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Poll: Publish politicians’ incomes, assets - Most J’cans want to see statutory declarations of police and others

Published:Tuesday | February 25, 2020 | 12:00 AM

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More than 60 per cent of Jamaicans want the statutory filings of parliamentarians, senior civil servants, and members of the security forces to be made public.

At the same time, 27 per cent of Jamaicans surveyed in the latest RJRGLEANER-commissioned Don Anderson poll are averse to the publication of the statutory filings of senior public servants, members of the security forces, and politicians.

In carrying out the survey, Anderson interviewed 1,038 persons between February 8 and 18. The margin of error is plus or minus three per cent.

The two-year-old Integrity Commission Act already makes it mandatory for the statutory declarations of the prime minister and leader of the Opposition to be gazetted.

For years Jamaicans have debated whether the statutory declarations of public officials should be revealed.

In 2014, then head of the Financial Investigations Division (FID), Justin Felice, declared that with public-sector corruption posing the biggest threat to Jamaica’s survival, the time had come for the statutory declarations of parliamentarians and other public officials to be made public.

At present, parliamentarians and public servants earning $3.5 million are required, under the Integrity Commission Act, to file statutory declarations with the anti-corruption oversight body.

When Anderson asked Jamaicans if they were satisfied with how Prime Minister Andrew Holness handled his statutory filings with the Integrity Commission, 35 per cent of respondents answered in the affirmative, while 33 per cent said ‘no’.

An almost equal number of Jamaicans shared dissimilar views on whether they were satisfied with how the leader of the Opposition handled his statutory filings with the anti-corruption oversight body. In fact, 32 per cent said ‘no’, while 31 per cent said ‘yes’.