JAMAICA | Integrity Commission Pledges Zero Tolerance, PNP Not among the Illicit 8 says Mark Golding

KINGSTON, Jamaica. July 10, 2024: Opposition Leader Mark Golding, has weighed in on recent developments concerning the Integrity Commission of Jamaica's ongoing investigations into parliamentarians for alleged illicit enrichment. 

In a statement late this evening, the Opposition Leader says he has again  consulted with all 22 parliamentarians (MPs and Senators) representing the People's National Party (PNP), and each has confirmed that they are not aware of being investigated by the Integrity Commission for illicit enrichment.

Mr. Golding  said the PNP remains committed to cooperating fully with the Integrity Commission and supporting its mission to ensure integrity in public life.

The Integrity Commission has now identified anomalies and unexplained wealth in the statutory declarations filed by eight (8) parliamentarians, an increase from the six (6) identified in a previous IC report.

The Integrity Commission has maintained the confidentiality of those under investigation, having also confirmed that all individuals under investigation have been informed of their status.

Consistent with his position last year, Mr. Golding has again called on all parliamentarians to uphold the highest ethical standards.

The Integrity Commission says it will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to public officials and parliamentarians with outstanding statutory declarations in the first quarter of the 2024/25 financial year.

This means anyone who failed to file within the specified period will not receive a written notice to file their statutory declaration within thirty days after being notified, based on the Commission's discretion. Instead, he or she will be referred for prosecution.

The Integrity Commission has faced backlash from civil society advocates who argue that it is ineffective in holding delinquent public officials and parliamentarians to account.

In its annual report for 2023/24, the Commission advised officials that electronic mail was not an acceptable modality for the submission of a Statutory Declaration.

Parliament last year approved an order to raise the declaration threshold from $3.5 million to $12 million, which saw some 30,000 public sector workers no longer being required to submit new declarations.

Of the 88 parliamentarians, 10 submitted their statutory declarations, on or before the August 31, 2023 and March 31, 2024 deadline.

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