Curtis, Holness may have to resolve issue through mediation - Barnett

Edmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter

CONSTITUTIONAL EXPERT Dr Lloyd Barnett has described as “unfortunate and sad” the so-called letter saga in which Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness, released a missive on March 25 to lawmakers, reprimanding former clerk to the houses Valrie Curtis.

The public rebuke was done after the former clerk allegedly failed to carry out the November 7 ruling of the Speaker in relation to the tabling of reports on public bodies from the auditor general.

“What is happening now is very unfortunate and sad for Jamaica. We have never had anything like that as far as I can recall,” Barnett told The Gleaner yesterday.

He suggested that the two parties may have to go the route of mediation to resolve the issue.

In an exclusive interview with The Gleaner, the former clerk said she would accept nothing less than a retraction of the Speaker’s letter that accused her of “gross dereliction of duty” and bringing the Parliament into disrepute.

Curtis dismissed accusations that she failed to carry out her duties, noting that she first returned the Financial Services Commission audit on January 8 before proceeding on vacation leave the following day.

While she was on leave, the second audit report on Tax Administration Jamaica was sent to Parliament on January 29. The former clerk returned to the legislature on February 5.

Barnett said because of the “delicacy of the situation, only some sort of internal mediation would be probably constructive because if you are going to have a public enquiry, or anything like that, it is going to make matters worse and people will not want to submit themselves to that”.

According to Barnett, “People scarcely show respect for each other in Jamaica”, noting that “everything is intensely political, personal. and vindictive … . We seem to be following the American example.”

Senate President Tom Tavares-Finson said yesterday that there was no lingering animosity between heads of the Upper and Lower Houses of Parliament and the retired clerk.

He noted that the clerk reports to the Speaker and president of the Senate.

“The clerk was reprimanded by the Speaker in relation to a matter that the Speaker was of the view warranted such a reprimand, and it is important to point out because a person works with an organisation for over 30 years does not mean that that person is beyond reproach if there is an infraction,” Tavares Finson declared. Curtis worked with Parliament for 28 years and six months.

However, Barnett contends that action should not be taken against any employee without due process being observed.

“In any situation whether you are a civil servant, private employee, or occupy a special position, the person who supervises you, whether employer or superior officer, cannot reprimand you without properly adopting fair standards and procedures,” he said.

Barnett reasoned that a reprimand is a form of punishment, and as such, proper procedures must be followed before it is carried out.

“You have to tell the person what the complaint is and give them a chance to respond formally. It must be a rational decision. It’s not a question of whether you can do as you want because you are the Speaker or president or because the person is not a civil servant. The basic principles that apply to any Jamaican citizen is that we are entitled to fairness and due process,” he insisted.

While the clerk to the Houses reports to the Speaker and the president, Curtis pointed out that it did not mean that the presiding officers could take over the administrative role of Parliament’s administrator.

The former clerk said she received correspondence from the Speaker and the president after she returned from leave on February 5 in which the presiding officers instructed that she should “observe the temporary freeze on all recruitment activities”, among other administrative directives.

The retired clerk said she did not receive any directive from the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service in recent times before her retirement that Parliament should put a hold on recruitment of staff.

Curtis, however, said that the clerk reports to the Speaker on procedural and other matters that occur during the sittings of the House but not to seek guidance on administrative matters.

She stressed that any instructions regarding a freeze on hiring should come from the Government and not the presiding officers.

The Gleaner understands that there is a severe deficiency in the number of Hansard writers in Parliament. At present, there are five Hansard writers, which is about half the official complement. While there are two positions on the establishment for parliamentary legal counsels, only one position has been filled at this time.

A senior accounts payable officer position has been vacant for more than six months, The Gleaner understands.

The Government’s state news agency, the Jamaica Information Service, says the job of the Speaker “is to see that other members keep within the rules of the House, that the rights of the Opposition members are protected, and that every member gets a fair hearing”.

In Australia, a Commonwealth country, the Speaker’s principal duty is to uphold the dignity of the House and to protect the rights and privileges of the House and its members.

The most visible aspect of the Speaker’s role in Australia involves presiding over debates in the House chamber, enforcing the standing orders (rules) that have been adopted by the House and ensuring the orderly conduct of business.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com