Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce Senator Aubyn Hill has urged Jamaicans to stop making baseless claims that politicians are corrupt.

The Minister noted that often when politicians are accused of being corrupt there is no evidence to support the claim, and the accusations are damaging.

“It is easy to say a politician or a business tycoon or a preacher is corrupt, it’s not easy to prove it. So we must get to the place in Jamaica where we stop just saying and tweeting and Instagramming, and whatever else we want to use to say politicians are crooked…You show me where they have been, give me the evidence, and if there is the evidence, you call out the politician,” said Hill.

The Minister was speaking at a post-Cabinet press briefing today (June 21), where he addressed a question about the new job descriptions recently tabled in Parliament by Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

The job descriptions were tabled as an accountability measure for Members of Parliament and other Government officials. The accountability measures follow the recent massive and controversial salary increase that saw some members of the political directorate receiving a 200 per cent pay hike.

“I’m very pleased that paper was laid in Parliament yesterday. We’ve gone through it, as the Prime Minister said very extensively and sometimes intensively through clauses and phrases in the Cabinet, as you would expect. We’re setting a template for a long time for how people will perform, and that includes us,” said Hill.

He noted that a code of conduct for Government Ministers is also in the works as another accountability measure.

JOB DESCRIPTIONS NOT SUFFICIENT 

Also addressing the tabled job descriptions was the newly minted Minister of Labour and Social Security Pearnel Charles Jr., who said the document is a step to modernise the framework of governance in Jamaica.

However, he noted that the document does not sufficiently detail all the responsibilities and roles of a Minister.

“The job description, from my perspective, is not an easy one to digest because this job is not one that adequately fits into any square or any circle. So it is a difficult task for the Prime Minister for the Government to set down and on paper, but it is one we accept as important and a positive step in our governance structure,” said Charles Jr.

“The job description is an effort for us to chronicle, as best as possible, what we do. But it will not sufficiently, in my view…put down on paper all that we are called to do,” he further noted.

The Minister added that the job description will help define the parameters of duties for Ministers, provide a template that helps people who wish to enter the field what their responsibilities will be, and ensure citizens understand the responsibilities and focus of the Government.

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