Silence is not an option

The ink was hardly dry on the resignation letter from newly appointed member of the Integrity Commission (IC) retired Justice Zainool Hosein, before an even bigger controversy erupted over the appointment of Jeffrey McFarlane. Mr McFarlane, on the face of it, was not qualified to be appointed as a member of the IC, because he is a person in public life performing a public function. He serves on the boards of the Home Mortgage Bank and National Insurance Board, both of which are chaired by Calder Hart.

The sudden, unexplained last-minute flip-flop by the President, regarding the appointment of retired Justice Zainool Hosein to the IC, has aroused the suspicion of political interference and/or collusion. Who or what influence prompted the President to change his mind on the appointment of Justice Hosein, whose impeccable credentials and unblemished track record of public service speaks for itself? The last deputy chairman was retired High Court judge, Justice Monica Barnes, and it is fitting that someone with judicial and legal experience hold this position, in light of the intricate structure of the Integrity in Public Life Act that needs to protect the rights of public officials. All of this comes at a time when public confidence in the credibility of the Integrity Commission is at its lowest, because of the protracted, unreasonable delay in determining previous complaints and, of course, the treatment meted out to Dr Keith Rowley.

Need evidence
More seriously, the Government is about to amend the Integrity in Public Life Act (IPLA) to make it more difficult for citizens to file complaints about public officials. Citizens could now be penalised for baseless complaints, and must make the complaint via a sworn statutory declaration. This is likely to be a major deterrent, as most citizens who suspect political corruption or abuse of power will not have access to the documentary evidence needed to verify their claim. Such evidence is mostly secreted within the bosom of the corrupt public official and his ring of co-conspirators. For this reason, the IPLA mandated the IC to investigate all complaints and gave it ample powers to conduct such investigations.

Baseless complaints could easily be proven false by innocent public officials who have nothing to hide, as they would readily grant access to the relevant information. If the complaint was made public, the victim could seek public vindication by publishing the finding of the IC in his or her favour. A useful amendment might have been that the IC should publish full-page advertisements in all three daily newspapers on three separate occasions, concerning the fact that it has completed its investigations and the person was cleared of any wrongdoing. It is better to strike the balance here than to run the risk of sacrificing potentially viable complaints from people who might not have the fortitude to make a complaint with the risk of being penalised. The problem is not with the law, as it now stands, but rather the lackadaisical attitude of the IC in administering the law, and its failure to utilise the vast powers given to it to ensure an expeditious conclusion.

No end?
Instead of invoking and excising these powers (for example, to compel people to produce documents needed for the investigations), the IC adopted a wait-and-see approach and used people’s refusal to co-operate with the investigation as an excuse for the long and endless delay in completing these matters. Thus, the investigations into the complaint by the former vice-president of Finance of UTT, Mr Ken Fitz Andrews, about alleged corruption and abuse of public funds by UTT President Ken Julien and the Maha Sabha’s complaint about discrimination suffered to obtain a radio licence has dragged on for over three years, with no end in sight.

This has set the tone for treatment of the present complaint against present Minister Karen Tesheria, over the Clico affair, and PM Manning for the illegal political rally held in Woodford Square. The President also owes Justice Hosein an apology and explanation. I agree with the learned judge if the word of the President cannot be trusted and relied upon, then this can only worsen the crisis caused by the loss of confidence in the leadership of our country. I would go so far to say that this raises questions about the integrity and credibility of the process used by the President to make these appointments. The IC cannot work unless people have confidence in the integrity of the person who appoints the commissioners to serve. President’s Richards’ integrity has been called into question, and silence is not an option.