Emphasising that the none of its parliamentarians are on the Integrity Commission’s list of defaulters, PPP General Secretary Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said that the party supports making public the names of all persons that fall into this category.
“We support the publication of all of the names of the people who are in default,” Jagdeo, also Vice-President, declared yesterday.
He noted that since an announcement by the Integrity Commission that some 17 MPs had not made declarations for 2022, as Party General Secretary and Vice President, he called Minister of Governance Gail Teixeira to inquire if any of the party’s parliamentarians were on that list.
“I called Gail Teixeira… she said to me that all of the PPP members of parliament had submitted.” He also pointed out that it would mean that “the 17 are from the other side.”
And since the PPP/C has made its position on the issue known, Jagdeo said that the Opposition should also be asked if they support the publishing of the names of defaulters as his party also supports whatever penalty is placed on the defaulters.
The Integrity Commission this week issued a warning to public officers who have not submitted their 2022 declarations.
In an advertisement in the state-owned Sunday Chronicle, the Commission said that for the year 2022, of the 1,491 specified public officers, only 663 persons had submitted. It said that 828 declarations are outstanding. This translates into delinquencies of 55.5% compared to 48% for 2021 based on figures supplied by the Commission.
Statutory declarations for 2022 were originally due on August 31, 2022 but an extension was granted up to December 31, 2022. Despite this, the number of persons not complying remains high.
Seventeen Members of Parliament are delinquent, 108 in ministries, 208 in the regions and 493 in agencies and departments.
The Commission said it is now preparing to take the next step in accordance with the Integrity Commission Act. As of February 2023, the Commission has sent out notices to several specified public officers for failure to file their declarations.
“The next step is, defaulters will see their names published in the local press and the Official Gazette. The final step, if declarations are still not received, would be to seek prosecution of the defaulters,” the Commission warned.
It informed that while compliance remains a great concern and challenge, it has made over forty recommendations through the Attorney General’s Chambers for the “modernization of the 1997 Integrity Commission Act, which continues to be an impediment to compliance.”
It has also actively sought to engage public officers including the Speaker and Members of the National Assembly. Further, the Commission is in consultation with external partners to undertake a thorough risk assessment of its systems and processes to develop a digital management system that would allow for e-filing. It added that it is also seeking to bolster the human resource capacity at the Commission for greater efficiency.
The Commission was composed on May 31, 2022 with the appointment of chairperson, Chandra Gajraj, and four commissioners: Dr Joycelin Kim Kyte-Thomas; Hardesh Tewari; Mohamed Ispahani, and Reverend Wayne Bowman.
It noted that its main functions are to check that persons in public life accurately report their assets and liabilities, to investigate complaints of impropriety, corruption and misconduct by public officials, and to refer for prosecution those who violate the code of conduct or fail to file declarations.
Declarations for the year 2023 (1st July 2022 to 30th June 2023) are due on or before June 30 this year.
