Warmington carries heavy parliamentary load
Published:Monday | April 18, 2016 | 12:00 AM
The controversial, newly appointed state minister in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for works, Everald Warmington, has been given an array of parliamentary duties, making him the only junior minister appointed to five committees of Parliament.
Warmington has returned to familiar territory and will again chair a special select committee with oversight responsibility for the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).
This committee is responsible for examining and recommending for approval estimates for constituency projects submitted to the CDF by members of parliament (MPs).
When Warmington first chaired the CDF committee under the Bruce Golding administration, the media were barred from covering its sittings for two years.
However, after pressure was brought to bear on the committee, Parliament relented and allowed the media to cover the committee's deliberations on how taxpayers' money is spent in the various constituencies.
SEASONED MIX
The usually hard-hitting Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which is chaired by the opposition spokesman on finance Dr Peter Phillips, comprises a mix of seasoned parliamentarians, including Warmington and some newcomers.
Juliet Holness, MP for St Andrew East Rural; Juliet Cuthbert-Flynn, MP for St Andrew West Rural; and Leslie Campbell, the MP for St Catherine North East, are the first-time lawmakers who will assist the team of experienced MPs to examine the accounts setting out government expenditure and reports referred to the committee by the Auditor General's Department.
The other members of the PAC are Frank Witter, Marisa Dalrymple Philibert, James Robertson, Fitz Jackson, Horace Dalley, Lisa Hanna and Mikael Phillips.
Dr Wykeham McNeill, MP for Westmoreland Western, also returns to a job he once held in opposition - that of chairing the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee of Parliament (PAAC).
McNeill will be assisted by four new MPs and a number of experienced legislators.
Alando Terrelonge, Michael Stewart, Fayval Williams, Leslie Campbell and Mrs Holness are the new MPs on the PAAC.
The Internal and External Affairs Committee of Parliament is chaired by Peter Bunting; the Economy and Production Committee's chairman is Anthony Hylton; while Ronald Thwaites heads the Human Resources and Social Development Committee.
The Morais Guy-chaired Infrastructure and Physical Development Committee has four new MPs. They are Dave Brown, MP for Hanover Eastern; Zavia Mayne, MP for St Ann South Western; along with Campbell and Mrs Holness.