Supreme Court to hear case of interdicted women"s bureau head today

Monday, September 29, 2014 | 9:21 AM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Faith Webster, the interdicted head of the Bureau of Women’s Affairs, is to appear in the Supreme Court today for a first hearing into her challenge of the decision to remove her from office.

Webster was removed from office pending a hearing before the Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding the finding of an internal audit of the Government-run agency.

Webster, who had been appointed executive director of the agency in 2008, filed action in the Supreme Court in March, seeking judicial review of the decision to place her on interdiction.

She’s claiming that the process of her interdiction was in breach of natural justice as she did not get an opportunity to respond to claims made against her.

Webster has named Okina Miller, the permanent secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister, and the Public Service Commission as defendants.

The embattled Webster was interdicted by way of letter from Miller on February 7. The letter followed two meetings on February 4 to discuss the audit report.

There was also a meeting on February 10, but Webster is claiming this to be a “sham” as it was clear from the February 7 letter that the permanent secretary had made a decision that Webster should be interdicted. Webster has also claimed that no reasons were given for the interdiction and the cutting of her salary by a half.

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Supreme Court to hear case of interdicted women"s bureau head today

Former head of Women's Bureau granted leave to challenge charges

Former Executive Director of  the Bureau of  Women’s Affairs, Faith Webster, has been granted leave by the Supreme Court, to challenge the decision of  the Public Service Commission (PSC) to bring charges against her.
Justice Bryan Sykes granted leave on Friday following an application by Webster’s attorney, Douglas Leys.
Webster was interdicted three weeks ago by the PSC, following an internal audit which accused her of  failing to perform her duties.
The Office of  the Prime Minister (OPM) recommended that disciplinary action be laid against her following the internal audit.
Thirteen charges have been laid against her by the Commission.She has now applied to the Supreme Court to quash the charges.

Sykes also granted her a stay, blocking the PSC from taking any further disciplinary action against her, until the challenge is heard by the Full Court.

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Former head of Women"s Bureau granted leave to challenge charges

Bureau of Standards issues recall on JSW fans

The Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) has issued an immediate recall of a shipment of standing and wall fans, under the brand name JSW due to a safety hazard.

The fans bear the model numbers: JF-87; JF-822; JF-88; JF-865FR and JWF-86.

In a release on Saturday , the BSJ said, during tests,the fans were severely burnt as a result of the absence of a thermal fuse to regulate the heat generated while in operation.
The fans were imported by Norinco International Limited.

The BSJ is advising persons in possession of the fans, to immediately stop using them, and return them to the point of purchase.
Any adverse reactions should be reported to the Consumer Affairs Commission.

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Bureau of Standards issues recall on JSW fans