Morris Dixon always knew she was ‘a public servant’
WHEN DR Dana Morris Dixon got a call from Prime Minister Andrew Holness recently, her first thought was that the head of government wanted her to serve on a board in the public sector.
The surprise came when the prime minister asked her to serve as a Government senator.
“I did not expect the call to be a senator and it was an honour to be asked, and I had to think long and hard about it when he asked me. But it came back down to ‘how often do you get this opportunity? You say you are a public servant, you know deep in your heart that is what you are, how do you say no to an opportunity like this’,” the business strategist and transformational leader told The Gleaner.
She is not oblivious to the “difficult arena” that she has entered, but the newly appointed senator said at the end of the day it is not about self, but rather whether she had the capacity to add value.
“My answer to that was a definite ‘yes’,” she declared.
“And so I said, ‘God you are going to have to come with me, we are gonna take this on’,” she said.
Morris Dixon said she was cognisant that based on “how politics work in Jamaica” she is likely to be given a political label.
“At the end of the day, we can say all of these things are bad with Jamaica and I don’t want to go in there because I am going to be tainted or I am going to associate with that,” she said.
Morris Dixon pointed out that if everyone had taken that approach persons with valuable skills would not be serving their country.
“It is definitely a risk, all I can do is be true to myself and do the work that I am called to do,” she added.
The new senator, who has worked with both the public and private sectors and considers herself to be someone who gets the job done, told The Gleaner that her intention is to focus on why she said ‘yes’ to the prime minister “and each day wake up knowing that I am doing what I can to serve the country”.
With her grandmother playing a pivotal role in her life, Morris Dixon said her grandma use to tell her to “use the gifts that God give you to help people”.
She has embraced this good advice and has been applying it to her life.
While attending Campion College, Morris Dixon said she was involved in ministry outreach, where she volunteered at a golden age home and assisted at a clinic at Saints Peter and Paul Church across from her school.
WORKED WITH PEOPLE ‘ON BOTH SIDES’
Having worked in the public sector during both the administrations of the People’s National Party and the Jamaica Labour Party, Morris Dixon said she always knew that she was cut out to serve the public.
“I had known from ever since that I was a public servant,” Morris Dixon said.
“One of the things I was proudest about my time in the public sector is that I got to work with people on both sides. My ministers were on both sides.”
With a propensity to get the job done, Morris Dixon said she was able to deliver on the tasks she was given to carry out.
After making the transition to the private sector, Morris Dixon said she played an important role in Jamaica National Building Society’s effort to obtain a licence to convert the institution to Jamaica National Bank.
She also led a major initiative for JN to get a banking licence in the United Kingdom. The bank got the licence in 2020, making it the only bank in the Caribbean operating in the UK.
“I led on that project and we created a digital bank in the UK, the only Caribbean Bank to ever be authorised by the Bank of England, and I am very proud of that, and it is a testament to the kind of skill set we have in Jamaica,” she exclaimed.
Morris Dixon and former journalist Abka Fitz-Henley took their seats in the Upper House yesterday, after taking the Oath of Allegiance.
APPOINTMENTS
Their appointments came as two positions became vacant with the resignations of Natalie Campbell-Rodriques and Leslie Campbell.
Fitz-Henley thanked the prime minister for giving him the opportunity to serve in what is often termed the review chamber of the bicameral legislature.
He also thanked his family and friends for the support they have given to him.
“I will not make a bunch of promises. However, I will say this, I commit to the Jamaican people that in my deport and energy I bring to this chamber to do right by our country.”