KINGSTON, Jamaica — Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Economy and Production Committee (EPC) Karl Samuda says that the issue of banking fees will be a priority for the committee when it resumes meetings on Tuesday at Gordon House.

“Having made such a public issue of it, we have to make it a priority,” Samuda told the Observer, Thursday.

The committee has been charged with reviewing and reporting to the House on South St Catherine MP Fitz Jackson’s motion on the controversial fees commercial banks are charging customers.

Jackson’s motion has asked the House to require the Bank of Jamaica to submit to the committee a report on fees charged by financial institutions, including credit unions, as at October 31, 2013, within 60 days. It also asked that the committee meet within 45 days to commence an evaluation of that report and make recommendations on steps to regulate the fees.

The motion was passed in mid-November and the delay since then has knocked Jackson’s timeline out of sync. But, Samuda says he will be putting it back on track Tuesday.

The committee had previously been looking at possible improvements to the Praedial Larceny Act. There is a suggestion to combine the Agricultural Produce Act and the Praedial Larceny Prevention Act. The Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries says it will be putting forward proposals for the amendment of the Agricultural Produce Act to make it much easier for handlers of agricultural produce to be properly licensed and registered.

Two other parliamentary committees — the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) and the Joint Select Committee review the performance of INDECOM — will also meet on Wednesday at Gordon House. These are the first meetings of parliamentary committees since the Christmas break.