Even a cursory glance at the 2023-2024 Integrity Commission (IC) report to Parliament leaves one with a sense of incompleteness of tasks that are being undertaken in the nation’s interest. The matter of the certification of the prime minister’s statutory declaration of his assets is a prominent case in point. So too is the pursuit of the so-called illicit six — which, based on the new report, has now risen to eight — that was mentioned in the last report. There was nothing new to add to give the public any satisfaction that the matter is even being attended to. What one gets is a jeremiad of the obstacles being faced by the commissioners.

On the face of it, there is something seriously concerning with how the commission is doing its work. The languishing of incomplete tasks opens the commission to criticisms. Such criticisms seem to have got under the skin of the chairman of the commission, retired Justice Seymour Panton. He calls these criticisms “irritatingly unfair”, betraying a deep level of frustration with regard to the ways in which the commissioners’ hands have been tied by the “gag clause”. This refers to the inability to speak publicly on matters they are investigating. They are not able to name the illicit eight or even to mention what the nature of their investigation is. Yet it is being castigated and pilloried for its silence. This has to be irritatingly frustrating.

If it is irritating for the commissioners, can you imagine how frustrating it is for the public. The commissioners have not stated this explicitly, but they have indicated to the country that there are eight parliamentarians who are being investigated for illicit enrichment. It’s been almost two years and the people of Jamaica still do not know who these people are.

It is precisely for acts like these that the IC was founded, to ferret out and lay the ground for the guilty to be prosecuted. But because of a gag clause we are being told that it cannot even say who these people are. If the commission is failing in its basic function, what foundation is there for its existence? Something has to be radically done to change this.

The same vein of thought applies to Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s statutory declarations. For three years the commissioners have not been able to certify his declarations. The prime minister has stated repeatedly that he has given them everything they have asked for. The only assurance that the commissioners can give us is that it is a work in progress; that they are still investigating or studying information that they have received. One gets the impression that, given their statements, it is a tedious process that cannot be rushed.

One can understand that it takes time for these things to be investigated. But three years going into four? What is the end point? In the meantime, the prime minister has to sit patiently by the wayside while his reputation takes a beating. On the basis of these uncertified declarations, the Leader of the Opposition Mark Golding hints at corruption and has even asked the prime minister to resign. This is manifestly unfair to the prime minister and certainly does not enhance the reputation of the commissioners in the public’s eye.

Admittedly, the gag clause is a problem and needs to be removed. Understandably, the politicians in Parliament, for reasons best known to them, are not as impatient as the public is to move with any alacrity to remove it. But there have been serious missteps that the commissioners have made that do not endear them to public affirmation. Some have even called for them to step aside and a new set appointed. This threshold might not yet have been reached, but if they continue in the present vein as mere benchwarmers, putting out yearly reports, they may not be too far from this threshold.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storms; Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life; and Beyond Petulance: Republican Politics and the Future of America. Check out his podcast, Mango Tree Dialogues, on his YouTube channel. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.