By Warren Bertram
Director at National Integrity Action Professor Trevor Munroe says the power of impeachment would have to be included in the Constitution for it to be exercised on a public official.
Professor Munroe was responding to a submission by Member of Parliament Everald Warmington to the Joint Select Committee on the Integrity Act.
Mr. Warmington called for changes that would allow for the Executive Director or a Commissioner of the Integrity Commission to be impeached if found to be in dereliction of duty or to have brought the office into disrepute.
But Professor Munroe says bills that allow for impeachment to be included in the Constitution have been brought before the Houses of Parliament over the last 15 years but none has been put into law, including the most recent bill brought by Opposition Leader Mark Golding in 2021.
"That bill should be brought forward, debated and incorporated into the Constitution of Jamaica. With appropriate amendments, this would allow the citizens of Jamaica as well as other public officials to initiate an impeachment proceeding against a member of the Senate, a member of the House or any other public official. That is what is required and that is what should be done in relation to impeachment of public officials," he suggested.
