Govt working to beef up enforcement powers of Integrity Commission

The government is looking to beef up the enforcement powers of the Integrity Commission, which was established to ensure that Persons in Public Life maintain high standards of integrity while performing their public functions and as an anti-corruption mechanism.
During an Anti-Corruption workshop organized by her Ministry at the Pegasus Suites and Corporate Centre on Tuesday, Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister Gail Teixeira spoke on the government’s anti-corruption efforts from a legislative perspective.
According to Teixeira, the PPP/C government has previously passed a number of legislations in the anti-corruption fight. She explained that these legislations, such as the Integrity Commission Act which ensures transparency in the financial lives of public officials, are being reviewed and strengthened.
“When we look at our anti-corruption framework, because there is one. And we look at the integrity commission act, which people have felt they could disobey, that’s changing. The screws are tightening on people who hold public office and refuse to declare their assets. The Integrity Commission Act, which has been around for a long time, is now under review,” Teixeira said.
“We have a lot of work to do though. We have a framework. We’ve been making steps forward and tightening up and improving the areas of accountability and transparency… one of the important areas that are under review now… I’m aware the Attorney General Chambers are working on the Companies Act. And that came out of a recommendation of an earlier workshop we had, in 2022, with the Private Sector, government and civil society.”
According to Teixeira, the Attorney General Chamber’s work on the Companies Act would see improvements being made to sections of the Act that would fill gaps in the law and clear up ambiguities. In an interview with the media afterwards, Teixeira noted that defining conflicts of interest and strengthening the reporting mechanism, are among the areas being strengthened in the Integrity Commission Act. However, she admitted that more could be done on the enforcement side of the Integrity Commission Act.
The Integrity Commission Act was assented to on September 24, 1997. It establishes the Integrity Commission, with the aim of ensuring that Persons in Public Life maintain high standards of integrity in the performance of their public functions. This plays a big role in improving the standards of governance, ensuring transparency and accountability.
The Commission has the power to take any measures needed for the proper performance of its function and in discharging its function; it is not subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority. Under the law, any public officer who fails to comply with the Commission is liable upon summary conviction, to a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment for a period of not less than six months or more than one year.
The Commission had in August of this year published a long list of defaulters, which included notable names such as Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton. And last year, when several senior public servants and officials were flagged for failing to submit their declarations to the Integrity Commission, Government had taken a stance that, should those persons remain non-compliant, they would be asked to leave their jobs. (G3)