High-profile MPs miss 'IMF committee' sittings

ATTENDANCE RECORDS provided by the Houses of Parliament indicate that many legislators are regularly absent from the sittings of two committees considering important issues which will underpin any agreement between Jamaica and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The committees in question are the Special Select Committee of the House of Representatives which considered and reported on the Green Paper on tax reform and the Joint Select Committee considering options for the reform of public sector pension system.

Tax and pension reform are critical elements of any IMF agreement. The tax committee, which was chaired by Finance Minister, Dr Peter Phillips, has already completed its work and has sent a report to the House for consideration.

In the case of the tax committee, four of the 10 members have failed to attend at least 50 per cent of the meetings. They are Industry, Investment and Commerce Minister, Anthony Hylton; Transport Works and Housing Minister, Dr Omar Davies; Opposition Spokesman on Tourism, Edmund Bartlett; and Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Audley Shaw.

The pension committee, which is still sitting, has had four meetings between April 18 and July 12. However, three members of the committee have not yet attended a meeting. They are Senators Dr Christopher Tufton and Norman Grant, and government minister, Dr Morais Guy.

Senator Imani Duncan-Price and Dr Omar Davies have only attended one meeting.

Attendance at meetings of the Special Select Committee on tax reform

Attendance at meetings of the Joint Select Committee on public sector pension reform