Minister of Governance Raphael Trotman is expected to present a draft code of conduct for government ministers and other public office holders at today’s Cabinet meeting even as the ministers have been operating under a temporary code drafted by President David Granger.
In response to questions from Stabroek News on Sunday, Trotman said he was mandated by Cabinet last week to prepare a draft which has been completed.
The code of conduct was promised by the coalition government which had set itself to get it done within the first 100 days in office.
In the plan it was promised that the Code of Conduct would be established for parliamentarians, ministers and others holding high positions in public office to abide by and this would include mechanisms for demitting office if in violation of the code.
The minister said that the code would be made public at the end of the 100 days.
According to Trotman, in completing the code of conduct the government is looking at several models including from the United Kingdom and Canada where ministers and members of parliaments found themselves in difficulty with spending. Models in other Commonwealth countries will also be looked at.
Meanwhile, the minister said that President Granger issued a code at the end of May “which we are already operating under so for now we are simply expanding on it.” That code has not been made public.
