THE MONTHLY GLEANER | MARCH 9 - APRIL 8, 2023 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | NEWS 3 ONE OF the 13 provisions of the Constitution to be reviewed for Jamaica to become a Republic will include the Commonwealth qualifications to sit in Parliament. Speaking at the recent ministerial briefing hosted for diplomats at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Kingston, Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs Marlene Malahoo Forte said this matter is of particular importance to Jamaicans in the diaspora. “[There are Jamaicans in the diaspora] who feel that there are many nationals within the wider Commonwealth who are constitutionally eligible to sit as a parliamentarian, but who have taken up citizenship in the United States, which falls outside of the Commonwealth, and are barred from doing so,” she said. Minister Malahoo Forte said that she is looking forward to the “excitement around the discussion”. “When I served inmy ministerial role here at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and I had responsibility for diaspora affairs, that was one of the issues that were constantly raised, and I know that it remains on the agenda of diaspora issues and resolution with the Government,” she said. Meanwhile, the Government will also review the provision that speaks to the constitutional life of Parliament, which is currently five years and also the circumstances in which there could be a holdover. A holdover of Parliament involves the tenure of Parliament going beyond the dissolution date. Minister Malahoo Forte said that the Constitution prescribes a holdover of a maximum of 12 months if Jamaica is at war. “We have learnt that had we come to the full life of the Parliament during the COVID-19 pandemic and we were unable to hold the elections in the early phases when everything was uncertain, we would have found ourselves in a constitutional crisis of no mean order,” she said. “Coming out of the COVID-19 experience, we would have to expand the provision beyond a state of war to other calamities which would truly classify as the kind of emergencies that the international instruments facilitate suspension of your regular constitutional affairs,” the minister added. Other provisions to be reviewed include the composition of Parliament, which currently provides for a monarchy Senate and a House of Representatives, and provisions relating to qualifications to serve in both Houses and the number of senators and elected parliamentarians. THE UNITED Kingdom (UK)-based Kroll Associates is to provide forensic audit investigative services to the Financial Investigations Division (FID) in the entity’s probe of the Stocks and Securities Limited (SSL) matter. The development follows the signing of a Statement of Work by Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke, and representatives of Kroll on Tuesday, March 7. “Kroll will bring leading-edge technology that will support the FID in unravelling all aspects of this 13-year fraud and bringing co-conspirators and accomplices to justice,”Dr Clarke said, while opening the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives. The signing of the agreement with Kroll follows the minister writing to and collaborating with the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the UK. Dr Clarke noted that the British Government, which has long supported the FID, has offered to cover some of the initial costs of this engagement, with the Government of Jamaica providing the balance. Dr Clarke also implored Jamaicans not to jump to conclusions on the SSL matter but to await the outcome of the investigations. He said that a formidable team of highly capable local law enforcement professionals from multiple agencies supported by foreign investigative capacity is on the case.“The Government will not carry out this investigation. That is the work of the investigative authorities, but our policy directions are clear. We will get to the bottom of this matter, and we will continue to keep the people of Jamaica informed, whatever the outcome,”Dr Clarke pledged. UK-BASED ENTITY TO PROVIDE FORENSIC AUDIT SERVICES FOR SSL PROBE Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke WASHINGTON, CMC: MARGARETTE MAY Macaulay has been elected president of The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights’ (IACHR) 2023 board of directors. With the second historic allwoman board of directors and the first with all-women from the Caribbean and Central American countries, Roberta Clarke of Barbados has been elected as second vice president . The first vice president is Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño of Panama. Macaulay has served on the IACHR since 2016 and is in her second term. She is an attorney in private practice and a mediator in the Supreme Court of Jamaica. She was a judge of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights from 2007 to 2012. She is also an honourable member of the Legacy Wall for Gender Justice for women’s rights advocates, which has achieved significant changes and was launched in December 2017 at the United Nations in New York during the Assembly of Ministers. She is known as a strong advocate and reference for women’s rights. Clarke has been a member of the IACHR since January 2022. She led UNWomen Regional Offices in East and Southern Africa, Asia Pacific, the Caribbean and Libya. Prior to her career at the United Nations, she was a lawyer in Trinidad and Tobago. She has been involved in civil society at national and international levels. She is an activist for social justice and gender equality. The election of the board of directors takes place every year, on the first day of the first annual period of sessions in accordance with the Chapter 3 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure. The IACHR is composed of seven persons, with the other members being Joel Hernández, Julissa Mantilla, Stuardo Ralón Orellanda and Carlos Bernal. A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. Two Caribbean nationals on all-female IACHR board of directors Ja to review Commonwealth qualifications for Parliament Legal and Constitutional Affairs Minister Marlene Malahoo Forte addresses lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. KENYON HEMANS/ PHOTOGRAPHER ‘Kroll will bring leading-edge technology that will support the FID in unravelling all aspects of this 13-year fraud and bringing co-conspirators and accomplices to justice.”
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