The Integrity Commission is under scrutiny in the Jamaican Parliament as JLP parliamentarians attempt to split hairs to vindicate disgraced Prime Minister Andrew Holness.
Members of the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee of Parliament and the leadership of the anti-corruption body on Tuesday debated whether a declarant (Andrew Holness) who the IC is investigating can go public about the probe or is restricted by Section 53(3), commonly referred to as the gag clause.
Section 53(3) of the Integrity Commission states that: “Until the tabling in Parliament of a report under Section 36, all matters under investigation by the Director of investigations or any other person involved in such investigation shall be kept confidential, and no report or public statement shall be made by the Commission or any other person in relation to the initiation or conduct of an investigation under this Act”.
Julian Robinson, an oversight committee member, questioned the Integrity Commission chairman, retired Justice Seymour Panton, on a comment he made in the latest annual report.
Panton had said nothing would prevent declarants under investigation from speaking about the matter publicly.
Responding, Panton said: “In my opinion, a declarant can always speak about his or her situation at any time; that is my view of the law.”
Continuing, the chairman said: “I can’t see how I am involved in a situation and cannot speak about it – that is my interpretation of the law. Although I think I am right, it does not follow that I am right.”
It is clear to me the government parliamentarians are trying to twist the law in their favor. But my late grandmother used to say, “The truth can’t hide. It is always staring you in the face.”
Prime Minister Andrew Holness is the chief public servant in Jamaica.
Therefore, in the interest of transparency, he should have informed the Jamaican people whether the IC was investigating him. His response to the journalist’s question should have been, “Yes, I am under investigation, but I cannot discuss the details of the case.”
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