KINGSTON, Jamaica — The long anticipated debate on the Major Organised Crime & Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA) Bill will commence in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

“I will be opening the debate on the MOCA Bill on Tuesday,” Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the media, in response to a question about the progress of the Bill, at his quarterly media briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday.

Holness tabled the Bill during his 2017/18 Budget Debate presentation in March, noting that it is designed to transform the body into an elite law-enforcement and investigative agency, operating independently of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

He said that this move forms part of the government’s ‘Plan, Secure Jamaica’ initiative, which is aimed at fostering “peace and prosperity” by tackling challenges associated with crime, violence and poverty.

In August 2014, the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) and the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Task Force were merged to form The Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA). MOCA is now an elite agency which focuses on tackling corruption in the public sector and bringing high-value criminal targets to justice.

MOCA’s goals are to: tackle serious organised crime and to stamp out corruption in Jamaica; focus on bringing high-value criminal targets to justice; to improve governance and security in Jamaica through tackling serious transnational organised crime in all its forms; and to provide deterrence.

Balford Henry