GOVERNMENT OF JAMAICA Attorney General’s Sectoral Presentation 2016 Hon. Marlene Malahoo Forte, QC, MP Attorney General of Jamaica GORDON HOUSE 2016 July 05
TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Paragraphs 1. Constituency Affairs ……………………………………………… 1- 11 2. Role and Functions of Attorney General and Attorney General’s Chambers…………………………………… 12- 30 • Primary Roles • Structures of Attorney General’s Chambers • Divisions 3. Other Functions…………………………………………………… 31-34 4. Proposed Centralization of Legal Services……………………… 35-38 5. Paucity of Resources……………………………………………… 39-40 6. Accommodation…………………………………………………… 41 7. Judgment Debts………………………………………………….. 42-47 8. Attempts to reduce Government’s liabilities……………………… 48-49 8. Life in the Chambers………………………………………………. 50-52 9. Proposed Legislative Reform Measures to address murder problem……..……………………………………………. 53-59 by the Attorney General – 2016 July 5 – 1 SECTORAL PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT
Mr Speaker- 1. In making my maiden presentation to the Sectoral Debate, I congratulate you on your elevation to the presiding chair. Permit me to also congratulate each Member, on both sides, on his or her election, whether for the first time or a subsequent occasion. As a newcomer, I must say how pleased I am that in spite of the efforts to keep me in Other Place (Senate) where I served for two terms, here I am in This Place (the House of Representatives). 2. I deem it a privilege and honour to stand as the proud Member from St James West Central. Through you, I welcome those constituents, including my Councillor Caretakers from the three Electoral Divisions of Spring Garden, Granville and Mount Salem, who have taken the trip over, to be present in the gallery; and I also greet those who are watching or listening from elsewhere. I am very grateful to the hard- working team, who gave so generously of their time and resources to ensure my presence here. 3. While I will not, on this occasion, name each team member, I want to especially thank the Honourable Member from St James North West- Minister Horace Chang, who guided me to the constituency and who continues to provide invaluable support. I want to thank former Prime Minister Bruce Golding who helped me in the campaign and who, by recruiting me to political service in 2009, effectively added me to the pool of candidates for this place. I also want to thank Ms Ann Marie Chin, who took the leap of faith with me to St James West Central and whom the constituents dub their deputy MP . Mr Speaker- 4. I thank the Almighty God, who began this work in me and Who, I know, is faithful to complete it. In, so doing, I acknowledge the many companions He has sent me on the journey. My family, including my circle of very close friends, continue to safeguard me. My husband- the Hon. Justice Ian Forte, O.J., is an exceptional man. His enduring love, unwavering support and wise counsel help to enable me, every single day. 5. In the past, the St James West Central Constituency has swung between the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and the Opposition Party in choosing their Member of Parliament. In entrusting their representation to me now, they have expressed their prior dis- appointments, as well as their current expectations. While the constituents and I continue to reason together, to renegotiate some of those expectations, I have given them my commitment to do the job they have elected me to do. At the same time, I have made it clear to them that I will not help them by doing for them what they should do for themselves. However, I will always work in their best interest. I will work across political and other divides. For those who do not share my sense by the Attorney General – 2016 July 5 – 2 SECTORAL PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT
of private morality, I will still represent their concerns at the decision-making tables. I will do everything in my power to leave them better than I found them. And, I am here to represent all of them, not just those who voted for me or support my Party. 6. While I have been in the constituency every week since being elected, I am yet to re-visit every community I campaigned in. I am thankful, though, that so many have graciously shown me their kind understanding. They appreciate that having elected me as part of government, I am further entrusted with additional responsibilities of a very technical nature, critical to the proper and efficient functioning of the gov- ernment. Those who want to see me every day in the constituency are beginning to realize that I have to maintain a presence in Kingston where the seat of government is located and where the decisions are made on their issues. 7. Last week Saturday (July 2, 2016) when I was in the constituency, I went to the New Ramble community of the Spring Garden Division. I cannot fully describe how grief stricken I was while there. The night before, gunmen went on a shooting rampage, wounding nine, three of them, fatally so, including a student of the St James High School. What I saw and what was relayed to me by residents, coupled with the other brutal killings in Saint James and across the island, tell me that we are at that point where ‘enough is enough’. 8. Here is the simple truth: Our beloved island home can no longer afford the high and increasing cost of the crime problem. We have to cut it. The people of Jamaica cannot prosper with this high murder rate. Businesses cannot make the kind of profits they should, with this high murder rate. The government cannot fulfill its commitment to grow the economy and create jobs with this high murder rate. We have to do something about it. It is not beyond us to find the will and the way. 9. Later in this presentation, I will share some of the steps this Andrew-Holness-led Government will take in short order, I want all Jamaicans, at home and abroad, and all friends of Jamaica, to understand that it will not be business as usual. While we fully appreciate the help of our international partners, we do not intend to continue to posture ourselves on bended knees, begging, while being scoffed at. We intend to rise to our feet and take back our country. 10. The composition of this Parliament is instructive. It provides us with an unprecedented opportunity to co-operate more than we compete. I want our supporters outside of the Parliament to understand what that means. Every jack man, woman, boy and girl, has a role to play. We must own the problems and work together to implement meaningful solutions, while shunning partisan upmanship. 11. I want to assure the people of Saint James West Central that at the constituency level, I will work with my predecessor in the office of Member of Parliament, or whomever caretakes on behalf of the supporters of the Opposition Party. I will by the Attorney General – 2016 July 5 – 3 SECTORAL PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT
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