Bunting Claims Fiscal Commissioner May Not Have Been Paid Since Swearing in

Leader of Opposition Business in the Upper House, Senator Peter Bunting, is raising an alarm about the remuneration of the country’s Fiscal Commissioner Courtney Williams.

Speaking in the Senate on Friday, Mr. Bunting says information he’s received suggests Mr. Williams has potentially not been receiving a salary since his appointment.

Robian Williams tells us more.

Mr. Williams was sworn in on March 3, 2023, as Jamaica’s first fiscal commissioner.

According to Mr. Bunting, Mr. Williams may not have received a salary since that date.

The fiscal commissioner heads the Independent Fiscal Commission. The commission is the body intended to monitor the government’s adherence to fiscal rules.

It’s anticipated that it will replace the Economic Programme Oversight Committee, EPOC, which served at the outset of Jamaica’s Economic Reform Programme in 2012.

Mr. Williams previously served as permanent secretary in the Ministry of National Security.

Mr. Bunting says a row has also developed between Mr. Williams and the Ministry of Finance.

The Leader of Opposition Business says the matter has now been sent to the Attorney General by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Juliet Holness.

However, he remains unconvinced that Mrs. Holness will adhere to whatever legal opinion is provided.