KINGSTON, Jamaica – A series of townhalls are being planned to engage members of the public as an outlet for them to share their opinions on the job descriptions being developed for members of the political directorate.

The idea was proposed by Member of Parliament (MP) for St Elizabeth South West Floyd Green on Tuesday, at a sitting of the joint select committee examining the green paper on job descriptions for MPs.

“You know, I wonder chair and I put it out there, whether we should find some time to have public engagement on the job descriptions. You know, some years ago, even before I came into political office, I was a part of a process where a joint select committee at the time decided to have townhall meetings and engage the public directly to hear from them,” said Green.

“I think it’s very important that we get the public’s view on what they believe the role of an MP should be or ought to be because ultimately they judge, they decide. So, they really should play a part in telling us what they’re looking for. Whether it is that, for example, MPs need more autonomy, in relation to resources or less autonomy in relation to resources,” he added.

Accepting Green’s suggestion, the committee went on to explore venues and dates, with Jamaica College suggested as a potential venue for one of the sessions.

MP for St Andrew East Rural, Juliet Holness, used the occasion to share that the townhalls were an important step in the process of promoting greater transparency in government, as well as, could serve to improve public perceptions about the nation’s leaders.

“I take issue with us always seeming to be in a place, that we behave as if we are the worst of the worst. And we continue to feed the narrative in everything we do and say; and how we conduct our affairs. We must hold ourselves in high esteem and regard. And this process is actually a part of doing that, saying to the people, we are opening up ourselves to you, we want your input, and we want to be held accountable,”said Holness.

“ In my estimation, just the way we conduct even this session, the way we conduct our public meetings should send the signal as the start of holding our office as representatives of the people of Jamaica, in that high regard. We should not allow ourselves, in any way, to be tainted by the impression that we cannot be transparent. And we are not reasonable, accountable, judicious in how we execute our function,” added Holness.

In June 2023, Prime Minister Andrew Holness tabled job descriptions for Members of Parliament (MPs) and Cabinet Ministers in the House of Representatives in the form of a green and white paper, respectively.