Uproar over publication of EFAR before tabling in Parliament

Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams has sought to defend the publishing of an economic and fiscal assessment report (EFAR) on the Independent Fiscal Commission’s (IFC) website before the document was tabled in Parliament.

There was consternation among members of parliament (MPs) at the start of last Thursday’s sitting of the Standing Finance Committee over the publication of the EFAR by the media without the report being first tabled in the Lower House.

The media had accessed the report from the website of the IFC after it was uploaded by the independent body on March 3, subsequent to it being dispatched to Gordon House.

The fiscal commissioner has the task of monitoring Jamaica’s fiscal rules and providing an independent assessment of budgetary outcomes, in addition to independent analysis.

In a statement on Sunday, the fiscal commissioner observed that during the meeting of the Standing Finance Committee on March 5, discussions among parliamentarians revealed “obvious unawareness and misunderstandings” by some parliamentarians regarding the commission’s authority to publish the EFAR.

Williams has pointed out that the Independent Fiscal Commission Act, 2021, empowers the commissioner to share any of his reports publicly through the commission’s website, once the report has been submitted to Parliament.

Julian Robinson, opposition spokesman on finance, wanted the EFAR tabled so that the contents of the report could be discussed by the Standing Finance Committee.

“While it may be in the public domain through other means, to my certain knowledge the commissioner would have sent it to Parliament. It should not be that [MPs] rely on the media or other ways to find out what is in that report,” Robinson said last Thursday.

UP IN ARMS

In a sharp response, Finance and the Public Service Minister Fayval Williams said: “The IFC should not be out there in the media talking about it before it was laid in Parliament.”

Emphasising her point, Williams said: “Eeh, Nesta (in reference to Robert Nesta Morgan), he (Courtney Williams) shouldn’t be out there in the media talking about it.”

Heroy Clarke, chairman of the Standing Finance Committee, was also up in arms over the publication of the ICF document before its tabling in Parliament.

“Member, it is unfortunate that you make mention of it being out there in John Public domain before it is even tabled here,” Clarke contended.

However, Courtney Williams, a career public servant who spearheaded the development and implementation of Jamaica’s Fiscal Responsibility Framework, indicated that he only did what parliamentarians legislated.

The fiscal commissioner highlighted Section 15 (6) of the IFC Act, 2021, which states, “ Prior to the publication of any report on the official website of the Fiscal Commission, in accordance with this section, the Fiscal Commissioner shall ensure that the report is submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate, who shall, as soon as possible, upon receipt of said report, have it laid on the table of the respective Houses.”

MANDATORY

As the independent oversight body for Jamaica’s Fiscal Responsibility Framework, the commissioner said his agency is mandated to operate with transparency to ensure the public is well informed about the nation’s fiscal operations.

The latest EFAR was submitted to the Parliament on March 3 and subsequently published on the IFC’s website on that date.

According to the fiscal commissioner, the authority to publish his reports and engage the public unencumbered is a critical pillar of his independence and transparency, ensuring he is “not ... subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority” in the execution of his duties, as provided for in Section 13 (1) of the act.

He said all reports, once submitted to Parliament, will continue to be made available immediately to the public via the commission’s website, www.ifc.gov.jm, to foster an environment of fiscal transparency and accountability.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com