Integrity Commission in dire need of funds to complete its work
The Integrity Commission will meet this week to begin compiling lists of those public officers who have failed to submit the required financial declaration mere days before the November 15th extended deadline. However, its efforts may be hampered by lack of operating funds.
According to Commission Chair Kumar Doraisami, the meeting is necessary as there are in excess of 1,300 declarations which have to be collected and they need to be sure of who might need a reminder to comply.
“Come next Wednesday, we should have a good idea of how many have complied,” he told Sunday Stabroek.
Doraisami disclosed that the Commission will also be discussing how it can complete the task of verifying the declarations since there is currently only one investigator on staff and no money to hire more.
‘There is no sense in having an organization to monitor these politicians when you can’t investigate the statements they submit,” he complained.
The Commission had previously advertised for applicants to the post of investigator in May 2019, but according to the Chair none were employed.
“We have one right now but need at least 5, since over 1,300 declarations have to be verified… We also need prosecutors - at least two, and we don’t have enough money but I understand it was an emergency budget,” he explained.
The Commission has been allocated a subvention of $42 million for the execution of its duties during 2020. This is $3 million less than the $45 million provided in 2019 and 2018.
During each of these years the Commission had also complained of insufficient funds and at one point blamed its financial situation on a failure to publicly identify those who had failed to comply with the legislation and make submissions.
Doraisami, however, remains hopeful that the 2021 budget will bring his agency the funds it needs to complete its tasks. He is also hoping that the Commission can soon be added to the list of constitutional agencies whose budget is directly approved by the National Assembly.
According to the Integrity Commission Act, every person who is a person in public life, not being a member of the Commission, is required to file a declaration every year on or before June 30th and in cases where such persons cease to be a person in public life, within 30 days from the date on which the person ceases to be a person in public life.
“A declaration under subsection (I) or (2) shall give full, true and complete particulars of the assets and liabilities as on the relevant date, and the income during a period of twelve months immediately prior to the relevant date, of the person filling the declaration (whether the assets were held by that person in his own name or in the name of any other person) and of the spouse and children of such person to the extent to which such person has knowledge of the same,” it further states.
The Act states that the Commission or the President, as the case may be, shall receive, examine and retain all declarations and documents filed with it or him under the Act; and make such enquiries as it or he considers necessary in order to verify or determine the accuracy of the financial affairs, as stated in the declarations of persons who are required to file declarations under the Act.
It states that those officials who fail to submit their declarations or submit declarations that are false or incomplete shall be liable, on summary conviction, to “a fine of twenty-five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for a term of not less than six months nor more than one year, and where the offence involves the non-disclosure, by the declarant, of property, which should have been disclosed in the declaration, the magistrate convicting the person shall order the person to make full disclosure of the property within a given time and on failure to comply with the order of the magistrate within the given time, the said offence shall be deemed to be a continuing offence and the person shall be
liable to a further fine of ten thousand dollars for each day on which the offence continues.”