As at the end of 2023, the Integrity Commission said, some 628 persons out of 1,580 had outstanding declarations and according to the law, the commission will publish the names of defaulters by the end of the first half of this year.
Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton will, for the first time, be eligible to submit and he said that he is ready and willing and has nothing to hide, even as he urged eligible party members and parliamentarians to swiftly comply. “I checked and was told that this year will be my first year of submission for the period last year and from April of the year before (2022) because that was when I was sworn in [as Leader of the Opposition]. So I am not a defaulter because I am waiting on the documents to make my submission and when I get those I will,” he said while explaining that he follows the law and will comply.
He said that as the submission of returns is an individual requirement, he can only advise his fellow parliamentarians to submit and is doing so because “they should as it is required by law that they comply”.
