During his February 1, 2022 interview with the US-based VICE Media Group, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, in rejecting allegations of collecting bribes from Chinese businesses, invited the reporter to check his submissions to the Integrity Commission to determine whether he is corrupt or not.
However, he failed to acknowledge that the Commission is without commissioners one year after its previous Board expired.
The previous Integrity Commission board expired on February 21, 2021, and the process to appoint a new board commenced since last year. The former board comprised of former Magistrate and retired Land Court Judge Kumar Doraisami, who served as its Chair. The other members were attorney at law Rosemary Benjamin-Noble and pandit Rabindranath Persaud.
The Integrity Commission is the body that examines the asset statements of public officers in an attempt to maintain transparency and accountability in the public sector.
Last week, Stabroek News visited the Commission’s office, housed in the Guyana Securities Council building at Lot 34 King Street, Lacytown, Georgetown and was able to speak with a female employee who appeared to be the receptionist and she related that the Commission is functional but all queries must be submitted in writing.
When asked about whether the public can access the submissions of officials, the staffer related that she was unsure but sought clarity from Secretary of the Commission Dr Amanda Jaisingh.
Jaisingh, through the employee, related that in order to access the submissions of a public official, one must come with written permission from the submitter.
However, the glaring concern remains that the PPP/C government, one year after its expiration, is yet to reconstitute the commission.
Based on the Commission’s website as of December 31, 2021, out of 1523 expected declarations, 569 were received and 956 were outstanding. In 2020, 671 out of 1302 submissions were received and 631 public officials did not make their submissions.
In 2019 there were 775 defaulters while 445 public officials complied with the Act.
During a January 2022 interview with this newspaper, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira had said “We are still looking at names in that regard. I can’t say when it would be completed but I am hoping that it is sooner than later.”
“We are looking at suitable names and reach out (to the identified persons) because it is not a one-sided process where we name someone and they accept. We have to see if they are interested and want the job then take it from there,” Teixeira had explained.
Section 3(4) of the Integrity Commission Act specifies that the Chairman and other members shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Opposition Leader. Additionally, Section 4(1) of Act states “…the chairman or any other member shall be appointed for such period, being not less than one year, as may be specified by the President when appointing him; and the emoluments and other terms and conditions of appointment of the chairman and other members shall be such as may be determined by the President after consultation with the Minority Leader.”
With no Opposition Leader in place currently, the process for members to the Commission cannot be discharged. Additionally, the government had contended that while the Act speaks to consultation, it is not mandatory.
The Act also states that the “Chairman shall be a person who is or who was, or who is qualified to be, appointed as, a Puisne Judge of the High Court or any other fit and proper person. The other members shall be appointed from among persons appearing to the President to be qualified as having had experience of, and shown capacity in, law, administration of justice, public administration, social service, finance or accountancy or any other discipline.”
The Act mandates that the Commission discharge its functions without the interference of any person or authority. It mandates every person in public life to submit a declaration of their finances on or before June 30 every year or “where such person ceases to be a person in public life, within thirty days from the date on which the person ceases to be a person in public life”.
Section 13(3) states “A declaration under subsection (I) or (2) shall give full, true and complete particulars of the assets and liabilities as on the relevant date, and the income during a period of twelve months immediately prior to the relevant date, of the person filing the declaration (whether the assets were held by that person in his own name or in the name of any other person) and of the spouse and children of such person to the extent to which such person has knowledge of the same: Provided that as regards assets referred to in paragraph 2 in Form 2 it shall be sufficient to comply with the requirements regarding the description and value thereof as stated in paragraph 2.”
Under Doraisami’s tenure, the Commission publicized the names of those public officials who failed to submit their declarations.
