ECJ Chairman Expresses Confidence in Management of EOJ

Chairman of the Electoral Commission of Jamaica (ECJ), Professor Errol Miller, is expressing confidence in the ability of the current management of the Electoral Office of Jamaica (EOJ), to advance the ECJ’s work.
A new Director of Elections, Orrett Fisher, was selected from a pool of applicants to fill the position, previously held by Danville Walker, current Commissioner of Customs. Mr. Fisher was appointed on November 1, 2008.
Mr. Fisher, who has been with the EOJ for 14 years, previously served as Assistant Director, in charge of Administration.
Other members of the senior management team are: Earl Simpson, who Professor Miller informed, has been promoted to Deputy Director, with responsibility for Field Operations, and Valerie Smith, Assistant Director, in charge of Information Systems.
Speaking at a media briefing, at the ECJ’s New Kingston offices, on February 4, Professor Miller indicated that the organisation’s members are satisfied with the selection and appointment of the new Director, and team.
“We are happy that, when we went through the processes, the best candidates came from within the organisation. Although we have suffered the great loss of Mr. Danville Walker, and recognise the great work he had done, what we have in place is a very competent team, capable of carrying forward the work of the Commission. That is reflected in the appointments that we have made, and the transition has been smooth,” the Chairman argued.
On another matter, Professor Miller said members of the ECJ and the EOJ’s management team, went into a two-day retreat last week, during which they explored and discussed a range of matters on how they could best equip themselves to better serve the country.
“We sat down for two days and looked at various areas. We looked at a strategic plan for the next 30 years, where we should be at the end of that period, things that we have to put in place immediately, things that we have to do in the medium term, things that we need to do in the long term, to improve our effectiveness, increase our efficiency, and become more independent, in some ways, by relieving the public purse of some of the costs. We looked at all of those measures, and now we are going to start work on that. Because, previously, we just looked at the organisation in terms of what was needed to mount the next election. But, we haven’t looked at the long term,” Professor Miller said.