PSOJ calls for committeetalks to resolve oversight issues

The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) has joined the call for Prime Minister Andrew Holness to re-evaluate his position on the matter of the chairmanship of the sessional committees of the House of Representatives.

“We strongly recommend that the PM engage the leader of the Opposition to put in place performance standards for the chairman and members of these sessional committees to ensure that they provide the oversight function that was intended and is required from these committees,” PSOJ President Keith Duncan said in a release, pointing out that some civil society groups have made recommendations that can be considered in the deliberations.

The PSOJ expressed disappointment that “our elected legislators have not provided an acceptable level of oversight, review, and scrutiny of government policy positions that fall under the purview of these sessional committees. While we believe this disregard of national duty should not be tolerated, we also do not believe that removing the oversight function from the Opposition is an acceptable solution”.