Senator Duncan outlines why he ‘jumped off the fence’

For years, banker and businessman Keith Duncan saw himself as an independent Jamaican who worked across administrations in the interest of building the country.

In his State of the Nation Debate presentation to the Senate on Friday, the man who is from a family with strong connections to the People’s National Party (PNP) revealed that his decision to accept an appointment as government senator was not met with commendations from his siblings.

“When the prime minister asked me post the election of September 2025, I had to consult with the family. I engaged my siblings. That did not go down too well,” he said with a broad smile to immediate reactions from the opposition benches.

Duncan’s father, the late Dr D.K. Duncan was a stalwart of the PNP, serving in various capacities from the 1970s, including national organiser and general secretary and as a Cabinet minister. His sister, Patricia Duncan Sutherland, is president of the PNP’s Women Movement. A younger sibling, Imani Duncan-Price served as government senator from 2013 to 2015 under the PNP administration.

“I engaged my wife and she tested my thought process around it and about how much more I really want to do, how much time do I have to dedicate, and what it involved. We agreed on it,” Duncan said.

He thanked his four children and members of the Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) family, including the board of directors, who supported him in taking on the task as government senator.

He said the prime minister had offered him a senatorial seat on more than one occasion.

However, in making a decision, Duncan said he looked at his various interactions with the Government over the years in different capacities.

He cited his role as chairman of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC) and his input while he was president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.

Further, Duncan said he worked closely with the Government through the pandemic, specifically working alongside former Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke on the COVID Economic Recovery Taskforce.

According to Duncan, when he worked with Holness on “several national matters” of importance, he saw a level of commitment and “depth of thought, management capability and a drive to make Jamaica a better place”.

He told his fellow senators that having worked with the private sector, EPOC, the prime minister, and Clarke at the time, “I thought that this would be a real opportunity here to make a contribution, so I jumped off the fence”.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com