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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
The Committee of Experts of the Follow-up Mechanism for the Implementation of the Inter-American Convention against Corruption (MESICIC) of the Organization of American States (OAS) adopted the Jamaica report on the implementation of this treaty in the framework of the Fourth Round of Review of the Mechanism, during its Twenty-Fourth Meeting held at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, D.C.
The report provides a review of oversight bodies in Jamaica with the responsibility for the prevention, detection, punishment and eradication of acts of corruption. In this regard, the report examines the Office of the Contractor General; the Integrity Commission; the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, and the Auditor General’s Department.
The examination was carried out taking into account Jamaica’s response to a questionnaire, information gathered by the Technical Secretariat of MESICIC, under the OAS, and, as a new and important source of information, an on-site visit conducted from April 1 to 3, 2014. This visit was carried out by a committee comprising representatives of El Salvador, Grenada, as well as the MESICIC Technical Secretariat. During the visit, the review team met with representatives of the aforementioned governmental institutions and also with members of civil society organizations, the private sector, professional associations, academics, and researchers.
Overall, regarding oversight bodies, the report recommends providing them with the resources necessary for the proper performance of their functions. With regard to the Office of the Contractor General, it suggests to consider carrying out the institutional and legislative reforms necessary to separate the National Contracts Commission from the Office of the Contractor General; to provide this oversight body with the power and authority to halt or regularize a contract or license award that exhibits signs of corruption, irregularity or impropriety.
Regarding the Integrity Commission, to consider establishing a website for this oversight body; to establish and implement an awareness building program to inform individuals on the manner they may submit complaints on alleged acts of corruption carried out by Parliamentarians.
Pertaining to the Commission for the Prevention of Corruption, to consider adopting a timetable for the implementation, by that oversight body, of the functions assigned to it as the designated authority under the Protected Disclosures Act of 2011.
With respect to the Auditor General’s Department, to consider concluding the approval process by the Ministry of Finance and Planning and the Cabinet regarding the proposed new organizational structure of this oversight body.
With regard to advances made on the implementation of recommendations formulated to Jamaica in the First Round of the Mechanism, the report highlights the adoption of the Judicial Guidelines of 2012, as well as the enactment of the Financial Management Regulations of 2011.
Some of the recommendations made to Jamaica during the First Round, which are still pending or were reformulated, address issues such as encouraging the implementation of a code of ethics for Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, including sanction mechanisms for violations.
During its Twenty-Fourth Meeting, MESICIC adopted similar reports on Belize, Grenada, Haiti, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname, which are available here.
The MESICIC is a cooperation mechanism between states, with the broad participation of civil society organizations, in which the legal/institutional framework of each country is reviewed for suitability with the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, as well as the objective results achieved therein. The incorporation of on-site visits as a stage and integral part of the MESICIC review process represents an innovative initiative in the context of the OAS, which has strengthened even more so this reciprocal review mechanism. For more information, please visit the Anti-Corruption Portal of the Americas.
For more information, please visit the OAS Website at
www.oas.org.
© Copyright 2014 by thebahamasweekly.com
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