FOUR members of the Public Service Commission (PSC) whose term expired on March 31 were reappointed on Sunday with their first task being to appoint an acting Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The Jamaica Observer has confirmed that retired public servant Patricia Sinclair McCalla was retained in her role as chairman of the PSC.

McCalla, who once headed the Public Sector Transformation Unit in the Office of the Cabinet, also served as permanent secretary to three prime ministers during a period of exceptional service as a public servant.

The others reappointed to the PSC are Bishop Herro Blair, Brenda Cuthbert, and Professor Denise Eldemire-Shearer.

Attorney-at-law Rose Bennett Cooper was the only member not reappointed and it is not yet clear if she will be replaced. Under the constitution a quorum of the PSC is three members.

“The four members were given the immediate task to nominate an acting DPP and they fulfilled their mandate by recommending Senior Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Claudette Thompson for the job.

“Their recommendation was approved by the governor general who immediately made the appointment, which has since been gazetted,” said an Observer source.

News that the term of the PSC had expired was made public on Sunday via a release from Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

“The current absence of a Public Service Commission, whose term was negligently allowed to expire on March 31, 2024 without a new PSC being put in place to ensure seamless public administration is a significant oversight by the Government that could hinder ongoing public services, including the critical appointment of an acting DPP,” warned Golding.

But Justice Minister Delroy Chuck was quick to counter as he announced that a new PSC would be in place in time to appoint the acting DPP by Monday.

The PSC is designed as an independent and impartial body charged with the responsibility of dealing with matters relating to the appointment, removal and exercise of disciplinary control in respect of public officers.