JAMP launches digital accountability trackers for public bodies

The Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal is rolling out digital accountability tools aimed at helping the public track whether government entities are meeting commitments made after the budget process and across key sectors.

JAMP says the system is intended to strengthen confidence in public bodies by showing how agencies comply with governance requirements set out in law. Chairperson Carol Narcissis said effectiveness, integrity and accountability in public institutions are not just governance concepts, but issues that shape citizens' daily lives.

Former Prime Minister Orrett Bruce Golding backed the value of public scrutiny, saying monitoring government is important. He also cautioned that oversight groups should not expect public officials to welcome such checks without resistance. "Public officials do not instinctively embrace, oversight, and monitoring," Golding said.

Executive Director Janette Calder said the new accountability tracker will give users a profile of each public body, its compliance level, main compliance findings and the indicators used to assess performance. She said the platform will identify the head of the agency, the board chair, the responsible minister and the accounting officer as the key persons tied to accountability.

Calder said the indicators include board composition, governance arrangements, audit and internal controls, reporting and compliance, as well as ethics and conduct.

JAMP plans to refresh the database each year. The Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica said that timeline depends on government officials responding when they are written to, so the tracker can reflect the most current information available.

Narcissis said JAMP does not create the data it publishes, but relies on public sources. She said that makes the exercise challenging, particularly where ministries must answer access-to-information requests, but she described the work as an ongoing update process.