Opposition continues to press for broad-based oversight mechanism for Hurricane Melissa recovery

Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives, Phillip Paulwell, is intensifying his call for the Government to establish a broad-based national oversight mechanism to guide the Hurricane Melissa relief and recovery efforts, insisting that a parliamentary committee cannot be an alternative.

In a media release today, Paulwell criticised what he described as the Government’s continued unwillingness to address the issue, an attitude he said was confirmed in a November 13 letter shared by Leader of Government Business Floyd Green.

During last week Tuesday’s sitting of the House of Representatives, Green stated that the People’s National Party had indicated that it was no longer interested in being part of the Joint Select Committee that Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness announced would be established to play the oversight role to ensure transparency and accountability.

He shared that he was written to on November 7 Paulwell, who told him that, “On reflection on this matter, the Opposition believes that such a committee would not be necessary and appropriate at this time as it would be duplicating and usurping the role and function of the Parliament’s Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC)”

But Paulwell noted today that contrary to Green’s assertions, the Opposition has been consistent, transparent and unwavering in its call for a national task force, one that goes beyond Parliament and includes representatives of the private sector, the church, civil society organisations, and other stakeholders whose participation is essential to building trust in this moment of national crisis.

“It is therefore misleading and disingenuous for the Minister to suggest that a Joint Select Committee of Parliament satisfies this call. The country knows better. A parliamentary committee, drawn only from Members of Parliament and controlled by the Government majority, cannot and will never be a substitute for a national, non-partisan, multi-sectoral task force with real oversight responsibility,” he said.

He said that Hurricane Melissa, the Category 5 storm that devastated the southwestern end of the island, has worsened the already low levels of public trust in the State’s disaster-management systems.

He is arguing that the Opposition is insisting on adopting best-practice models of transparent governance, rather than narrow and inadequate structures the Government.

Further, Paulwell said Green’s indication that he intends once again to use the Adjournment Debate to address this matter is inappropriate.

“Matters of national disaster management and public accountability require a Ministerial Statement, which permits full scrutiny and questioning, not a statement delivered without the opportunity for genuine parliamentary engagement,” he said.

Stating that “there can be no unity without honesty, no consensus without credibility and no recovery without trust”, Paulwell said the Opposition will continue to insist on good governance, full transparency and rigorous accountability.

“We will not allow the Government to obscure, minimise or mischaracterise our proposals. Jamaica deserves the highest standards of oversight in managing relief efforts that affect the lives of thousands of our citizens,” he said.

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