ANXIOUS WAIT

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR of the Integrity Commission (IC), Greg Christie, says if the controversial recommendations made by a Government lawmaker to a joint select committee reviewing the IC law are accepted by Parliament they will curtail the functional effectiveness of the anti-corruption body.

In the annual report of the IC, Christie said that the Government lawmaker, who sits on the joint select committee reviewing the IC law, proposed several controversial measures to amend the parent legislation.

In what was an unprecedented development in March, St Catherine South West Member of Parliament Everald Warmington made a wide-ranging submission to the joint select committee examining the IC legislation. The Government MP is a member of the committee.

Among the recommendations that raised eyebrows were the removal of the auditor general as a commissioner of the IC; pulling the plug on the prosecutorial powers of the IC and reverting it to the director of public prosecutions and shutting down the powers of the anti-corruption body to request information on statutory declarations pre-dating the promulgation of the law in 2017.

Further, Warmington wants Section 55(5) of the IC Act scrapped, which provides parliamentary privilege to the commission when it submits its reports of investigation to Parliament.

In his remarks outlined in the IC’s annual report, which was tabled on Tuesday in Parliament, Christie also raised what he called a “what if” concern, regarding the potential for a conflict of interest, which needs to be openly discussed in the public interest.

He said the concern relates to the question of what should happen if a parliamentarian who sits on the joint select committee reviewing the IC law, or the IC Parliament Oversight Committee, should become the subject of an investigation by the anti-corruption body.

“He/she would know, and the IC would know, but the public would not know, about the ongoing investigation, unless the official makes a voluntary public disclosure about it, and recuses himself/herself from the deliberations of the committee,” he said.

However, Christie reminded the public that the IC is gagged by Section 53(3) of the IC law from disclosing who it is investigating.

Last month the question was raised as to whether Warmington was being investigated by Jamaica’s single anti-corruption body following remarks he made at a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) meeting.

The question arose after the Government MP revealed at a JLP meeting that the Integrity Commission had written to him requesting more information on one of the statutory declarations he submitted in the past.

Warmington said he responded to the commission by sending a copy of a letter that the chairman of the commission, Retd Justice Seymour Panton, signed for the year in question for which additional information was being sought. He indicated that the commission signalled that year that his income, assets and liabilities were “in order”.

However, Warmington complained that despite his response, the commission wrote to him requesting more information.

“All I do is just send the letter to them because I not tekking that nonsense from any of dem,” he declared, while addressing Labourites at a JLP Region 2 Conference at Riversdale in St Catherine in June.

And the commission reported that it appeared twice before the joint select committee considering the IC Act and made 18 recommendations for amendment to the legislation and other associated laws.

“The commission hopes that the Parliament will find good favour with its recommendations, many of which are supported by civil society. It, therefore, continues to anxiously await the Parliament’s response.”

In his remarks, Christie also highlighted that the Integrity Commission Parliament Oversight Committee only met twice for the parliamentary year 2021/2022.

“Unfortunately, however, the committee did worse in this past year. It had just a single meeting which, incidentally, was hurriedly convened, on March 29, 2023, to consider a controversial investigation report that was tabled in the House of Representatives on February 14, 2023,” he said.

The primary responsibility of the IC Parliament Oversight Committee, as is stated in the 5th Schedule of the IC law, is “monitoring and reviewing the performance of the functions of the IC”.

“The IC is, therefore, concerned that, in the absence of regular meetings of this vital committee, its work will not be showcased for transparency, public scrutiny or public education,” he added.

editorial@gleanerjm.com