The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) yesterday fired a shot across the bow of the State by expressing unease with what it said was an “increasing number of allegations of impropriety in the affairs of statutory boards” as well as “what appears to be a drift away from the emphasis on good governance, accountability and transparency that was a welcome direction in recent times”.

In fact, the PSOJ, in a news release, pointed specifically to two State agencies — National Housing Trust (NHT) and Petrojam — as it reminded the Government that the country “has made too many sacrifices, and come too far on the road to mature nationhood to stray from the path of good governance”.

According to the PSOJ, it has received reports suggesting that the NHT “appears to be in danger of drifting from its normally high standards of governance”.

As such, the lobby group urged the minister of finance and the public service to urgently “facilitate the appointment of a fully qualified chairman to the board of the NHT”, as it is an institution of “great importance” to the country.

The PSOJ also noted that disturbing questions have been raised in Parliament regarding certain transactions and decisions which are alleged to have taken place under the purview of the board of Petrojam. In addition, it said it has received reports regarding decisions taken by statutory boards which are in transition because of ministerial reassignments.

“In a previous release we had reminded the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service and the Cabinet of the need to attend to the selection of appropriate and qualified members to some 52 boards which were due for appointment, and encouraged the new minister of finance and public service to speedily attend to the rationalisation of the approximately 192 existing boards, many of which could be characterised as dysfunctional or irrelevant to our current paradigm,” the PSOJ said.

“We urge the Cabinet to ensure that ministers, in recommending board appointments, use the Competency Profile Instrument for boards of public bodies which was approved by it in January 2017 as a primary tool for identifying directors with the requisite skills, integrity and attributes that will add value to the oversight of public bodies, which entities are guardians of large portions of the public purse,” the PSOJ said.

Last week, Opposition parliamentarian Julian Robinson charged that Petrojam was making donations to politically connected parties and raised questions about the viability of the oil refinery.

In response, Energy Minister Dr Andrew Wheatley said that his constituency benefited from $19 million of the $65 million in donations Petrojam made to six constituencies last year. However, he insisted that the donations to a primary school and community centre in his constituency were not influenced by him.

Yesterday, the PSOJ said it was reminding all directors of statutory boards that their actions are governed by the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act and should be guided by the Corporate Governance Framework for Public Sector Bodies as published on the Ministry of Finance and Public Service’s website.

The PSOJ also said it would be “keenly monitoring developments” in the agencies as they occur.