PNP Parliamentary Caucus Again Calls For Reinstatement Of Opposition Committee Chairmen

By: Admin

Image caption: Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives, Phillip Paulwell - File photo

The Parliamentary Caucus of the People’s National Party (PNP) is reiterating its call for the immediate reinstatement of the Opposition’s chairmanship of all sessional committees of the House of Representatives.

In a statement today, Leader of Opposition Business, Phillip Paulwell, said the Government’s position on the change to Opposition chairing of committees was disingenuous and unfair.

He also stated that it undermines the best practices of maintaining a high standard of accountability. 

READ: Government scraps Golding chairmanship tradition

While Opposition chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee is still in place, four other key sessional committees that examine government policies and sector performances – Internal and External Affairs, Economy and Production, Human Resource and Social Development, and Infrastructure and Physical Development – will be headed by government MPs.

Paulwell is contending that the government failed to state the real reasons for the change to a convention which has worked very well in scrutinising policies, expenditure, and exposing maladministration and corruption, including breaches in the hiring practice and procurement procedure. 

It appears now that with its more than two-third majority, the government has decided to pursue a strategy of coverup, he argued.

He said the argument proffered by the government is a ruse because meetings were curtailed due to limited space at Gordon House and a shortage of secretariat support services and not on the lack of availability of members as being claimed.

According to Paulwell, the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) members also thwarted the effectiveness of the committees by using Section 77 (7) of the Standing Orders, which mandates that the committees could only deal with matters referred to them by the House, which is controlled by the JLP majority.

He argues that this is not the first attempt by the JLP government to remove Opposition chairs and that this new move is disingenuous and threatens the smooth operation of the country’s parliamentary democracy.

He said the changes proposed by the government amount to a retrograde step which may very well become the underpinning of an authoritarian regime, inebriated on its parliamentary majority. 

Follow The Gleaner on Twitter and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.