on accountability non-negotiable for his party.
“Our party has always made a public commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity in public office, and we must consistently demonstrate that commitment. All of our parliamentarians and senators have signed on to the Leadership Code of Conduct, and we owe it to the Jamaican public to respect the spirit of that agreement,” Golding said. “Jamaica currently faces a crisis of weak accountability standards in public life, and we must act to prove that we hold ourselves to a higher bar, regardless of the lack of proven wrongdoing at this stage.”
Per Golding, Gordon has already voluntarily recused himself from all PAC proceedings related to this investigation, and the PNP’s internal integrity commission will launch a full independent review of the matter before issuing formal recommendations to the party leadership.
The controversy stems from an AGD audit report tabled in Jamaica’s Parliament earlier this year, which revealed that UHWI misused its official tax-exempt status to facilitate imports for four private companies, resulting in a total loss of roughly J$23.1 million in unpaid customs duties. The audit documented that customs declarations listed goods including office furniture, laundry equipment, and medical devices as hospital property, but UHWI inventory records confirmed the items were actually transferred to the private firms. The AGD noted that this misrepresentation violates Jamaica’s Customs Act, an offense that carries potential fines or criminal prosecution for involved parties. Following the release of the redacted report, UHWI officially named the four private entities as Supreme Laundry Services, Willman Sales, Scientific Medical Services, and JACDEN Limited.
In his first extensive media interview on the scandal with the *Jamaica Observer* over the weekend, Gordon, who represents the St Andrew East Central constituency, pushed back against growing calls for his permanent resignation. He dismissed allegations that he defrauded the Jamaican state out of millions of dollars by exploiting UHWI’s tax-exempt status for JACDEN’s benefit as politically motivated. Gordon admitted that UHWI did process a dialysis machine shipment through customs for his company, but confirmed JACDEN has already paid all outstanding duties owed, and stressed that neither he nor the company have been found guilty of corruption or any criminal offense related to the incident.