Government to return to Parliament with new rules for board appointments

The government will make another attempt to have regulations specifying the criteria for appointment of  boards of public bodies approved by  Parliament, following recent scandals surrounding several state entities.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness confirmed on Sunday that he has instructed Finance Minister Nigel Clarke to return the Public Bodies Management and Accountability (Nomination, Selection and Appointment to Boards) Regulations to Parliament and seek to have it passed immediately.

Efforts to have the regulations passed stalled in the House of  Representatives last year as there was no quorum at the time of  the vote.

Mr. Holness, speaking at the Annual Conference of the governing Jamaica Labour Party in Kingston, admitted that some persons within his government also had reservations about the new rules proposed, particularly in respect of "how this new regulation will limit the possibility of citizens who wish to participate in the political process and also participate in the governance process".

Golding warns

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding also addressed the corruption issues dogging the Holness administration and warned warned members of  the government not to let down Jamaicans who had voted to put them in power.

Using a cricket analogy, he said he had told Mr Holness that "he's being forced on the backfoot too often," and "too often when he should be hitting boundaries and putting runs on the board, he's being forced to play defensive stroke(s) to protect the wicket."

He added that Holness had accumulated significant political capital and therefore advised him: "Don't be afraid to use it."