FINSAC victims turn up the pressure

Victims of the 1990s financial sector crash and their supporters have embarked on a campaign to press the government to facilitate the completion of the FINSAC Commission of Enquiry report.

The Association of FINSAC'd Entrepreneurs and advocacy group - Friends of the FINSAC Commission of Enquiry - have teamed up to host a series of pubic fora to highlight the devastation experienced by dozens of business owners.

The FINSAC commission was set up to examine the 1990s financial sector meltdown marked by a period of high inflation and sky-rocking interest rates.

The groups held their first meeting at Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Saturday, where they demanded that the government provide the necessary funds for the commission to complete its work.

Despite ending its sittings in 2011, the Commission is yet to furnish a report.

The lobby groups say this is unacceptable.

In the recently tabled Supplementary Estimates of Expenditure the government allocated only $4 million to the Commission.

Attorney at law Kent Gammon says given that scores of businesses suffered during the 1990s meltdown, the government has a duty to ensure that any injustice is uncovered and the perpetrators prosecuted.

At the same time, Gammon has blasted the FINSAC Commissioners for what he claims is their lack of urgency to produce their report.

He says the commissioners have sat idly for more than a year and have not produced an interim report despite being paid with taxpayer’s money.

The attorney says under the law, commissioners of an enquiry are duty bound to complete their work.

The FINSAC lobby groups will also be holding public fora in Manchester, St James and St Thomas.

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