Special prosecutor to cover all sectors

LEADER OF Government Business in the House of Representatives Andrew Holness says the Corruption Prevention (Special Prosecutor) Act is designed to capture corruption not only in the public sector but in the private sector or the Church, as long as it impacts the "public delivery of a service".

Speaking hypothetically, Holness argued that if the pastor of a church was "stealing" the tithes this would not fall under the provisions of the draft law. However, he said if the pastor was selling marriage certificates, he would be captured by the Special Prosecutor law.

"It is intended to capture everyone who acts in the name of a public institution or carries out a function that affects the public," Holness insisted.

"The purpose of this bill is not to deal with corruption solely in the classic definition of the civil service, parliamentarians or security forces," he added.

He was deliberating on the Corruption Prevention (Special Prosecutor) Act at the committee stage in Parliament on Tuesday.

wide definition

But Kingston Central Member of Parliament Ronald Thwaites is cautioning that the definition of public official in the proposed law is too wide and could scare off Jamaicans who wanted to play an active role in voluntary organisations.

"I fear that as presently drafted, it is going to kill volunteerism in this country, because persons who are paid or unpaid, people who are carrying out any function that this office thinks involves public concerns, is going to be caught by it and this is likely to be a grave deterrent to public service, which is unnecessary, in my respectful opinion, to deal with the instances of corruption that we wish to curb," Thwaites contended.

In the proposed law, public official is defined as any person who holds an executive or administrative office, whether appointed or elected, whether permanent or temporary or whether paid or unpaid. It also encompasses any other person who is employed to a public body or performs a public function.

The Corruption Prevention (Special Prosecutor) Act which was passed in the Upper House early this year is intended to establish the Office of Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute corrupt conduct of public officials, parliamentarians and private individuals.

The measure, which has hit several roadblocks in the House of Representatives, is still being examined at the committee stage.

If passed in the House, the proposed statute will replace the Corruption (Prevention) Act and the Parliament (Integrity of Members) Act.