Ombudsman wanted

As Jamaicans prepare to vote for their local representatives in the upcoming local government elections that are due by February 2024, the Jamaica Council of Churches (JCC) says it is looking forward to the restoration of an arbiter to police political activities in the event infractions arise.

Reverend Newton Dixon, general secretary of the Council, said the church body wanted to see the return of a political ombudsman to oversee political campaigns in the run-up to the elections.

Responding to questions from The Gleaner, Dixon made wide-ranging comments on national issues that the church organisation wants to see action taken on in the new year.

In November 2022, former Political Ombudsman Donna Parchment Brown’s seven-year tenure in office ended, but, despite pronouncements by the government that the role of the ombudsman would be subsumed by the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), more than one year later the administration’s commitment has failed to materialise.

Stalled by bureaucracy

In July 2023, Justice Minister Delroy Chuck said efforts to get the Office of the Political Ombudsman subsumed into the ECJ had stalled for months, owing to bureaucracy.

The role of the political ombudsman was to monitor adherence to the code of conduct agreed to by Jamaica’s political parties.

The mandate of the political ombudsman also included investigating any action by a political party, its members or its supporters that is likely to prejudice good relations between the supporters of various political parties.

With the country recording nearly 1,400 murders in 2023, an eight-per-cent decline over the corresponding period, the JCC general secretary is questioning why the proposed Emergency Security Measures Act (ESMA) is yet to be tabled and debated in Parliament.

In 2022, Prime Minister Andrew Holness said the ESMA would be tabled in early 2023.

“It is our view that the ESMA could provide a credible and more targeted approach to solving some aspects of our crime problem,” Dixon said.

He also pointed out that the government had also pledged to take to Parliament in early 2023 the Unexplained Wealth Order. This was not tabled in Parliament last year.

Dixon is also urging Speaker of the House Juliet Holness to revert to the long-held parliamentary tradition of tabling reports from the Integrity Commission and the auditor general as soon as possible upon delivery.

“This departure from a tradition that has served the nation well appears to compound the growing levels of apathy, belligerence, and cynicism which many of our people show towards our political system in general and any call for decency and ethical uprightness in particular.”

Dixon said the apathy is reflected in the results of a recent Don Anderson poll which showed that 57 per cent of eligible voters said they did not intend to vote in the local government elections.

“This is a cause for great concern,” he added.

The JCC spokesman applauded the government for what he said was its renewed commitment to the Crime Consensus Agreements, which are key components to achieving a sustainable reduction in crime and violence.

“Despite our disappointment in the fact that the political leaders were not attending CMOC (Crime Monitoring Oversight Committee) meetings, we are heartened by improvements in this area and eagerly anticipate the government’s renewed commitment and embrace of the vital partnerships which the crime consensus engenders,” he said.

Dixon signalled that the Church intends to strengthen its resolve by playing its part “as people of faith in the initiatives that will require our support”.

“We will not be spectators but participatory problem-solvers with a solution orientation, even as we maintain our prophetic voice.”

The clergyman said another area of great concern to the Church is the prevalence of gender-based and domestic violence in which women and girls suffer disproportionately.

He praised the government for passing amendments to the Domestic Violence Act and naming a joint select committee to review the principal law.

“One area in which we look forward to greater effort and progress is the rehabilitation of domestic violence offenders. It is my view that the best protection against the occurrence, recurrence, and persistence of this kind of suffering is a transformation in the life of the potential and actual perpetrators,” Dixon reasoned.

He said the Church would support all reasonable efforts and initiatives to help men and boys to be more respectful and responsible in their relations and interactions with women and girls.

editorial@gleanerjm.com