President Bharrat Jagdeo is urging the Integrity Commission to publish the names of those officials who have not been submitting their statements of income and assets but he did not address the state of the body which has not been functioning since its chairman resigned in April 2006.
Asked about the status of the commission in the wake of the concerns of the main opposition PNCR that the body was re-appointed without consultation with the Leader of the Opposition, President Jagdeo told a press conference on Tuesday that the PNCR was not pleased with the re-appointment of Anglican Bishop Randolph George but noted that the bishop had since resigned from the post.
Bishop George tendered his resignation during the early part of 2006. Since then no new member has been added to the commission or a chairman elected to replace him. He was initially appointed a member of the commission by former President Mrs Janet Jagan and subsequently re-appointed by Jagdeo.
Late last year, Stabroek News was told by the administrator of the commission that since there had been no response from the Office of the President to Bishop George’s resignation in 2006, he officially remained the chairman.
The other commissioners are President of the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana, Fazeel Ferouz; Secretary of the Guyana Council of Churches, Nigel Hazel; and Director of the National Commission for Family, Pandit Rabindranauth Persaud.
Since Bishop George’s resignation the commission has not met even though the secretariat continues to function on a daily basis at its Peter Rose Street, Queenstown location. This newspaper was told that meetings had not been possible because of a lack of a quorum.
Not saying whether he was considering appointing another member to the commission following the resignation of Bishop George, the President nevertheless said that his own concern was that there was a large number of Members of Parliament who have not submitted their statements of income and assets to the Integrity Commission and even if they were concerned with the composition of the commission they should adhere to the law by submitting the statements required.
The law requires that they submit on an annual basis statements of income and assets to the Integrity Commission, he said, adding that if they make false declarations or do not submit these statements there are criminal penalties and they could go to jail for up to a year.
If the opposition wants to be the champions of good governance and fight corruption, he said that their test was in adhering to the laws and submitting declarations to the Integrity Commission.
He said he has been urging the commission to publish the names of all the defaulters and of those who have complied. He noted, however, that the Integrity Commission was an independent body but added that if he had his way with the commission he would publish the names of all of the defaulters.
The commission came into being as a result of the Integrity Commission Act, 1997; Act No 20 and was assented to by then President Samuel Hinds. The first set of commissioners was appointed in 1999.
The re-appointment of the commissioners was a cause for concern to Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin who took legal action in May 2005 to nullify the appointment of the Chairman and members of the commission, arguing the President did not consult him, and that the appointments were made arbitrarily and unconstitutionally as they are in breach of the constitutional provision that provides for the leader of the opposition “to express a considered opinion on the appointment of the Chairman and members of the Integrity Commission.”
Section 3 (4) of the Integrity Commission Act 1997 stipulates that the “Chairman and other members shall be appointed by the President after consultation with the Minority Leader.” (Miranda La Rose)
