Calder: PM's declarations holdup more pressing than illicit 6 probe

Accountability campaigner Jeanette Calder believes that while Justice Minister Delroy Chuck's concern about the time it was taking the Integrity Commission (IC) to conclude its probe into the alleged illicit enrichment of six parliamentarians is valid, his call for it to complete the investigation with dispatch is inappropriate.

Chuck urged the IC to complete its investigation into the so-called illicit six and nearly 30 public servants even as he observed that members of the public are asking “which six parliamentarians or which 28 public officials are being investigated”.

But less than an hour after Chuck pressed the commission to deliver a report on its probe to Parliament, the anti-corruption body on Tuesday submitted four fresh investigation reports with indicative rulings by the director of corruption prosecutions.

Responding to questions from The Gleaner, Calder, who is the executive director of the Jamaica Accountability Meter Portal (JAMP), said she shared the concerns of the justice minister. She noted that protracted delays in completing investigative reports are potentially injurious to Jamaica's reputation, its score on the Corruption Perception Index, and, consequently, its appeal to foreign investment.

“However, if Member Chuck is going to urge the commission to complete the reports on 'the six', and if, for the reasons provided, he is going to chide the commission for taking a year to clear up those allegations of illicit enrichment, we imagine that there is a greater burden on the member to express concerns about more-than-two-year wait for the prime minister's statutory declarations to be certified,” Calder pointed out.

“Whilst adverse speculations about six unnamed parliamentarians is and has been detrimental to public trust and governance, it pales in comparison to the deleterious conjecture, in and outside Jamaica about our leader of Government,” the head of JAMP argued.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness' statutory declarations for 2021 and 2022 are yet to be gazetted by the IC, which is a requirement under the law after certification.

At a November 8 press conference at Jamaica House, the prime minister said the IC had written to him asking various questions and that he has provided answers. However, he said that the IC wrote to him with additional questions and he was in the process of providing answers.

“I do hope to be able to respond to them before the end of this week,” he told journalists on November 8.

However, it is not known whether the prime minister has responded as promised.

NO SECOND-GUESSING

Calder noted that Integrity Commission Oversight Committee Chairman Edmund Bartlett exercised wisdom in suggesting that the committee should not second-guess the commission but allow it to "work with efficiencies that enable it to give its highest and best reports".

JAMP believes that to do otherwise could imply that the committee has already concluded that the commission lacks the capacity to adequately deploy and manage its resources to deliver on its mandate, Calder said.

In July this year, the IC revealed in its annual report that six lawmakers and 28 public officials are being probed for illicit enrichment.

Illicit enrichment arises under the IC Act when the person fails to explain or give a satisfactory reason for owning assets disproportionate to their lawful earnings.

The IC did not name any of the parliamentarians or public officials under investigation because the commission's governing legislation prohibits the commission from naming them until a report has been tabled in Parliament. The IC law also imposes significant fines on IC employees who breach the so-called gag clause.

“I urge the IC to report to Parliament as soon as possible if these persons have cleared up their matter and if they are not cleared up, investigate and report to Parliament as quickly as possible,” Chuck said during a meeting of the IC Oversight Committee in Gordon House on Tuesday.

The committee met to review investigation reports sent by the IC to Parliament of November 27, this year, relating to four employees of Petrojam who breached the Integrity Commission law by not submitting their statutory declarations.

“For me, it was a bit of disappointment when I sat in Parliament waiting for these four reports to come because the Integrity Commission released a press release to say that four reports are coming and will be tabled,” he said.

“To have these four reports just about not filing statutory declarations, to my mind, was like a squib,” he added.

According to Chuck, many lawmakers believed the reports “had to do with the illicit six”.

“It shouldn't be too difficult for the IC to demand responses from whoever those six persons are … ,” the senior Cabinet minister said.

In a news release yesterday, the IC said it anticipates that its latest reports, which were submitted on Tuesday in conformance with Section 54 of the IC law, will be tabled in both Houses of Parliament as soon as possible.

CORRUPTION PERCEPTION

In his comments during the IC Oversight Committee meeting, Chuck indicated that the commission has been allocated $1.5 billion this financial year to carry out its mandate.

“We want the IC to succeed, and success must be measured in how well the country is doing in stamping out corruption,” he said.

According to Chuck, an indicator of success in the fight against corruption was the rating the country received on Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

In January this year, Jamaica improved one place in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index country rankings. However, the country remains the fourth most corrupt state in the Caribbean.

Jamaica scored 44 on the CPI with a ranking of 69 out of 180 countries.

“It would be nice if the Integrity Commission could find ways and means to show how we are stamping out corruption, what measures are being used to stamp out corruption, because the present 44 is below 50,” he said.

In his message to mark International Anti-Corruption Day on December 9, Holness said that the IC has been steadfast in its commitment to combating corruption in Jamaica.

He said that the commemoration of International Anti-Corruption Day was an important reminder of the collective responsibility to foster a society free from the shackles of corruption.

Holness said that while the country had made significant strides as a politically independent state, “we could have achieved much more were it not for corruption in many forms”.

“Considering this, the work of the Integrity Commission is crucial. I am, therefore, pleased to note its work to expand public sensitisation programmes and improve investigative performance and technical proficiency, all of which represent a comprehensive approach to addressing corruption,” he said.

IC Chairman Justice (Ret'd) Seymour Panton said the anti-corruption body is seeking the cooperation of relevant state agencies and entities as corruption is not something that can be fought by it alone.

“I take this opportunity to urge everyone, holders of public offices and others, to give the commission their full support. It is not helpful for efforts to be made to damage the Integrity Commission,” he said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com