Some MPs submit declarations to Integrity Commission – Chairman

– wants to amend aspects of the Act

Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Kumar Duraisami, has stated that only some Members of Parliament (MP) have so far submitted their declarations to the Commission.

Speaking at its first press briefing on Thursday to update the public on the work of the Commission, Duraisami, an attorney and former Land Court Judge, explained that the Commission is now trying to get the agency fully equipped to carry out its mandate which includes ensuring public officials declare their assets annually, as required by law.
So far, it was disclosed a total of 1296 letters and declaration forms sent out to public officers – 69 to the National Assembly; 407 to the various Ministries; 242 to the 10 administrative regions and 576 to the various constitutional agencies. However, only 248 forms were returned to the Commission.
Asked specifically about those received from MPs, Duraisami said not all of the MPs have been complying and sending in their declarations.
“Some of them [have submitted their declarations] but I can’t tell you how many. Most of them, I expect, will be complying soon,” he stated.

The Chairman could not give a specific number or say whether these compliant MPs are from the Government’s or Opposition’s side because they are yet to go through the 200 plus forms received since they only moved into their new office in Subryanville, Georgetown, two weeks ago. However, he lamented that the MPs are not the only ones with outstanding declarations.
In fact, Duraisami outlined that since June, they have been giving several extensions to allow defaulters to comply with the integrity laws. He further added that consideration is now being given for another two-month extension to ensure all those who are required to declare their assets are able to do so, reminding that these persons can be taken before the courts if they fail to make their declarations.
Moreover, Duraisami posited that while the Commission had a secretariat in place prior to the appointment of the Chairman and Commissioners back in February, persons were not submitting their declarations as required since the law says that the declarations should be made to the Chairman of the Integrity Commission.
In fact, it was revealed that over the past few years, there have only been between five to 20 submissions annually, with only six declarations of assets in 2017.
Nevertheless, having been occupying limited space at the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) since its reconstitution earlier this year, the Integrity Commission recently moved into its new office located at Fifth Avenue and Church Road, Subryanville, and efforts are now being undertaken to secure additional staffing including a legal and compliance officer; two investigators; accountants and a host of other administrative staff.
“We don’t have employees in place right now to run this Commission… We got some advertisements done and we’re hoping to interview some of these applicants before the end of this month so that we can get the organisation fully running sometime thereafter,” Duraisami stated.
The Commission was previously unable to make these employments since they only recently secured a supplementary budget.
The Commission aims to improve public confidence in the integrity of persons in public office by ensuring that they submit their declarations in compliance with the Integrity Commission Act. To this end, the Chairman posited that having pursued the laws governing the operations of the Commission, they have identified some areas which they feel needed to be amended and so they will have to make the necessary recommendations to the Prime Minister, who has responsibility over the Commission.
Among the issues they have so far identified, the Chairman stated, is the fiscal year of the Commission, which runs from July 1 to June 30 with the deadline for declarations stipulated at June 30. The Chairman noted that they would like this change to coincide with the fiscal year of the Guyana Revenue Authority (January 1 to December 31) and its deadline for the filing of tax returns – April 30.
Furthermore, the head of the Integrity Commission disclosed that they are also looking at the list of public officers who are required to file a declaration of their assets such as board members. Duraisami referenced a specific case where the chairperson of a Board challenged the declaration because her services were voluntary and she was not receiving a salary.
In addition, the Chairman also indicated that another area they have to look at is the Guyana Police Force whereby only the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners are required to make declarations. However, he noted that they would want to extend this to include the Divisional Commanders as well as the Crime and Traffic Chiefs.
Duraisami added that the same consideration is being given to the GRA, in an effort to rope in those branch managers in the various regions to declare their assets. He mentioned too that officers at the Lands Registry will also have to be included in this bracket since they current have no obligations to make any declarations.
“So we are looking at a broad spectrum of areas where corruption is likely to occur,” the Chairman of the Integrity Commission asserted.