New Integrity Commission members sworn in

Confirming that the Commission was anxious to have the declaration forms brought to Parliament as required by the Integrity in Public Life Act, new Chairman of the Integrity Commission Gordon Deane said the Integrity Commission  would continue to pursue every avenue to get the declaration forms brought to Parliament. Speaking shortly after he was sworn in at the President’s House yesterday, Deane told reporters that the previous Commission had used every effort available to it in this respect. It spoke to the Attorney General, the Prime Minister, and more recently had sought the intervention of the President in getting the Government to take the declaration forms to the Parliament.“We looked at all who needed to be asked and we asked,” he said. The members of the new Commission,chartered accountant, John Martin; Justice Monica Barnes; Justice Jean Permanand; retired RBTT CEO Terrence Martins, and insurance executive Deane, received their instruments of appointment yesterday.

But even as members swore to act conscientiously and impartially, the new Chairman conceded that the failure of Government to bring the declaration forms to Parliament would affect the capacity of the Commission to do its job properly. Dealing with its efforts, Deane said the Commission had designed the forms after researching the Integrity Legislation. Then there was a hung Parliament when nothing could have been done. “But there came a time when something could have been done [after the October 2002 election] and since then, we have been asking that these forms be taken to Parliament. There is nothing preventing them from being submitted now,” he said. Deane said the Commission even sought legal advice on whether it could have used another mechanism — other than the forms — for getting people in public life to provide information on their assets, income and liabilities. But the Commission was advised that it could not pursue any other course. Told that many politicians had a problem with the kind of financial details being sought on the form about their spouses and dependent children, Deane said the legislation “by its very nature is invasive” and he expected persons to have concerns. “But,” he said, “my own view is that... if you have decided that you want to be a person in public life and you know that you have these declarations to make, you know that ahead of time. So there should be no issue with completing the forms,” he stated, adding that this was why the issues of secrecy, confidentiality and security of information were important to the functioning of the Commission.

On the AG’s plan to strengthen the Commission or to set up a completely new Anti-Corruption body, Deane said he did not have the research information that led the AG to believe that this was an important thing to do. “I believe that the Commission that we have now is one that must set off and must do its work. In order to do that work well, we need the regulations, which include the forms. And it is not just the declaration forms, there are other forms...which have to be made public by people in public life and those forms are not available either.” Deane did not agree with the view that the last Commission was lethargic in pursuing persons who were in breach of the legislation. “The Commission is not afraid to do its work.  That has certainly not been my experience with the Commission to date,” he said.  He later stressed that the Commission was not “a selective lynch mob. That is not what we are. We are a serious group of people who are intent on doing the work that is established by the legislation,” he stated. Asked whether the Commission intended to put pressure on the Government to take the forms to Parliament, Deane stated: “The Commission is made up of very responsible people and I don’t think responsible people would just sit around a table and not continue to ask that the forms be taken to Parliament.”

Dismissing claims that the delay (in bringing the forms to Parliament) would enable public officers to escape the filing of declarations for 2001 and 2002 and possibly 2003, Deane said that whenever the forms are ready, the affected persons in public life would have to file their declarations retroactively.  Since 2001, no declarations were filed by Government ministers, Members of Parliament or other public officials. Earlier President George Maxwell Richards deviated from custom and made a statement after the presentation of the instruments. “As you know these appointments were made in consultation with or after consultation with the Honourable Prime Minister and the Honourable Leader of the Opposition,” the President, who has been criticised for the delay in the appointments, said. He said he wanted to express his own pleasure to all the members of the Commission for having so graciously accepted his invitation to serve on this most important body, which is entrenched in the constitution. President Richards expressed his best wishes to the members in what “is going to be a challenging effort”. The term of office of the last Commission expired on July 19. The new appointments are for three years.