LEADER OF Opposition Business in the Senate, Dr. Ossie Harding gave notice Friday that he would be referring to the Privileges Committee of Parliament, the refusal of the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) to supply information to a Senate committee studying the collapse of the financial sector in the 1990s.
"The fact is that we have a right to summon people to Parliament and it's a right I guard jealously," Senator Harding said in the Senate. He said he would refer the matter to the committee in the new year.
Under the rules governing Parliament, matters can be referred to the Committee of Privileges, if they appear to affect the privileges of Parliamentarians.
Two Fridays ago, Senators blasted officials at the central bank for what they said were attempts to frustrate the work of the committee, which was set up on a resolution brought by Opposition Senator Anthony Johnson over a year ago.
But in an advertised statement last week, the BoJ reacted by saying that they should know that "restrictions on the release of information relating to banking operations constitute a fundamental basis for soundness and stability in any banking system."
In its statement the BoJ asserted that it co-operated and responded to requests from the Senate to the extent that such responses were legally permissible.
