….Integrity Commission chair says body not into politicking

OPPOSITION Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, and Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) Presidential Candidate, Irfaan Ali, are among several public officials who have failed to file declarations with the Integrity Commission for the period July 2017-June 2018.

In a list which was published in the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday, Jagdeo and Ali are among several former Members of Parliament who failed the file declarations during the period mentioned. PPP candidates, Dr. Frank Anthony, Priya Manickchand, Nigel Dharamlall, Harry Gill, Pauline Sukhai and Clement Rohee, are among the delinquents on the list.

The names of several government officials, including Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally; Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson; Director General of the Ministry of the Presidency, Joseph Harmon and Minister of Public Health, Volda Lawrence also appeared on the list.

The commission also published the names of several officials who failed to file declarations for the period July 2018-June 2019. That list gained traction in various news reports last weekend when only the names of only government officials were published in the Official Gazette.

Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Former Magistrate Kumar Doraisami, told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday that persons are of the belief that the body is “politicking” regarding the publication of the names last weekend. However, he noted last December a decision was made not to publish the names of delinquent officials until January this year, since the body wanted to exhaust its ability to ensure the officials filed their declarations.

Unfortunately, the chairman said, most of those persons whose names were published last week, are persons who hold positions within the government. “We don’t work based on the whims and fancies of people out there, we comply with the Act, it is just unfortunate that we have an elections next month,” Doraisami said.

He said that some persons have taken the necessary steps to file their declarations since the publication of their names.
The chairman said that some persons are not “taking the commission serious enough,” even as he pointed out that the entity derives from the United Nations’ conventions to fight corruption.