MPs to account for projects as Constituency Debate begins today
Published:Tuesday | October 8, 2024 | 12:09 AMEdmond Campbell/Senior Parliamentary Reporter
Less than a year before the next general election is constitutionally due, parliamentarians will attempt to account for their stewardship when the State of the Constituency Debate begins in Gordon House today.
The annual debate provides a national platform for members of parliament (MPs) to outline details of how they spent the $20 million allocated each year under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to carry out various projects and programmes in their constituencies.
St Catherine South Eastern Member of Parliament Robert Miller, a first-term lawmaker, will open the debate. Miller is a government backbencher.
As the debate gets under way, MPs will be cognisant of the familiar cries across many constituencies in Jamaica for road rehabilitation and for improved access to water.
In late August, Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced the launch of the Government’s REACH Road Rehab Programme. The sum of $3 billion has been earmarked to carry out routine maintenance to critical road infrastructure and those damaged by Hurricane Beryl in July. The money is to be spent on road repairs in all 63 constituencies.
The initiative will be executed in two phases, with Phase One running from September to November, while Phase Two covers the period January to March 2025.
In January, the prime minister announced that approximately $150 million would be allocated to each constituency under the $40-billion Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) Programme to modernise secondary, parochial and community roads over the next two years.
While MPs participate in the State of the Constituency Debate, there are expectations that private members’ motions, many of which have been on the Order Paper for extended periods, will also be debated.
Earlier this year, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) Executive Director Mickel Jackson raised concerns about a plethora of private members’ motions, including those tabled by government backbenchers and the parliamentary Opposition, that have not been attended to by the leadership of the House of Representatives.
Last year, Leader of Government Business in the House Edmund Bartlett had indicated that the House would facilitate debate on some of the private members’ motions before the 2023-2024 parliamentary year ended in February 2024. However, to date, the motions have not been debated.
Jackson told The Gleaner in April that the contribution of backbenchers and the parliamentary Opposition to the lawmaking process is not to be overlooked or undermined as they play a significant role in the shaping of public policy, offering diverse views and inclusivity in the legislative process.
The JFJ head reasoned that the private members’ motions and bills serve two important functions – that of bringing to public attention critical policy matters that might not be represented by the majority that forms Government. She also noted that while most private members’ motions and bills might not be enacted into law, they serve as an important tool in generating discussions and form a part of the accountability process.