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| Left - Right: H Wayne Powell OD, JP; Pamela Munroe Ellis FCCA, CA; Hon. Justice (ret'd) Lloyd Hibbert; Hon. Justice (Ret'd) Seymour Panton; Mr. Eric Crawford CD. |
The report on the alleged conflict of interest involving an MP who is now the Prime Minister of Jamaica, was handled very poorly by the Integrity Commission. If the Director of Corruption Prosecution had ruled that charges would be laid, then I would expect that the matter would be dealt with expeditiously so that the business of the country could go on. Since the ruling declared that there was not sufficient basis for action, then as soon as the report by the Integrity Commission was tabled in parliament, then the ruling by the Director of Corruption Prosecution should have been communicated to the country.
The Integrity Commission must protect its integrity by stating clearly why its report was not followed immediately by the Director of Corruption Prosecution's ruling? The Integrity Act states that you must wait an hour or a day or two before communicating this matter? The damage done to the reputation of a Prime Minister is not helped by saying that you followed the law. Is your interpretation of the law correct?
I must assume without making an ass of myself, that the intention of the legislators of the Integrity Act was not to have a damming report circulating for over a day while tongues were wagging, only to be informed subsequently of the Director of Corruption Prosecution's ruling not to take action.
Not only the Prime Minister has been embarrassed, but the whole country has been embarrassed by this fiasco. The challenge is, will the people of Jamaica continue to trust the Integrity Commission? To protect the integrity of this institution, the current members should consider stepping aside. The Integrity Commission would then be setting an example for our political and other leaders to follow. This is something to think about.
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💯 percent agreement
ReplyDeletethe entire board should step aside they have no moral authority to continue not to mention that stupidity about the gag clause leave that to primary school beginners
ReplyDeleteAgree with you
DeleteThey need to step aside👹
ReplyDeleteIf the INTEGRITY COMMISSION is lacking INTEGRITY then there will be no INTEGRITY! In other words, if the man/person painting the house CAN'T paint, the house will NOT be painted properly. You will need to get someone who CAN paint.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% - they should pack their bags & go! They have embarrassed the people of Jamaica in their indecent haste to embarrass the country's Prime Minister- here & abroad! I am equally ashamed of the quality we for what aught to be a responsible Opposition! A certain National heroe must be turning in his grave!
ReplyDeleteI notice that all the people who were chastising the CI directors not one person retracted their statement when the directors outline the law pertaining to how the reports must be release to the public even though the corruption Commissioner did not rule that the PM should be charge because based on the report due to not enough evidence the PM must still answer to the findings Mr Azan situation was much less than what the PM did and the PM was the one who led the demand that Mr Azan must step down and that he the PM as the opposition leader cannot sit at any table with a person like Mr Azan based on what was reported by the Commission It must then be clear that what is good for the goose is good for the gander
ReplyDeleteThe only point being made by me in this blog, is that the report and the decision of the Director of Corruption Prosecution should be made public at about the same time. Some members of the Integrity Commission are experienced persons in law but they seem to lack the understanding of their roles and the impact that their reports can have on the political stability of the nation. One Prime Minister said that the law is not a shackle, and there is some truth to that. If for example JPSCo did something wrong and the law said the penalty would be to rescind their license, would the learned judge rescind JPSCo license and leave the country in darkness because he was following the law? Andrew Holness must be treated like anybody else under the law, but the position of the Most Honourable Prime Minister has to be dealt with differently or else one could be upholding the law and end up with a lawless country. Note that in the US for example if the President dies, the Vice President takes over and if both die the Speaker of the House of Congress would be in charge. As far as I know, there is no automatic succession similar to that here. The question is, did the Integrity Commission found anything strange about the law and if so why would they sit as Commissioners. Next time we appoint the members of the Integrity Commission, please appoint at least one person who is just an ordinary citizen!
ReplyDeleteThe integrity commission has no integrity. I think they got the effect they were looking for bit ii blew up in their faces. Disgusting
ReplyDelete