Lawmakers across the political divide have agreed to limit the term of an Executive Director of the Integrity Commission to no more than five years, with only one opportunity for renewal.
The matter came up for deliberation at Thursday’s sitting of the Joint Select Committee of Parliament reviewing the Integrity Commission Act.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
Currently, the Integrity Commission allows an Executive Director to sit for five years with unlimited opportunities for renewal pending a review.
Both the Permanent Secretaries’ Board which represents the chief financial officers for the country’s various ministries and the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica wish to limit the options for renewal.
MP Julian Robinson argues that a single seven year term with no renewal would be the optimal choice.
Mr. Robinson is also concerned that a five year term coincides with an election cycle, creating the potential for a new government to pressure the commissioners into not renewing the contract of an Executive Director.
However, Everald Warmington warned that this could leave the country straddled with an underperforming Executive Director for a lengthy period of time with no provision for their removal.
Mr. Robinson then agreed on a compromise, where the tenure of the Executive Director would be limited to five years with a renewal of no more than three years.
The Committee has also agreed that the term limit for commissioners will remain at seven years.
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