-Eusheeka Lewis
The integrity of appointments to public sector bodies on both sides of Jamaica’s political aisle has constantly been called into question following plagues of corruption and cronyism which have created heightened public mistrust.
As a result of these acts public bodies have increasingly been under the microscope for some time now; therefore, sparking the piloting of new legislation by Minister of Finance and Public Service, Dr. Nigel Clarke regarding how the process is done.
The Public Bodies Management and Accountability (Nomination, Selection, and Appointment to Boards) regulations were passed by the House of Representatives in 2019; however, they faced some rebuttal in the Senate, forcing the government to review them before they were brought back to the Senate for approval.
The changes paved the way for the passing of the legislation, a move which was welcomed by the Opposition leader Mark Golding and Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson when the regulations were approved in the House of Representatives on December 7, 2021.
In his address to the house, Dr. Clarke shared that the Financial Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Public Service, Darlene Morrison will be responsible for the creation of an electronic system database of prospective Directors which will be subject to due diligence checks in an effort to meet the need for transparency.
While awaiting changes from the implementation of the regulations the government was hit with the recent Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) Scandal again heightening public mistrust.
In a recent interview, Executive Director of the Jamaica Accountability Meter (JAMP), Jeanette Calder hailed the move as a good one, noting that the government has made some strides in carving out an easier way for citizens to join these boards, see what is happening and get rid of the political appointees and the political culture that has existed.
“It’s a very good move, if it starts to happen, it should improve public confidence,” she said.
She said the old system of serving on the same board for more than ten years as well as being a CEO within the last three years of becoming a board member facilitated the narrowing of distance in relationships which can affect independent bias.
Ms. Calder pointed out that one of the best changes that were celebrated by civil society is the elimination of the minister when there is a change in government to remove all members of the board and chair based on politics as that is not necessarily good for smooth operations.
“When you go on a board you don’t know everything, you develop an understanding of the charter of that board, so you are a good board member and there’s a clean sweep and what is replaced is just another set of political operatives,” Ms. Calder noted.
She said retaining at least 30 percent of board members is an important change because it creates institutional memory and continued oversight which eradicates political power and fosters balances.
“So you will continue to have some kind of oversight on that board by persons who don’t feel beholden to the party, and we believe that is very good to change the existing political culture in Jamaica,” she added.
However, the Director of the Integrity Commission, Professor Trevor Monroe questions whether there will be a prolonged delay between the adoption of the regulation and the implementation of the database.
Dr. Munroe said at this point what is required is vigilance and advocacy.
“Vigilance to ensure that no new public boards are being appointed behind the scenes on the old basis which facilitated cronyism and partisanship and advocacy to ensure that this matter remains on the front order,” he stated.
The director said the extent to which the regulations will build public trust, undermine partisanship, and ensure efficiency without corruption depends on how quickly and transparently the database is set up and the new regulations put in place.
Professor Munroe added that the finance minister should provide at minimum a progress report regarding the progress on the database to reduce public boards being vulnerable to inefficiency, corruption as well as scandalous negligence bordering on criminality as evidenced in the SSL affairs.
Furthermore, he stated that as the new regulations require various citizen groups, members of the diaspora should also be allowed to nominate appointees to the database.
“I believe in that regard that it is very important for our diaspora, our Jamaica’s living abroad who have extraordinary levels of competence and experience in so many areas to be also given the opportunity under the new regulations to nominate persons for inclusion in the director’s database,” he added.
Questions directed to Ms. Morrison regarding the progress on the database as well as the timeframe in which the public can expect it to be completed went unanswered.
The regulations have not yet been operationalized but in terms of the timeline when this will happen, that depends on when the act is gazetted.
The regulations come into effect 10 months thereafter, as a result, no boards should function out of alignment with the regulations from that point forward.
