CORRUPTION CRISIS
Sector groups urge PM to sideline Wheatley, demand good governance
ACOALITION of non-governmental, religious, and private-sector groups has warned Prime Minister Andrew Holness that the declining public confidence in Jamaican authorities is now approaching crisis proportions.
In an open letter to Holness yesterday, the Jamaica Umbrella Group of Churches, National Integrity Action, the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters’ Association, and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce said that they recently convened a meeting to examine in depth the longstanding erosion of public trust in institutions of governance.
According to the groups, the meeting was pushed by allegations relating to Petrojam, and they agreed on the importance of urgent measures to strengthen integrity as well as good governance.
“Our respective organisations are of one mind that urgent action is demanded to deal with the situation at Petrojam, and, more generally, to curb practices of nepotism, cronyism, favouritism, and other evils that have long scarred governance of public bodies and contributed to waste of taxpayers’ money,” the groups said.
They urged Holness to, among other things, ensure that
1. So long as the former minister of energy (Andrew Wheatley) remains a member of the Cabinet, he be immediately excluded or recuse himself from all deliberations of that body (or Cabinet subcommittees) relating to Petrojam, including discussions of
reports, investigations, reforms, and system reviews, etc.
2. The Integrity Commission, the Major Organised Crime and AntiCorruption Agency, and the Auditor General’s Office should be provided with the necessary resources to ensure the completion of their investigations and reports related to Petrojam within three months. These reports should be laid in Parliament immediately thereafter.
3. The terms of reference, composition, and deliverables of the Strategic Committee to review Petrojam’s operations, which is to be chaired by Christopher Zacca, be disclosed publicly. Further, that the committee submit its report and recommendations within three months, that these be made public and that the board of Petrojam be required to report quarterly on the implementation of agreed recommendations.
4. The codes (in particular the Code of Conduct for Ministers), guidelines (in particular the Corporate Governance Framework for Public Bodies and the Competency Framework), and laws (in particular Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act) relating to corporate governance for all public bodies be implemented, monitored, and enforced with attendant sanctions when violated or not implemented.
“For our part, we propose to contribute to the enhancement of public morality, ethics, and accountability in governance as well as, more broadly, through engagements involving civic dialogues in town hall-type settings, for the purpose of sensitising citizens on how erosion of public trust impacts the nation, as well as calling them to their responsibilities,” the groups said as they charged that the time for action is now.
“We are, together, requesting an urgent meeting with you to discuss and seek agreement on the above recommendations, which we are making,” added the groups. SEE FULL LETTER TO THE PM AT WWW.JAMAICA-GLEANER.COM