Don’t ‘water down’ the IC

With billions of dollars flowing into the country to carry out rehabilitation works post Hurricane Melissa, Craig Beresford, the recently installed executive director of the Integrity Commission (IC) said the legislative framework for the anti-corruption body should be strengthened, not weakened, to enable it to more effectively carry out its oversight role.

Contending that there was a need for a strong Integrity Commission, Beresford cautioned that nothing should be done to water down the legislation.

“We have to have a strong Integrity Commission in order to provide the oversight that is required for the public purse and for the conduct of our public officials,” he said.

During the last parliamentary session, the joint select committee reviewing the Integrity Commission Act (ICA) was well advanced in its deliberations to make changes to the law governing the IC.

An experienced anti-corruption proponent, Beresford said that every Jamaican would benefit from a strong, independent IC.

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Beresford said it was vital for the country to have a strong oversight body to monitor the implementation and use of public funds linked to post Melissa recovery efforts.

“I hope that at the end of the existing process, we come out with stronger legislation. We may change some things, in terms of how we function and operate, but the legislation should not be watered down in any shape or form and we have made that clear from the start of the process,” said Beresford, who was appointed three months ago.

There were heightened concerns among many Jamaicans and members of civil society last year, when government lawmakers voted to accept a recommendation to remove the auditor general as a commissioner of the IC. Members of the Opposition on the joint select committee reviewing the ICA voted against the proposal.

A “step toward tyranny”

The government vote sent shockwaves among some civil society groups, prompting the head of one anti-corruption watchdog to describe the move as a “step toward tyranny”. The proposal was introduced by controversial government lawmaker Everald Warmington.

The IC had voiced concerns about the proposal and rejected any plan to remove the auditor general as a commissioner.

“I am stating emphatically again for the record, and for posterity, that I am against this proposal as it will only weaken the commission. The auditor general has been a fixture on the bodies set up to monitor the behaviour of public officials in their public roles. That has been the position for approximately 50 years,” Justice (Ret’d) Seymour Panton said in his capacity as the then chairman.

Apart from its invitation to make a submission to the joint select committee, no member of the IC was among the technical support personnel which provided guidance on the legislation during the period of review.

While the committee had written to the IC for clarity on some issues, Beresford said the presence of an IC official during deliberations would have been helpful.

GOING DOWN THE WRONG ROAD

“Sometimes I watched the proceedings and I am there answering and not even realising I am not there because I am saying, ‘You are going down the wrong road. That is not it. That is not how it is done’, but, you see, you don’t have the opportunity because you are not there,” he explained.

Beresford said as executive director, he is hoping to work with Jamaicans and lawmakers toward a corruption-free society.

“One may see this as a pie in the sky dream, but the journey is one in which we can start now,” he added.

Acknowledging that Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) was just a perception, noting that it could be better or worse, the IC boss said he wants to see Jamaica achieve a better score on the index.

Last year, Jamaica had a CPI score of 44 out of 100, where 0 means ‘highly corrupt’, and 100 means ‘very clean’. A CPI score of below 50 indicates that a country has a serious corruption problem.

Beresford said he wants to see Jamaica achieve a better CPI score as investors look at these benchmarks to make investment and other business decisions.

“The governance architecture worldwide recognises it, so if a country is very corrupt, you may find that you have more sanctions or more things attached and associated with your country that will impede development, among other things,” he said.

He cautioned that if Jamaica’s anti-corruption laws are weakened, that would “send the country in the wrong direction as far as the Corruption Perceptions Index is concerned”.

Pointing to Section 5(4)(a) of the ICA, which states that the commission is ultimately responsible and accountable to Parliament, Beresford said the IC wants the support of more lawmakers.

“We are working on behalf of Parliament, so if Parliament is fighting the commission that it is supposed to be accountable to it, we have a problem,” Beresford said.

Acknowledging that there would be disagreements between the IC and lawmakers from time to time, the IC executive said that should not prevent Parliament from backing the anti-corruption body as it carries out its mandate.

“You can’t say you want a strong commission and at the end of the day, if we have a disagreement, ... you seek to undermine the commission,” he said.

edmond.campbell@gleanerjm.com