Senator Pearnel Charles Jr - file photo
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Senators Wensworth Skeffery and Pearnel Charles Jr
The Senate on Friday passed the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Act, with 77 amendments.
The Act will establish MOCA as an independent body to fight organised crime in Jamaica.
The bill was piloted by Pearnel Charles Jr, former state minister in the Ministry of National Security.
He said, with MOCA being transformed into an elite law-enforcement investigative agency, operating autonomously of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), it will better detect and investigate crime kingpins and persons who facilitate their activities.
The Act was passed in the Lower House in January. It had stalled in the Senate following criticism from the Parliamentary Opposition on the wide variety of crimes the agency is expected to handle as well as differences regarding the appointment of the Director General.
During Friday's debate, Opposition Senator Wensworth Skeffery argued that political appointees should be barred for a period of time from taking up the post of Director General of MOCA.
"So let's say you having a general election and a person loses or retire (sic). Based on this clause, that person could be immediately appointed as the Director General and could still be active in the political sphere. I believe you must have some form of conditionality to this person and have a period where this person would not be so entitled to be appointed," he lobbied.
Senator Charles Jr., in his response, said there were several clauses in the bill which would create parameters as it relates to who is selected.
Furthermore, he said the appointment of a Director General would involve intense discussions with all stakeholders, including the Leader of the Opposition.
The Bill will now go back to the House of Representatives for final approval.
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