The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Alliance for Change (AFC) has called on the government of which it is part to “establish the Integrity Commission as a matter of urgent national priority”.
The call was issued in a statement on Monday following the meeting of the NEC over the weekend. Eyebrows will be raised by the call as it will question the AFC’s own effectiveness in the governing coalition. Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, the highest ranked AFC member in the coalition has had responsibility for governance issues such as the Integrity Commission and the Code of Conduct for government officials. Both of these were to be in place within months of the APNU+AFC government coming to office in May, 2015 but action is still to be taken.
In March this year, the PM defended his planned inclusion of the code of conduct for MPs and senior public officers in an amended Integrity Act and the process was to have moved forward.
Under the former PPP/C government, the Integrity Commission had not functioned properly since early 2006 when its then Chairman resigned. Two and a half years of the APNU+AFC government in office has also not produced an Integrity Commission or the code of conduct.
The AFC statement on Monday also says that the party remains fully committed to executing its role in advancing constitutional reform. This area has also seen little progress though APNU+AFC had promised in their manifesto that there would be significant developments three months after taking office.
