A DISTINGUISHED panel of academics and private sector leaders has been drafted to examine the Access to Information and Corruption Prevention Acts at a seminar 'Fostering transparency in Jamaica' at Le Meridien Jamaica Pegasus Hotel today.
The discussion comes against the background of both pieces of legislation being on the public agenda for several years and the Corruption Prevention Act yet to be implemented more than a year after it was passed by both Houses of Parliament. The regulations that will guide the Act are yet to go before Parliament.
The Access to Information Bill, which was first mooted in the early 1990s, is now at committee stage. A joint select committee of Parliament is examining the Bill having first accommodated a number of submissions from various groupings. Once passed into law, the public will have greater access to government information.
Information Minister Colin Campbell expects the joint select committee examining the Access to Information legislation will wrap up its work in another five sittings.
"I think it (the sittings) is going very well," Mr. Campbell said.
Today's seminar will examine such topics as 'Challenges to Jamaica: Is transparency the answer'?
The panellists will be University of the West Indies Professor Trevor Munroe and Constitutional lawyer Dr. Lloyd Barnett; The right to information and Jamaica's Access to Information Act by Dr. Alasdair Roberts, Associate Professor, Maxwell School of Public Affairs, Syracuse University; Access to Information: How is it useful and how is it used will be presented by Dr. Richard Calland, Executive Chair, Open Democracy Advice Centre, Cape Town, South Africa.
Colin Campbell and his Opposition counterpart Olivia 'Babsy' Grange will make presentations. Moderator will be Oliver Clarke, President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica.
While the country's lawmakers move slowly on the legislation aimed at tackling corruption, 85 per cent of all Jamaicans are of the view that the activity is on the increase. This is the finding of the latest Gleaner/Don Anderson poll, conducted between January 10 and 21 in 56 communities islandwide. A total of 1105 persons were interviewed for the poll which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 per cent.
In response to the question: "Is corruption on the increase in Jamaica"? 85.2 per cent said yes; 5.6 per cent answered no; while 8.6 per cent were not sure.
Attorney-General A.J. Nicholson told The Gleaner yesterday that a meeting is scheduled for this week to examine a number of alternatives that if accepted would result in the Regulations for the Corruption Prevention Bill being adopted soon. He anticipates that this could be accomplished by the end of the legislative year on March 31.
Mr. Nicholson explained that one of the sticking points was how many persons should be asked to submit annual declarations to the Corruption Prevention Commission. "Even if you had 10 commissioners you wouldn't be able to go through all of them," he said, noting that based on recommendations, up to 200,000 reports could be filed annually. A likely compromise is to impose a salary cap or to target persons holding certain positions. There is also the possibility of deciding on a certain number of reports for each year.
Mr. Nicholson is also pushing to have the Government increase the proposed salaries for members of the Commission. The matter is now before the Minister of Finance. Recent press advertisements placed the salaries for the secretary/manager of the commission at between $1.1 million and $1.3 million. The Attorney-General has admitted that at that level of remuneration, "we might be defeating the purpose".
In December, Mark Davies, executive director of the City of New York Conflict of Interest Board said the salaries being offered were inadequate if the Government was serious about fighting corruption. He also said public servants had to be held accountable, including being fined, fired or imprisoned. In New York, only about 12,000 employees are required to make annual declarations.
Today's seminar is sponsored by the Media Association of Jamaica, the Jamaica National Building Society and the Carter Center.
