Athaliah Reynolds, Staff Reporter

Prime Minister Bruce Golding congratulates Don Wehby (right), Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, after he took the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer

TAKING A two-year leave from his job as deputy head of GraceKennedy Limited and CEO of GK Investments, Donald Wehby Jr. hopes to bring fresh new strategies to managing the country's struggling economy.

Speaking with The Gleaner after the swearing-in ceremony of members of the new Cabinet at King's House last Friday, Senator Wehby, who will serve as Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, said that his first task would be tackling Jamaica's debt problem.

With a solid background in finance, the Stanford University graduate said it was critically important to get the country's economy in line.

"That is my day-one job. That is extremely important if we are going to have growth in our country," he said.

Wehby argued that the national debt at this time was extremely high and he wanted to work to create a strategy to bring the numbers down.

Citing his extensive and successful tenure in finance and accounting, Wehby explained that it was never his plan to enter politics.

"I've always seen myself as a private-sector person," he said. He, however, explained that he was prompted to make a career change with the hope of effecting some change and growth in his country.

"A lot of us sit on the veranda and complain," he told The Gleaner. "But I have decided to make an active decision to get off the veranda and go out and do something about it."

athaliah.reynolds@gleanerjm.com