‘My conscience is free’ - Dirk Harrison set to depart from Integrity Commission

The nightmare haunting the Integrity Commission continues as the impending departure of one if its senior staffers has become the latest shock to jolt the anti-corruption body.

Dirk Harrison, acting director of corruption prosecutions at the commission, indicated in a letter to Governor General Sir Patrick Allen on August 4 that he would be proceeding on retirement effective September 1.

Harrison, who has been at the centre of controversies surrounding the commission, is adamant that it is the right time to leave.

Gleaner sources at the Integrity Commission said that up to press time yesterday, the commissioners were not in receipt of a formal letter indicating that Harrison is leaving his post.

But Harrison, in confirming his departure, said he was leaving the troubled commission with no regrets.

“The law permits me so to do and the timing is right,” Harrison told The Gleaner yesterday as he kept a tight lid on specific reasons.

People close to him said he had become frustrated about his non-appointment and how the commission was carrying out some of its public business.

Gleaner sources say that Harrison and the commissioners have not spoken in months as a rocky relationship exists between them.

When pressed yesterday, Harrison would not be drawn to speak about the relationship between him and the commissioners, headed by retired Justice Karl Harrison.

Harrison was appointed contractor general on February 25, 2013. The Office of the Contractor General was later subsumed into the Integrity Commission under the Integrity Commission Act 2017.

That statute, which took effect on February 22, 2018, abolished the post of contractor general, and in its place, created the post of director of corruption prosecutions, but Harrison was never appointed to the position. Instead, he was asked to act in the role on an interim basis.

In May, the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service gave the all-clear for the Integrity Commission to advertise and interview individuals for positions within the body whose substantive posts were subsumed when the new integrity legislation came into effect in 2018. Among the positions was that of director of corruption prosecutions.

Asked whether he thought the Integrity Commission was living up to its mandate, Harrison said, “My grandmother taught me that if you have nothing good to say, say nothing at all.”

In June, Harrison said Jamaica’s anti-corruption strategies were ineffective, lamenting that the country runs the risk of suffering reputational damage unless decisive action is taken.

Harrison informed The Gleaner yesterday that his pension from the Government is being processed. It was an issue raised by the commission as the primary reason why Harrison had been acting for so long.

“I sent in the letter yesterday (Tuesday) to the Integrity Commission for that process to commence, so over to them. I trust that the CEO is acting on it. It has been sent to the office, and it has been brought to his attention, so I trust he is giving it attention.

“I would say this, my pension has nothing whatsoever to do with the commissioners. That doesn’t concern them. They came after,” Harrison said.

At a press conference in May, Karl Harrison said that the commission would not be seeking to cause Harrison to lose some of his benefits, such as pension and emoluments related to his former role as contractor general, as a result of new work with the commission.

Harrison, an attorney-at-law, told The Gleaner yesterday that he had no immediate plans for the future.

“I am living by the Lord – one day at a time, sweet Jesus. I am not afraid or worried about decisions that I made thinking that there are consequences. One day at a time. My conscience is free,” he said.

romario.scott@gleanerjm.com