Parchment Brown convinced political ombudsman office needed
Says public must be aware that Jamaica belongs to its citizens, not political parties
POLITICAL Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown does not share the view of some Jamaicans that her office is a toothless tiger.
In fact, five years into the job, and after having to mediate numerous complaints about breaches of the political code of conduct, including 60 filed during campaigning for the September 3, 2020 General Election, Parchment Brown is convinced that the office — a commission of Parliament — has a role to play in Jamaica.
“In my own period as political ombudsman I am even more certain of the need for us to have a commission of this nature which allows us to pay some homage to the central role of democracy in Jamaica’s development, progress and prosperity; that it is important for the public to be aware that there is an institution that is really holding the space on their behalf; that Jamaica is not simply a country that belongs to political parties, but is a country that belongs to citizens, and politicians are elected or nominated to serve the interest of the public,” Parchment Brown stated at yesterday’s Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange.
Pointing out that the role of her office is to investigate complaints about political misconduct, including breaches of the code of conduct, as well as to promote good relations between supporters of different political parties, Parchment Brown argued that conflict between the political parties has a negative impact on policymaking, legislation and, ultimately, on the welfare of the public.
“And so, that is the space I
believe this office has been [operating in] and [it] continues to play a role,” she told Observer reporters and editors.
Media archives are replete with reports of breaches committed during election campaigns, as well as scant disregard by candidates to instructions for corrective action from the Office of the Political Ombudsman. Included in that is the fact that some political paraphernalia mounted for the September 3 election have still not been taken down.
Asked if she thought legislators are committed to the existence of the office, Parchment Brown, who has been ombudsman since November 2015, said: “I think, like so many of the wonderful institutions that we have in Jamaica, there is not adequate knowledge among the lawmakers and elected officials of our national institutions — what their role and functions are, and a lot of what we see is anecdotal knowledge. This is why, coming out of the consultations on the 2020 [election] campaign, one big message was the political ombudsman must increase civic, public and political education and it must be an ongoing programme, and we must partner with institutions and individuals to do this.”
She suggested that not many people — freshman parliamentarians and opinion-shapers included — are aware of the commissions of Parliament.
“So I think this issue of civic knowledge, public education and ownership of the State is a big, big thing that we’re certainly pushing,” Parchment Brown said.
Asked if any of the political parties have ever invited her office to address candidates, particularly newcomers, she said: “No, no, no, and I think part of that is, there is a sense that the political ombudsman is the enemy because we call out people, we hold people to account for certain actions, rather than the political ombudsman is there to make your light shine better — for you to do the things that your mother would be proud to see you do; for you to do the things that when you go home to your granny she say, ‘Bwoy, mi proud a yuh enuh, the way yuh handle da thing deh, mi proud a yuh’. This is the idea and punishment is the last resort.”