KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s fiscal commissioner has stated that the law allows the Independent Fiscal Commission (IFC) to publish its Economic and Fiscal Assessment Report after it has been submitted to Parliament, clarifying procedures after questions were raised by lawmakers last week.

The clarification follows discussions at a meeting of Parliament’s Standing Finance Committee on March 5, where some parliamentarians questioned the Commission’s authority to release the report before it was formally tabled in the Parliament.

Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams said the Independent Fiscal Commission Act, 2021, permits the publication of reports on the Commission’s website once they have been submitted to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate.

Section 15(6) of the Act requires the commissioner to submit reports to the heads of both chambers before publication. The provision states that the report should then be laid on the tables of the respective Houses as soon as possible.

The Commission said its latest Economic and Fiscal Assessment Report was submitted to Parliament on March 3 and published on the IFC’s website the same day.

The Independent Fiscal Commission serves as the oversight body for Jamaica’s fiscal responsibility framework and provides independent analysis of the government’s fiscal policies and economic projections.

Williams said the Commission will continue to publish its reports once they have been formally submitted to Parliament, in keeping with the requirements of the legislation.